Hello Msians!!
This is Snigdha…and today I am with a new topic…about my place Bhubaneswar, capital of Orissa. Actually today I read a review on BBSR written by someone from Mumbai. Then I thought that how stupid I am!!! (If my brother were here he surely would have said that “ ismein sochne waali kya baat hai…stupid to tum janam se hi ho!!!). I was thinking from so many days about my next review topic…but it never clicked in my brain to write about the city I love so much…
Thik hai pehle na sahi par let me start it right now…
As I have already told that it is the capital of Orissa…but previously Cuttack was the capital for almost 800 years. Then after independence it became very difficult to accommodate more number of people in that city because Cuttack is a small town and there is no chance of expanding the city as it is in between Mahanadi –the river and its sub rivers. So finally the govt. decided to make Bhubaneswar the capital as it can be expanded as and when required due to not having any problem like cuttack.
And actually this city of culture has been expanded so much that now you can’t call it a small town any more…at the same time the population also has been increased day by day. Many people came here from villages in search of jobs and with the passing years they became proper Bhubaneswarias…like my family…and so many others…
The actual Bhubaneswar city is popularly called old town now. And we stay almost at the middle of the city…
It is also known as “The temple city” , (in my mother tongue oriya… “mandira-malini nagar”) because of some famous temples are situated here. Like the famous Lingaraj temple, Kedar-gouri temple, Raja-Rani temple, Mukteshwar temple, Mausi-maa temple, etc, etc.
The name of this town means: bhuban-ishwar : god of the earth .
Now as for as my knowledge this name Bhubaneswar would have originated due to Lord Sri Lingaraj…God of the BHUBAN (the earth). In this temple Lord Shiva is being worshiped. In this temple only there are 108 small Shiva-temples and one Devi Parvati temple.
Kedar-gouri temple is also a Shiva-parvati temple…now you must be thinking that it must be a place of Shiaba-bhaktas ( devotees of Lord Shiva)…but actually you will be surprised to find temples of each and every God in one or the other galli…
You can also find a trace of Buddhism and Jainism in Khandagiri, Udayagiri, and Dhauligiri…caves of ancient times with really astonishing stone made idols. I don’t know what you may feel but whenever I see them I feel very proud because I belong to this place…the statues are as if living beings but in deep sleep...you touch them and there they are talking to you….(imagination is the power)!!
Now don’t make a mistake by assuming that this place cant offer more than these temples and caves, because there are a lot of other things and places you should check out…like the Nandankanan zoo, Science park, Indira Gandhi park, Nikko park, state museum, regional historical museum, Pathani samanta planetarium, and so many other places.
Indira Gandhi park (popularly known as IG park) is the place where Mrs Indira Gandhi had delivered her last speech…when she returned from Orissa she was shot dead by her bodyguards. So a statue of her is placed at the spot where she had stood and addressed the people. And the park was made and named after her. It is beautiful park with beautiful flowers…
The Nandankanan zoo is famous for the white tigers along with other animals…at the same time you can find another interesting place like the botanical garden in that zoo.
If still you don’t feel that my town is a worth watching place then believe me it is not the end… you can also go for shopping. There is a place where you can find things with a price starting price of few hundreds to thousands and thousands. This place is called the market building. There are very sophisticated shops as well as roadside stalls keeping an eye on the requirements of all people of different types…so everybody is happy while returning from the market…
You can also find handloom made sarees (which was favorite of Mrs Indira Gandhi). Although they are made somewhere else in our state but for tourists these are available in any of the handloom showrooms.
Now to add some more points to “why should you come here” topic I am tempted to tell you that the world famous Lord Jagannatha temple ( PURI) is also a 3 hr journey from Bhubaneswar and the same I can say about Konark-the sun temple. So you can also check out these places.
Now come to the accommodation… you can stay at my house!!! He he he …just kidding…there are very sophisticated hotels like May Fair, Hotel Crown, Presidency, etc, etc….at the same time there are lots of other small hotels and lodges with reasonable price and really good restaurants where you can find continental, Indian and specially good oriya food…ymmmm!!!
Here you can find different categories of people but all are very helping…
This is not so happening city like the metros but still every little necessary thing is available here. We have a BIG BAZAR-the forum mart, pubs, cinema halls (with very reasonable prices…believe me…as we go movies with only 20 rs per ticket!!!)…
now weather is too hot during the summer...arround 46 degrees. so it is better to come here during winter or spring.
For transportation you can rely on auto rickshaws and you can actually bargain with them, as here they don’t use the meter. They just demand what they can think at that moment. As we always go by autos we know that how much we should pay but the new people are the people who are the bakras…so be careful!! We have town buses also.
Here we have an airport named Biju Pattanaik Airport, which has communication with all the metro cities and with some other towns of India. There is a railway station also.
This city has some problem as well like the airport should be made international airport so that more tourists can come and other problems like drainage systems( BMC-bbsr municipal corporation should take care of this), bad roads and ……..but I am sure that with all these things also you will like this town.
I know that this is not just enough about this lovely city but there is a word limit na! So I have to stop here. I can only tell you that if ever in future you get a chance to visit this place then never miss that…otherwise you will miss so many colors which is offered by this city…I love this city and I am really worried that I am going to leave this city next year as I am going to join my company…this is the place where I was born and brought up…not a happening place like metro…not a peaceful place like village… but a combination of these two extremes…
So plz drop ur comment on this review. Bye till my next review. Till then take care..
Snigdha..