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Odisha Part 10: Bhubaneshwar – the city of temples

Bhubaneshwar is often called the city of temples . It is impossible to know exactly how many temples there are, but it has been estimated that there might be over 700 temples in the city. This number, while impressive, is just a fraction of the original number, which, sometime in the 13 th century, would have been about 7000. Wikipedia has a page dedicated to the Hindu temples of Bhubaneshwar , where 93 temples are listed. All these are ancient temples, built between the 7 th and 13 th centuries CE. Bhubaneshwar was once known as Ekamra Kshetra , the sacred mango grove. We know this name from an inscription at the Ananta Vasudeva temple, which mentions the name of the place, and the main temple (that we now know as the Lingaraja temple) in the mango grove. Ananta Vasudeva Temple, with a sculpture of Trivikrama in the niche It is extremely interesting to note that the Ananta Vasudeva temple is the only temple to Lord Vishnu in this city. Varaha, Ananta Vasudeva Temple Located v...
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Memories of 2013 - Rediscovering Mumbai

I have lived in Mumbai for almost 30 years, and, having wandered around freely and happily, thought I knew the city well. It is only this year that I realised how little I knew about it, especially its hidden secrets. One of the first revelations was a visit to Sewri with the Travel-Logs, who opened my eyes to the incredible history which remains unknown to most of its inhabitants. The Parel Shiva Heptad
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A Halloween Walk with the Travel-Loggers

Walking down from Sewri Railway station, we were met with blank stares when we asked for directions to the Christian Cemetery. It was only when we asked for ‘ Church ka bada Kabrastan ’, that a few people nodded and showed us the way. If they were surprised that a woman and a child were asking directions to the cemetery late in the evening, they didn’t show it! Anyways, what were we doing, going to a cemetery so late? We were heading there to meet our fellow Travel-loggers and set out on a Halloween themed walk, starting at the cemetery.
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Storming Sewri Part 4 - Uncovering hidden secrets

It has been a hectic week, and I am so glad it is over! My computer had crashed, and then the internet did, and by the time they both got back, I have had loads of work piling on. Catching up with my posts has been a priority, so, in an attempt to at least complete one set of posts, here is the final in the Storming Sewri series....
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Storming Sewri Part 3 - The Sewri Christian Cemetery

It’s been a while since I wrote about my Sewri Walk with the Travel-Logs . My short trip to Coorg and all the unfinished work I found when I got back, resulted in the blog being neglected for quite a while. My son’s holidays begin next week, which implies that I will have even less time for the blog, so here is the next part in the Storming Sewri Series – Flamingoes and the Fort – these were the two things I could count among the things I knew about Sewri. It was only when I ventured with our informative guides further inland, towards the heart of Sewri, that I realised just how little I knew about my city. Our first stop was at the Sewri Christian Cemetery.
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Skywatch Friday : Nature v/s Development

For Skywatch Friday this week, here are our winged visitors, the flamingoes, seen against the backdrop of the Industrial skyline...
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Storming Sewri Part 2 - The Sewri Fort

I first read about Sewri Fort in an article on the various forts in Mumbai. Every time I visited the Sewri Jetty to see the flamingos and other birds, I wondered where the fort was. A friend later told me that it was just off the road we took to reach the jetty. Unfortunately, ardent birdwatchers aren’t always heritage enthusiasts, and I never found company to go to the fort. Much as I love to explore, going into a deserted and ruined fort alone didn't seem the safest thing to do, and the fort remained on my wish list for all these years. When Travel-Logs announced their Sewri Walk, the one place I was keen to visit was the fort. Thankfully, the dates and timings were convenient for once, and I eagerly jumped on to the bandwagon!
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Storming Sewri Part 1 - Flamingos

Last weekend, when I asked Samhith if he wanted to accompany me to Sewri, he replied, “But I have already seen flamingos!” I tried explaining that Sewri wasn’t just about flamingos, but he remained unconvinced. I signed up for the Sewri walk by Travel-Logs nevertheless, and dragged him along, remembering a time when Sewri, to me, meant even less.  
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More birds from Sewri

In my earlier post , I wrote about the flamingos we saw at Sewri. They are, after all, the main reason people flock to Sewri these days at low tide! However, there are also scores of other birds which arrive at Sewri for the insects which populate the mud flats. This post is about some of them...
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Flamingos at Sewri

I usually look forward to the weekend events conducted by the BNHS, but of late, I had been missing out on a lot of interesting ones. It had been over a year since we had joined them for a Flamingo Watch, and with my new camera, it was more than just a little tempting! However, with all the hectic events planned for our weekend, I wasn't sure if Samhith would be up and ready so early in the morning. However, it is only for school that I have to shake him awake. Just one call and he was up and ready, in  less than 15 minutes, all set for the exciting day ahead! 
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Waders and Other Water-Birds --- A morning at the Sewri Mudflats

The first time we went to see the Flamingoes of Mumbai at Sewri with the BNHS , we were enraptured by these beautiful birds, and were surprised by the number of birds, not just flamingoes, which arrived in this crowded metropolis! Since then, we twice lost the opportunity of joining the BNHS on their bird watching trips, due to prior engagements. I had lost all hopes of seeing these birds again this year, but thankfully, Adesh Shivkar of the Mumbai Bird Club announced a birding trail to Sewri this Saturday, and I jumped at the chance to take Samhith along on another bird-watching jaunt. This time , I also roped along my friend, Usha , who will shortly be shifting to Delhi . She had to go somewhere else, but agreed to join me and Samhith for at least a couple of hours. So, the three of us set off at the break of dawn to see what and how many birds we were able to identify! The very first sight that met us at Sewri was a sea of pink, the flamingoes much closer than they were, the las...
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A Date with Flamingoes

Sunday – 15th of March – BNHS had organised a flamingo-watch at Sewri Jetty. The mud flats at Sewri attract throngs of these beautiful pink birds every year, and huge crowds of birdwatchers gather to see the spectacular sight. I had always hoped to be one of this crowd, but somehow or the other, this pleasure eluded me for so many years. This year, I decided that I just HAD to go, and looked around for company. No one I knew seemed to be interested, or free, and finally, it was down to just Samhith and me…… The two of us decided to go ahead anyway, in spite of the fact that we did not have any binoculars (The BNHS guys, when we called up, told us to bring a pair of binocs along, for better viewing)… The Mud Flats - a closer view Samhith was so excited, he woke up early without any prodding on my behalf, and we were ready at 9AM after a good breakfast. The first excitement of the day for Samhith was the local train ride to Sewri by the harbour line. He memorised the names of ten s...
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