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...
When I first announced my intention of going to Kolkata, Sudha said, “ Whatever you do, don’t miss the Indian Museum! ” I must confess that, till then, I hadn’t heard of the Indian Museum. I knew there were many museums in Kolkata, and I had every intention of seeing as many as I could, but why specifically the Indian Museum? “ Because it was the first museum in India ” she replied, “ and this is the museum where all discoveries from various excavations were first brought, and later on, given to other museums. ” That settled it. I didn’t need any more reasons to be convinced.