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...
It was in early 2013 that I first heard of Tathagata Farm , near Darjeeling. They invited me to visit their farm stay, but I had no plans then, of travelling east. It was an open offer, they assured me, and I could stay with them whenever I did make the trip. Time passed, and I received a lot more such invites. Some worked, others didn't, many didn't even bother to reply. When I planned my Kolkata and Sikkim trip in December 2014, I remembered them, and wrote, wondering if they would even remember me, or their offer. Plus, I was going with Samhith and Shankar, so, I offered to pay for them, and also for an extra day. Imagine my surprise therefore, when they replied at once, graciously inviting us for two days, asking me only to pay for our transport! It’s not often that we see such hospitality, and I already looked forward to our stay there!