It is amazing how often a sudden plan turns out to be more exciting and enthralling than expected.As was the case on a Sunday morning when we four friends decided to explore the ancient city of Bhubaneswar , which astoundingly tops the list of proposed smart cities of future Digital India.Speaking of the ancient times , what comes first in mind is definitely the crafty Lingaraja Temple.As obvious this was our first menu of the impromptu outing plan.
We took the local train , as it was the cheapest mode of transportation in the city , got down at the nearest station and booked an auto after the usual bargaining to take us to the destination.We all had the illusion of visiting an ordinary ancient temple built by some king but the very first glimpse of the tower of the temple and spacious compound melted away our illusion instantly.We had learnt that this temple clocks thousands of visitors daily but luckily it was less populated.Upon strolling the first few steps the fragrance of the fresh flowers coupled with odour of rotten flowers and herbs encompassed the ambience which by the way is natural being to any Hindu temple in India."Majestic "- that's the word that was intuitively spelled in my mind catching the initial view.
It did not take much time for me to picture the whole scene , a self time travel in the 11th century -the period when it was thought to be built by some Somavanshi king , with the temple being in its full glory , every piece of brick or sandstone intact , every curve and edge of the sculpted paintings reflecting sunlight to display its detail along with the unfathomable amount of labour put in by countless artists and sculptors . That was what prompted me to say "Majestic".The richness of the Kalinga architecture did not fail to arrest my eyes in spite of deterioration to age .I tried to feel for my camera but soon realized it was already seized at the entrance for security reasons , one of the many mandates that I hate.A minor setback.
Contrary to our expectation the compound was fairly big that housed several small temples around the main temple."Lingaraja" is another name for Lord Shiva and several of the small temples was enshrined with holy serpent of Shiva. Keeping the main temple for the last we took a detour around , perhaps not missing any stone of the ground untouched. The interior , unlike the stylish and extravagant Mughal architecture , was grainy and uniform carvings of sandstone and late-rite.The main tower , built like a stack of step-like plates of stone , culminating with a round neck structure on which perched the flag.An old mighty.
We stepped onto every accessible stairs around the main temple to witness several accessory shrines of Hindu gods and goddess and also managed to get a closer look at the architecture-mythological entities depicting several fables like a jigsaw puzzle , each piece connecting to another like one dynasty to other .,I wondered how long it would take to grasp the stories ! A vast history folded at a singular shrine.
We spent over an hour , the enchantment had sunk in deep , but it was time to enchant the growling appetite - we had to break a long fast . As we were leaving , my heart etched for not being able to photograph the majestic.But , indeed , as every cloud has silver lining , we discovered a place , rather a staged area just outside the premises of the temple , giving a clear view of one side of the compound. Happy faces and the camera was put to work capturing every angle possible.Thirst quenched. But I do not waste time
to get thirsty again , so we headed to next stop. .
We took the local train , as it was the cheapest mode of transportation in the city , got down at the nearest station and booked an auto after the usual bargaining to take us to the destination.We all had the illusion of visiting an ordinary ancient temple built by some king but the very first glimpse of the tower of the temple and spacious compound melted away our illusion instantly.We had learnt that this temple clocks thousands of visitors daily but luckily it was less populated.Upon strolling the first few steps the fragrance of the fresh flowers coupled with odour of rotten flowers and herbs encompassed the ambience which by the way is natural being to any Hindu temple in India."Majestic "- that's the word that was intuitively spelled in my mind catching the initial view.
It did not take much time for me to picture the whole scene , a self time travel in the 11th century -the period when it was thought to be built by some Somavanshi king , with the temple being in its full glory , every piece of brick or sandstone intact , every curve and edge of the sculpted paintings reflecting sunlight to display its detail along with the unfathomable amount of labour put in by countless artists and sculptors . That was what prompted me to say "Majestic".The richness of the Kalinga architecture did not fail to arrest my eyes in spite of deterioration to age .I tried to feel for my camera but soon realized it was already seized at the entrance for security reasons , one of the many mandates that I hate.A minor setback.
Contrary to our expectation the compound was fairly big that housed several small temples around the main temple."Lingaraja" is another name for Lord Shiva and several of the small temples was enshrined with holy serpent of Shiva. Keeping the main temple for the last we took a detour around , perhaps not missing any stone of the ground untouched. The interior , unlike the stylish and extravagant Mughal architecture , was grainy and uniform carvings of sandstone and late-rite.The main tower , built like a stack of step-like plates of stone , culminating with a round neck structure on which perched the flag.An old mighty.
We stepped onto every accessible stairs around the main temple to witness several accessory shrines of Hindu gods and goddess and also managed to get a closer look at the architecture-mythological entities depicting several fables like a jigsaw puzzle , each piece connecting to another like one dynasty to other .,I wondered how long it would take to grasp the stories ! A vast history folded at a singular shrine.
We spent over an hour , the enchantment had sunk in deep , but it was time to enchant the growling appetite - we had to break a long fast . As we were leaving , my heart etched for not being able to photograph the majestic.But , indeed , as every cloud has silver lining , we discovered a place , rather a staged area just outside the premises of the temple , giving a clear view of one side of the compound. Happy faces and the camera was put to work capturing every angle possible.Thirst quenched. But I do not waste time
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