Day 235 of Indian places giving smiles giving smiles – Bhubaneshwar
It was a long awaited trip with my parents. Me alone with 2 senior citizens aged 70 and 78. A break from the routine life. A time for togetherness. I remember that even when others would not travel as much, my father would often love to take our family to see many new places when I was just a kid. And now here we were… ready to explore a new state together…Orissa!
As our flight landed in Bhubaneshwar airport, we could almost sense the difference in the air. We were in the eastern part of the country, the people looked different; the trees looked different; even the signboards looked different. I kept wondering what the next five days had in store for us.
Our taxi driver had a lot of praises for the then Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik and his father Biju Patnaik after whom the airport was named. The simplicity of the local people was what appealed to me as the first impression. The weather was perfect throughout our stay. Neither raining, nor sunny.
We spent an evening of shopping at the local market for cotton clothes and handicrafts. We did drive past some of the beautiful parks of the city but decided not to enter them.
On the next morning, we were excited to finally explore the city of temples – Bhubaneshwar which literally means the seat of the Lord of the Universe
We first visited the local famous caves of Bhubhaneshwar. We were greeted by a local guide who promised to show us some of the 18 caves of Udayagiri. I expressed my reservation about whether my 78 year old father could climb up the many steps that I saw. The guide replied that he also was over 60 yearrs so he knew what it was to be careful about old age issues.
We started with the first cave the Rani gompha…Our guide explained the stories behind the carvings on the wall. I was surprised to see them depict the women of those days as physically powerful and who even fought in the wars. He told us to imagine the Jain monks in ancient times sitting at the place and he actually made us sit and meditate there. As we chanted the sacred syllable Om we could feel the sound resonating powerfully due to the built in acoustic wonder of the place. I actually went to one of the inner rooms and slept on the hard floor to think of the strict disciplined life of those days. The floor was raised partially near the head area to provide the facility of a built in pillow!
Our guide then made may aged parents climb on the uneven rocks to go to the first floor of this cave. He asked us to imagine people displaying their talents on a natural rock formation that served as a stage on a height. In fact this Rani Gompha cave was so called because the queens would gather behind the small windows to watch the stage performances.
Our guide got much more adventurous with my elderly parents. I can never forget the sight of him holding my father’s hand and guiding him uphill through another long stretch of still uneven rocks. The pure air, the simple life that must have been here, the energy of the place must have given strength to the old legs of my father as I watched in amazement and almost disbelief as he climbed higher and higher…I kept praying in my mind for spiritual protection as my aged parents made their way high up the uneven rocks to the top of the Udayagiri mountains!
And the view from the top was worth every effort. We could see the whole city of Bhubhaneshwar from this vantage point and also Daulagiri which was about six miles away. We paused to catch our breath and soak in the awesomeness of what had just happened. I was glad that I had the confidence to do this sight seeing trip with my parents and that I did not allow the old age related health related issues to stop them from having this unexpected experience. Besides my father is extremely well-read and knowledgeable about the history of this State and I was happy to fulfill his desire to see Orissa.
We walked a little further and our guide made my father sit and take rest on a comfortable bench. I realized that there was still so much more to climb and see. We saw the place where the rays of the sun were used to light the sacred fires and that is why the place is called sunrise hill or Udayagiri. There were many monkeys mingling freely with the tourists. In fact one bold small monkey sat next to my mother and rested one limb on my mother’s thigh as if he also was posing for the photo!
We saw the Ganesh Gompha (with the image of the elephant God), The Bajrangi Gompha (for Hanuman), The Sarpa gompha ( entrance shaped like a serpent), the Jambeshwar Gompha( like a bear), the Vagh Gompha ( entrance shaped like a tiger). There are many inscriptions in the caves especially in the huge majestic elephant shaped Hathi Gompha. The writings were sculpted for posterity on the cave walls during the time of Raja Kharavela, the king of Kalinga in India, during the 2nd century BC. The seventeen lines incised in deep cut Brahmi letters on the overhanging brow of a natural cavern Hathigumpha in the southern side of the Udayagiri hill gave me an idea of what this place must have been like in those ancient days.
As we made our way slowly down the steps we passed the Patalipuri and the Mancapuri caves at three different levels symbolizing the three worlds. Without knowing it, I realized that our guide had chosen a risky but exciting and unforgettable climb up the hill instead of going up by these boring steps!
I was glad that these Udayagiri caves managed to stand up against the harshness of time and retain so many exquisitely carved figures and inscriptions that portray a vivid description of India’s rich cultural heritage and life in the ancient days!
Our next climb up was to the Khandagiri hills. The caves here were comparatively in a sad state. I felt terrible when the guide told me that some of them had to be closed because their private interiors were misused by local couples! We visited a temple where we saw the rare sight of sculpted images of Goddess Kali and Goddess Durga facing each other. We climbed up to the top of the hill for another panoramic view of the city and we went around the closed Jain temple. I was hungry, but did not dare buy a banana on the way below, because there were plenty of bold monkeys just waiting for any kind of food!
In the evening we visited the Siddheshwar- Mukhteshwar temple complex. The external architecture of Siddheshwar temple was breathtaking with its median bands running around its decorated walls. I saw that the main dome seemed to be supported by four squatting figures which is a characteristic of an Orissa temple. However, going inside was an anti- climax, with a strong musty smell of disuse. It made me feel that this temple is visited more by animals than humans!
The highlight of this visit was to the next Mukhteshwar temple. We were greeted by a grand decorated archway complete with figures of humans and animals that gave us a glimpse of the lives and beliefs of the ancient times. The guide asked us to pour water on the Shiva linga here and said that this would give ‘Mukti’ or eternal freedom to our souls. I took my time to go around the temple and examine with interest the numerous carvings that seemed to be telling a story of the simple lives and beliefs of people of those days.
Another temple that we visited in the complex was the Kedargauri temple which is popular, yet comparatively modern in structure. The curio shops and the effect of commercialization were visible here and it did not elicit the same feeling of devotion that I felt in the ancient temples.
Our final stop was at the famous Lingaraj temple of Hari and Hara where both Shiva and Vishnu are worshipped. We entered the door between the thick and high temple boundary walls. Even the peak of the mantap did not have Shiva’s trishul or Vishnu’s chakra. Instead it had only Rama’s arrow who was a devotee of Shiva.
We entered the Bhog mantap where different kind of food offerings were prepared for the deity and transferred under a covered passage so that the sun rays do not touch the food before it is presented in front of the Lord.
We entered the Natya shala, where the temple dancers would give their aesthetic performances in front of the deity. The Swayambhu Lingam granite deity of Lord Shiva is bathed daily with milk and water. Many people asked the priest around to pray for the well being of their specific family members. I thought it was prudent to say my own prayers by myself in all humility!
We visited some of the other smaller temples within the temple complex of many other Hindu Gods and Goddesses. We saw a plant that is said to be hundreds of years old and smiled back at the smiling image of Lord Surya! The Laxmi Narayan temple had almost a life like images and my dad felt intense happiness at seeing the wife sitting lovingly on the husbands lap. The vast temple complex had a special spiritual air about it and we were lucky to have a good darshan without the crowds.
Just before we went back to the hotel, we went to the modern Ram Mandir and listened to some bhajans sung by enthusiastic devotees. The red exterior and the marble interior of the temple which was next to a busy road, jerked me back to how people pray in the modern times. But I will always remember Bhubaneshwar for the wonderful divine feeling that was experienced when I was in the ancient temples!
So which Indian city gave you smiles?
Please share your experience of an Indian city that gave you smiles
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