Though greatly reduced today, the distinctive style is still evident in the proud pinnacles of such temples as the Lingaraj, Rajarani, Mukteswara, Parvati, Vaital and others, says UDAY K. CHAKRABORTY.
Like all good Bengalis, our family’s first out-of-state tour was to Puri – Circuit, the quintessential all-in-one, value-for-money, tourist-circuit for middle-class Bhadralok. It had a great beach crowned by huge waves of Bay of Bengal; it has numerous important temples, whose religious significance is as important as their architectural grandeur. Then there were good food, cheap helping hands and calm atmosphere. However, what made Puri the unbeatable tourist magnet was those In addition, equally interesting places a short distance away, giving it an all-in-one destination tag.
There are quite a few places around Puri that are equally absorbing and important. For example, on the way from Purito Bhubaneshwar is an artist’s settlement called Raghurajpur, which offers considerable charm. This master craftsman village, some 12 km from Puri, is famous for exquisite Pattachitra, the finely-wroug
ht temple paintings, and talapatra, or palm leaf art.
Also, there are other masters who are sculpting intricate stone and wood carvings. Buy a few of their offerings, to keep alive their fantastic tradition. When we did, they made an extra effort to show their best creations, which we could not stop marveling at. My art loving younger daughter not only liked the artful atmosphere of the place but became very involved herself trying to develop her own Pattachitra with other young trainees in the Gurukul.
Today, some parts of Bhubaneswar have metamorphosed into a modern capital city, but in other places its old world charm lingers. The city dates back to the 3rd century, the seat at various stages, of the Nanda, Maurya and Ganga dynasties, and its most significant ruler was Emperor Kharavela, It was the centre of some of the most distinctive and dynamic temple architecture to emerge in the Middle ages.
The Bindusagar Lake once boasted of as many as 7,000 temples of different sizes scattered all around it, and at the some distance.
Though greatly reduced today, the distinctive style is still evident in the proud pinnacles of such temples as the Lingaraj, Rajarani, Mukteswara, Parvati, Vaital and others. Almost all these temples, mostly built around eleventh century, feature Lord Shiva as their patron deity. The temples spill around ponds and courtyards. The most tranquil time to be here is in the mornings when the temple bells chime, and the sun is mild. The sculpture on the temples, especially the ornamentation, the stylized architecture and human figures rich in imagery are worth seeing.
There is plenty to discover around Bhubaneshwar. For starters, we took an 8 km journey south to Dhauligiri which is the 261 BC site of the bloody Kalinga war in which the bloodshed caused the victorious emperor Ashoka to turn to
Buddhism for solace. At the foot of the hill stand Ashoka’s 2,000-year-old rock edicts proclaiming the message of peace, while atop the rock face is an elephant figure with inscriptions. More modern is the Shanti Stupa, a pagoda of peace built by the Japanese four decades ago. Around the same area is the Dhabaleshwar temple, while the river Daya winds slowly along its course.
Another eight km to the west side of Bhubaneshwar would bring us to the twin caves of Khandagiri and Udaygiri. These 300 m high hills are densely wooded and these caves were hewn out of its rough sandstone. These rock caves were carved out in the second century BC by Jain monks, and used as hiding places by the Kalinga kings in times of crisis. The hill of Udaygiri is noteworthy for the two caves of Rani Gumpha and HatiGumpha. These caves offer the first hint of the flowering Orissan sculpture art that was to follow and reach its fruition in Bhubaneshwar, Puri and Konarak.
On the way to Konarak is a place called Pipli, where now famous colourful appliqué work displayed in shops on both sides of the road would offer equally irresistible attraction to stop and buy. And, then probably a whole day would be spent in the Konarak complex marveling at its architectural splendours.
Naturally, the star attraction of this circuit is the splendid edifice of Konarak temple located 85 km away from Puri. Sighting Konarak is always awesome.
There is no monument of Hinduism that is at once so stupendous and so perfectly proportioned as this temple. It stands there frozen in time, in the vast and desolate stretches of sand. There are scores of Sun temples in India but none with the grandeur of Konarak. According to Hindu tradition, the Sun God is visualized as Surya standing in the winged chariot of time drawn by seven caparisoned stallions in full gallop coursing across the sky. This vigorous allegory has been splendidly translated into stone at Konarak.
When darkness envelops the temple of the God of light, its contours are silhouetted against the crimson rays of the setting Sun, and a kind of palpable peace descends on the time ravaged edifice. No more pilgrims, no more visitors but only the God and his world: the world of his own creation.
