Hi folks!!!
Today I am going to unfold another chapter of Orissa tourism. So lets open the page no----ummmm….i think I have forgot it…..let me check my diary again as I had gone there long before….well…well …well… as per my diary it was a beautiful morning of 15th February, 2005, when I along with my family, my mamaji, mami, & 2 of my cousins, have started the journey to the place called Kapilas….
Location:
This place is about 26 km away from Dhenkanal town…I know; now you must be thinking where this Dhenkanal is!!! Dhenkanal is a small town, which is almost 75 km from Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa.
You can’t find any hotel there at Kapilas, but you can go from Bhubaneswar and come back….or you can stay at Dhenkanal also….
So what’s so special about this place??
Kapilas is famous for the Lord Siva temple situated here. (Now you must be thinking that there is no place in Orissa which is not having a temple!!!), but this is not the end….believe me……though this temple is one of the most read page of the book named Kapilas, but there are other pages which are equally important….
The temple is on a hilltop & it is around 1500 ft above the sea level. There is a way which can take you to this temple……just an ascend of 1352 steps( around 2 km) and there you are…..right in front of the temple!!!
Another route is also there……you can take your four wheeler or 2-wheeler by this route(around 5 km), which is a road made by cutting the hill and it goes up gradually as you take round turns….
So you can go either way….both of these routes will give you spectacular views of the neighboring hills with their tops covered with cloud….
I went by the road as we were getting late for a special puja…but you know what, going by the steps is more fun……when you are in a group of friends then it’s a real pleasure…there is a small stream coming out from the hill top and going down by the side of the steps, making a sweet sound and creating a good view… when you go up one step by another the jungle around you becomes somewhat thicker and some sweet animals, rarely found in city, will be your companion…like the monkeys:-P
Now about the temple:
Well, this temple was built in 1246 AC, by king Narasimha Dev (who also made the famous Sun temple at Konark)…
Lord Chandrashekhar is worshiped here….it is a calm place away from the hustle-bustle of city life…where we don’t even get time for just sit down and utter the holy names of God…but here you will find some people would have come for the fulfillment some of their wishes…..either to make a wish or to say thanks to God for the wish that had come true….
My experience:
I was quite sad as I could not go by the steps (there I could have lost some pounds!!!)……and I also missed the chance to see some good sights of the stream:-(
(and after climbing 1352 steps, obviously I would have also got a golden opportunity to miss my college classes!!!)
But as soon as I took a look out of the window of our vehicle I became very excited….those hills….and my camera…what a golden moment it was!!! I was busy clicking snaps…and the views were just ………mind blowing…
Monkeys were all over there. One tiny monkey came and you would have astonished to see how it was asking for peanuts….when given, went a little far, ate there and came back again for more…I took a lot of pictures of these monkeys also….
Then we went into the temple…the puja was done. Then I discovered that there is another place called Dev-sabhaa which is some more steps (around 200) above that temple and the stair-case goes through that temple to that place where it is believed that all the Gods and Goddesses come to have a meeting!!! But I could not go as it was getting hot…and we were also hungry……..but there was no such place where we could have had good food……so had to come back to the bottom of the hill…
So it was a pleasant experience for both my family and me to go to Kapilas. Even if you don’t believe in God still I would like to suggest you to come and explore the peace and greenery present in their full bloom on this hill….
Well, I have also heard that if you come here once then this place makes you to come once again….it was my first trip to Kapilas….and if the above thing is true then I will surely be very happy to go there once again, but that time I will definitely go by the steps….and I will not forget to take my camera….
So this was just another of my little tries to tell about my land…how enriched it is and still very few ppl actually know about it….Orissa is one of the backward states, but we, the Odia people, our culture, our places, our festivals, our temples, our lives will always welcome you with a warm smile………hope you liked my try…….
And I also look forward for some comments….whether on my review or on my land…you are most welcome…
A proud Odia….Snigdha….