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...
This certainly has to be the best Golu I have seen so far this year... It has been kept at the house of a friend of Shankar's uncle, and it takes the prize for creativity as well as hard, hard work! First, let us get the usual steps out of the way...... Here they are, with the usual dolls... Yes, I know we have seen enough dolls over the last week, but these are the only ones here which need to be highlighted - some representations of famous personalities as well as tribals... Now for the most interesting thing... Heres a first look.... Can you guess what all is there? and how it is arranged? Before I get to the individual pieces , let me tell you what this is - The Golu is a two tier one, the upper one representing an American town, and the lower one, an Indian village.. talk about contrasts!!! The person who makes all this retired from his government job quite a few years ago. This is his hobby, something he spends more than half the year on! To see his attentio...