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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...

Wayanad post on Thomas Cook Blog

In April this year , as I was making the last minute arrangements for my Bangalore-Mysore trip, I received an offer from Thomas Cook, to try out one of their planned trips at a concessional rate. The offer was just too good to refuse, and as I wrote about it earlier , I took up their offer of exploring Wayanad. Since I returned, you have been treated to my long series on Wayanad, and now, finally, my post is up on their blog too.... Click here to read the post. 

Communing with our ancestors at Edakkal Caves

“About the beginning of the year 1896, Mr. F. Fawcett, Superintendent of police, Malabar, discovered a very remarkable natural cave near Sultan’s Battery in the Wynaad. The walls of the cave are covered with rude, fanciful drawings and bear five short inscriptions.” These are the words of the noted German Indologist and epigraphist, Dr. Hultszch, in his first description of what we call today, the Edakkal Caves.

Wayanad - Discovering a ruined gem

It was our second day at Wayanad , and we were driving to Kuruva Island, when our guide pointed to some ruins and asked us if we would like to see an ancient temple. It speaks volumes of our interests, when I say that we perked up at once, and hastened towards what, at first glance, appeared to be a pile of stones lying by the roadside.

Wayanad - First Impressions

Wayanad – the name comes from the words ‘Vayal Nadu’ – land of paddy fields, and that’s what I expected to see – paddy fields stretching in all directions. However, entering the district through the heart of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, the sight that greeted me was of towering trees lining both sides of the road....