Odisha: December 10-14, 2014
How
many Santas or Bantas would it take to change a light bulb? None! That’s
because they would rather call an electrician named Shriharan Dobhade to change
it for them. Who is Shriharan Dobhade? Not anyone we know of! That’s just a
name that went on looping in my mind for hours as we sat knee-to-knee in the
Travera that was taking us through Odisha. Was it the result of having had a
vegetarian meal for two days in a row? And that too when there so much of local
fish available? Probably. It happens, especially when you hit the road, as we
did during our annual pilgrimage, this time to Odisha, formerly known as Orissa.
Surrounded
by West Bengal to the northeast, Jharkhand to the north, Chhattisgarh to the
west and northwest, and Andhra Pradesh to the south, Odisha has about 480 kilometers
of coastline stretched across the Bay of Bengal on its east. It is the modern
name of the ancient kingdom of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Mauryan
Emperor Ashoka in 261 BCE resulting in the bloody Kalinga War. The modern state
of Orissa was established on April 1, 1936 as a province in British India.
The
actual journey came much later though. On December 11, 2014, it was an ordeal
to get up at 3.30 am and set off for Mumbai from Pune by road so that we could
board a flight to Bhubaneshwar at 10.25 am. We were four of us – Gajanan
Radkar, Ganesh Shinde, S Vaidyanathan and yours truly – while Rajesh Bayas had
already left for Hyderabad from Mumbai a day earlier and was camped in an army
guesthouse to wait for Harsha Rao who was to fly in from Singapore. They too
were going to take a morning flight to Bhubaneshwar. For those who have been
following this blog with a straight face, it will be apparent that two fathers
were missing this time. That was Vipul Shah and Dilip Bhandari, both for
personal reasons. Unfortunately that broke the quorum but it couldn’t be
helped.
After
a 40-minute delay on the part of Indigo Airlines that was to take us from
Mumbai to Hyderabad, we did finally step out into a warm and welcoming city where
our first job was to track down Harsha and Rajesh. And thanks to the ubiquitous
cell phone, we found them in the local shopping market where they had both
already purchased sarees for spouses, thus saving the rest of us from cracking
our brains on which designs went best with which colours and borders. A big
thank you to both! So now the trip could finally be flagged off. After much
leg-pulling about Rajesh having been promoted to Deputy General Manager at the
bank where he works in Mumbai, the Tavera, under the really wonderful steering
of Sharad, an ex-army sepoy, made its way to Chilka where we had been booked by
Col. Radkar at the INS Chilka, a naval training base. However, there were two
brief stops en route.
One
of these halts was at the Ugratara Mandir, a temple located between Rameshwar
Chowk and Chandpur. The goddess Ugratara was the tutelary deity of the Gajapati
kings and her popularity stems from her fierce aspect. It is said that the
temple was where witchcraft was once practiced by her followers. There’s no
‘tantra-mantra’ here now but the temple does need to be kept clean, greasy and
littered as it is. The other stop was for lunch at the 3Q Restaurant, quite
popular with the locals, especially youngsters. With the sun setting as early
as about 5.30 pm, there was nothing else to do but head straight for INS Chilka
where once the rooms were sorted out, it was time to relax and then head to the
Station Officers Mess for dinner. There’s something to be said about defense
establishments: everything happens with such clockwork precision.
Fresh
and early the next day, we reached the Chilka Lake where it was decided that we
would take a boat ride to Satpada instead of going by road, which Sharad did with
our luggage. The Chilka Lake is Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon with water
spread ranging from 1,165 square kilometers in the rainy season to 906 square
kilometers in the dry season. It is recognised as one of the most important
wetlands in the world because it is home to a phenomenal variety of birds and
it is said that there can be as many as 160 species in the peak season between
November and February. This includes the white bellied sea eagles, ospreys,
golden plovers, sand pipers, flamingos, pelicans, shovellers, gulls and birds
flying down from as far as Iran, Central Asia and Siberia. Trust our luck
though that the only birds we saw were in the distance and of a single breed,
which we could not recognise. The boatman too wasn’t of much help.
Another
major attraction on the lake is the presence of the Irrawady dolphins which are
often spotted off Satpada Island. The lake also supports the local fishermen in
earning their living from Chilika’s prawns, mackerels and crabs. We did manage
to see the dolphins – just a flash of a couple of them arching their backs in
the water. Smooth though the boat ride was and quite an unusual experience,
four hours can be a bit monotonous – and can even put your kidneys under
pressure. Reaching Satpada was like sighting land after having been thrown off
the Titanic into the sea. And considering that some of us could then tuck into
a huge lunch of prawn curry, fried fish and fish curry along with rice and dal
was like a perfect round-off to a nice and breezy morning.
This
time around, it wasn’t just the cameras, both mobile and digital, going
click-click. Harsha was on a video shooting spree, having promised his daughter
in the UK that he would send short videos for her to actually see how the trip
coasted along. The videos were then posted on our Whatsapp group too so that
Vipul wouldn’t miss out on what we were up to. Dilip of course hasn’t yet
joined the group despite repeated requests, threats, blackmailing attempts,
extortion, and even the use of the mafia. Just joking!
With
a night well spent at the Army Holiday Home in Puri after a stroll on the
beach, morning brought us closer to our actual objective of doing the rounds of
the famous temples. The first was the Jagannath Mandir, the name implying ‘Lord
of the Universe’. Here the forms of Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra are
worshipped by the devout, in particular those who have tremendous faith in Krishna
and Vishnu. The temple is also part of the ‘Char Dham’ pilgrimages that a Hindu
is expected to make in one’s lifetime. Interestingly, even though most Hindu
deities are made out of stone or metal, the image of Jagannath is wooden.
According
to the priest who, for a nominal fee, provided us a jump-the-queue ‘darshan’, every
12 years these wooden figures are ceremoniously replaced by using sacred trees that
have to be carved as an exact replica. Built in the 12th century
atop its ruins by the progenitor of the Eastern Ganga dynasty, King
Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, the temple is famous for its annual Rath Yatra,
or chariot festival, in which the three main temple deities are hauled on huge
and elaborately decorated temple floats. Unfortunately, worship has taken on a
totally commercial avtaar and it is indeed sad to see all the priests making an
all out effort to extract money on the pretext of channelising the gods’
blessings towards you. A little ‘tika’ on your forehead could easily mean
parting with a 50 or 100 rupee note.
It
was now time for our quintessential quiz round even as the Tavera sped towards
our next destination, the world-famous Konark Sun Temple. This time the quiz
was in two parts: the first one was to name the brand made popular by its
advertising slogan and the second was to name the actor and the film related to
a particular dialogue. Here are some examples: ‘The mint with a hole’. Answer:
Polo. ‘Start it, fill it, forget it’. Answer: Hero Honda. “Kaun kambakht
bardaasht karne ko peeta hai? Main toh peeta hoon ke bas saans le saku.”
Answer: Dilip Kumar in Devdas. “I can talk English, I can walk English, I can
run English... because English is a very phunny language.” Answer: Amitabh
Bachchan in Namak Halal. Guess who got most of the answers right? Vaidyanathan.
The prize: salt and pepper shakers in the shape of two dolphins.
With
its entrance lined by a row of shops selling curios, not to forget the many
ASI-appointed guides and photographers waiting to pounce on the tourists, the
Konark Temple can be dated to the 13th century. It was known as the Black
Pagoda by the Europeans. It is believed that the temple was built by King
Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty around AD 1250. The temple is in
the shape of a gigantic chariot with elaborately carved stone wheels, pillars
and walls. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, its name is derived from the
combination of the Sanskrit words ‘Kona’ (corner) and ‘Arka’ (sun) in reference
to the main temple which was dedicated to the Sun god Surya.
A
fascinating architectural facet of the temple is that it has 12 pairs of
elaborately carved stone wheels which are 3 meters wide and pulled by a set of
seven horses (four on the right and three on the left). The temple follows the
traditional style of Kalinga architecture and is carefully oriented towards the
east so that the first rays of sunrise strike the principal entrance. The
original temple, according to our guide, had a main sanctum sanctorum which was
supposedly 229 feet tall. Due to the weight of the super structure and weak
soil of the area (some attribute it to a cyclone), the main dome fell in 1837. Among
the structures which have survived to the current day are the dance hall and the
dining hall.
Now
guess what you would be studying closely on the walls of the temples? If you
are a group of only males, the guide is going to take extra pleasure in
pointing out the erotic sculptures of the ‘maithunas’ who are shown in various
sexual positions, known as ‘asanas’. Suffice it to say that some of them appear
to be quite difficult and it would take a man and woman of great physical
dexterity and flexibility to try and derive sexual pleasure from such
complicated couplings. One of such tough asanas is known as the Vakrasana,
mispronounced by one of us as Bakrasena. Here one must recount what Harsha
said: Imagine a father coming here with his children, one of whom happens to
ask what the sculptures are about. The father, after having himself been
happily taken aback with such eroticism, would probably shout and tell the
children to move ahead, saying, “Chalo, chalo, there is nothing to see here.”
Quite likely! But if your mind doesn’t get totally wrapped in the juxtaposition
of such bodily pleasures, it’s equally important to study the wheels which are
actually sun dials that can be used to calculate time accurately to a minute,
including day and night.
With
a brief foray into the handicraft shops at Pipli, we finally drove into
Bhubaneshwar where Col. Radkar with his usual efficiency in such matters had
booked us at the Kalinga Terriers Territorial Army Unit. But the evening did
not end with just a quick shower and dinner. Harsha and Vaidyanathan took off
to see the hockey match between India and Pakistan which, as the media recorded
the next day, was not only a disappointment for India but also showcased unruly
behaviour on the part of some of the Pakistani players. That both of them
managed to watch the match free speaks for the ‘jugaad’ that must have taken place.
But that’s another story! Back home, India’s loss made Vipul so angry that for
once he posted a vitriolic remark in the group’s Whatsapp window.
The
final day was rather tame. With a late breakfast and in the secure knowledge
that we had to be at the airport by 5 pm to head back home, the itinerary
comprised taking in the Dhauligiri Shanti Stupa, the Chausathi Yogini Temple,
the Kedar Gauri Temple, the Lingaraj Temple and the Udayagiri and Khandagiri
caves. The Dhauli hill is located on the banks of the river Daya and has major edicts
of Ashoka engraved on a mass of rock by the side of the road leading to its summit.
It is presumed to be the area where the Kalinga War was fought and the river is
said to have turned red with the blood of the many deceased. This led Ashoka to
realise the magnitude of horror associated with war. He saw to it that Dhauli
became an important centre of Buddhist activities and built several chaityas,
stupas and pillars there. On the top of the hill is a dazzling white peace
pagoda built by the Japan Buddha Sangha and the Kalinga Nippon Buddha Sangha in
the 1970s.
The
Chausathi Yogini Temple is located in Hirapur, around 15 kilometers east of
Bhubaneshwar and what makes this temple special is that it’s one of only four ‘yogini’
temples in India dedicated to the esoteric cult of ‘tantra’. It's shrouded in
mystery and many locals are fearful of it. The temple has 64 stone yogini
goddess figures carved on its inside walls, representing the 64 forms of the
divine mother created to drink the blood of demons. The yogini cult believed
that worshipping the 64 goddesses and the goddess Bhairavi would give them
supernatural powers. The temple doesn’t have a roof and legend has it that it’s
because the yogini goddesses would fly out and roam around at night.
The
Kedareswar or Kedar Gauri Mandir has as its presiding deity Lord Shiva. The
story about this temple is that there lived a couple named Kedar and Gouri who
loved each other and decided to marry. The society was against the union, so it
led them to flee from the village. During the journey Gouri felt hungry, so
Kedar went for food and was killed by a tiger. When Gouri heard this, she jumped
into a pond nearby. The king of Utkal, Lalatendu Keshari, thus raised a temple at
this place, often visited by the newly married who pray for a happy wedlock
without any obstacles.
The
Lingaraj Temple, with the area around it congested and dirty, is dedicated to
Harihara, a form of Shiva and is one of the oldest temples in Bhubaneswar. The
temple has images of Vishnu, possibly because of the rising prominence of the Jagannath
cult emanating from the Ganga rulers who built the Jagannath Temple in Puri.
According to a priest, the temple has an average of 6,000 visitors per day with
the number going into lakhs during festivals, the most important being
Shivratri. The Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves are partly natural and partly
artificial caves of archaeological, historical and religious importance. As per
the local lore, these caves were carved out as residential blocks for Jain
monks during the reign of King Kharavela. More than the caves, it is the
presence of a huge number of monkeys here that draws the tourists who feed them
peanuts and bananas.
That
kind of brought us to the end of our trip but not without a shopping break at
Lalchand Jewellers were some of us brought silver jewellery made in Odisha’s
‘tarakashi’ pattern with intricate designs. There was also the superb lunch
with prawn curry and fish fried which finally put Dhobade to rest. Who’s
Dhobade? Oh no, not again! But how can there be any travel without a hitch?
While the Bhubaneshwar to Hyderabad flight was smooth, the one that was to take
us to Mumbai was delayed by more than an hour and a half. Worse, the Singapore
flight that was to take Harsha home in time to attend an important meeting at
the office the next day returned to Hyderabad after an hour in air because a
technical glitch. Not only that, Harsha had to stay overnight at Hyderabad and
it was only after considerable delay the next day that he was finally put on an
aircraft to Bangalore and then to Singapore.
However,
all the tourist spots and temples apart, the four-day trip was once again an
opportunity for us to enjoy each other’s company, indulge in ribald humour,
push Rajesh into finally changing into a T-shirt and shorts instead of formal
wear, pull Harsha’s leg over his packing and re-packing of bags, recall
incidents from school days and have a discussion on whether our spouses (they
now have a group called Pilgrim Wives) should go for a pilgrimage on their own.
Vipul and Dilip should have been there too! And just before I sign off, here’s
another word we have now added to our pilgrimage dictionary (last year it was
‘sophaastication’) – Master Bhushan. Like Dhobade, he could be another
fictional character or mean something else altogether. There’s time to figure
it out till we take off again.
Huned Contractor
16 December 2014
