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About
Orissa
 Located on the east coast, Orissa, also known as The Soul
of India, is a mystical land where the hoary past and the
modern today form a harmonious blend. A land filled with awe
inspiring monuments, thousands of master craftsmen and
artists, numerous wildlife sanctuaries, stunning natural
landscapes... Orissa is located on India's east coast. It is
bounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east and by the states of
West Bengal in the northeast, Bihar in the north, Madhya
Pradesh in the West, and Andhra Pradesh in the south. The
state occupies an area of about 156,000 square
kilometers.
History of
Orissa: It's hazy past is linked to the fortunes of
Kalinga of which it was once a part. Ashoka's carnage of
Kalinga made the emperor foreswore war and till 2nd century
AD, Buddhism and Jainism alternately held sway in Orissa. Fast
forward to 1514: the time of the European arrival here. After
the British conquest in 1804, Orissa was divided into three
districts: Cuttack, Puri and Balasore. After independence,
Orissa became a state of India in 1950.
Capital of Orissa: Bhubaneswar,
the capital of Orissa, famous as a temple town and a
handicraft centre, has, over the last decade, become an
upcoming business centre. While the city itself boats of no
giant industrial plants, showcased in its main bazaars are
craftwork, such as the traditional tie and dye technique of
ikat, that date back over several thousand years.
Handicrafts of Orissa: Shopping in
Orissa is a joy. You don't look there for what the modern
industry can give you, but for unique and exquisite
handicrafts, made by those fingers whose forerunners had with
such dexterity and skill created the magnificient Orissa
temples. The handicrafts of Orissa include silver filigree,
horn work, folk paintings (Pattachitra), metalware, applique
work, stoneware, silk and cotton handloom etc.
 Culture in Orissa: Another
expression of Oriyan culture is Odissi, one of the finest
forms of Indian classical dance. Evolved out of spiritual
consciousness, it formed an essential part of the ritualistic
services in the important shrines of Orissa. Devotional in
spirit, it is marked for its elaborate grace and lyrical
charm, revealed through rounded movements. Orissa also has a
rich body of literature with Sitakant Mahapatra being one of
the major voices in contemporary Oriya poetry
Festivals of Orissa: Makar
Sankranti in January; Magha Mela and Konark Dance Festival in
Febraury; Maha Shivratri and Holi in March; Basant Panchami in
Febraury / March; Chaitra Parba or Chhow Festival in April;
Rath Yatra or the Car Festival of Puri and Raja Sankranti in
June / July; Durga Puja in September / October; Kartika and
Kumar Purnima in October-November; Lakshmi Puja in December
-January.
Places of interest are: Lingaraja
Temple, Mukteswar Temple, Ananta Vasudeva Temple and Rajarani
Temple, the Jain and Buddhist rock-cut caves of Khandagiri,
Udayagiri and Dhauli together with Ashoka's. |
