The Vaital temple is of the many intriguing temples in Bhubaneshwar. To begin with, the structure itself resembles a South-Indian temple more than the typical Kalingan style that we see everywhere else in Odisha. The temple has been dated to the last quarter of the 8 th century CE. Further , unlike most of the temples in Bhubaneshwar, this temple is not dedicated to Lord Shiva. Inside the sanctum is one of the deities who is very rarely seen in a sanctum – Chamunda, along with the Saptamatrikas. This is evidently a Shakta shrine. However, the presence of Lakulisha on the vimana indicates the connection with the Pasupata sect, which is most prevalent in this region during this time period. Further, the name of the temple – ‘Vaital’, comes from the word ‘ vetala’ , referring to spirits, which were invoked by tantrics to attain siddhis. Thus, this temple is an amalgamation of Pasupata and Shakta philosophy, with a strong emphasis on tantric rituals, and this is reflected in the iconogra...
Our original plan at Nubra was to enjoy the sand dunes and relax. We took one look at the crowds and changed our mind! Of course, it helped that we had a destination in mind – one that had been suggested by many people we had talked to, over the past few days – Turtuk! The village of Turtuk, about 200 km from Leh, lies in the region of Baltistan. This is one of the few villages of the region under Indian control. The rest of Baltistan is part of Pakistan. The village lies about 2.5km from the Line of Control, and is the farthest visitors are allowed to go. Changing our plans meant that we would have a long day ahead. We were on the road at 5 AM, with the dawn to ourselves, not a soul on the road! We did startle a pair of foxes which ran across the road. They probably wondered why humans were out on the road so early! Watching the mountains change as the day broke made the early start worthwhile. There was a flip side, though. We reached Turtuk at 7:15 AM, only to find everyth...