In Orissa one can find India in a capsule form. One can see here, the excavations showing its historical past, which dates before the birth of Christ, to the numerous tribes (nearly 62 tribes, some of whom are so primitive so as to resemble the ones living in the hunting stage of civilization). One can also see the Golden Age of Hindu temple builders (Bhubaneshwar still has 500 of the 7000 odd temples built here). This capsule further takes us to the scene of a modern industrialized India, grappling with socio-economic cultural problems due to the industrial revolution. Orissa encompasses everything from primitive India to rural and urban India.

HISTORY
Orissa, the land of the Oriyas, was known as "Kalinga" in ancient times. Its capital today is Bhubaneshwar. In the 3rd century BC (268 BC), Ashoka the great Mauryan ruler of the same dynasty, sent a powerful army to annex Kalinga into his empire. The battle of Kalinga was fierce and bloody. It led to much destruction and carnage. Kalinga was subdued by Ashoka at Dhaulagiri near Bhubaneshwar, but so was his heart, because after seeing the aftermath of the war, he felt great remorse. Seeing the ephemeral nature of everything earthly and the uselessness of running after it, he converted to Buddhism and spent the rest of his life spreading the light of Buddhist teachings far and wide. (The battleground is marked by a rock edict and a pillar at Dhuli, 5 km from Bhubaneshwar). His philosophy of life now was peace and therefore in addition to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism also co-existed during the Mauryan Dynasty.

After the death of Ashoka, Kalinga regained independence. In the second century BC, it became a powerful country under the Kharvelas. The Kharvela king was a fervent Jain, who extended his empire. Description of his capital and kingdom remain recorded for posterity in the Udayagiri caves near Bhubaneshwar, through inscriptions and carvings. Many of the Jain caves were built under his and his Queen's patronage.

With the death of Kharvela, Orissa passed into obscurity. In the fourth century AD, Samudragupta invaded Orissa, which lay in his path of conquest, and overcame resistance offered by five of its kings. In 610 AD, King Sasanka, an able ruler, ruled Orissa. After Sasanka's death, Orissa came under the sway of Harsha.

Orissa had its own independent dynasty of rulers in the 7th century AD. This period was also an epoch making period of temple construction activities in Bhubaneshwar under the Kesaris (7th-12 century). In 795 AD, Mahasiva Gupta Yayati II came to the throne, and with him began the most brilliant chapter in the history of Orissa.

He was responsible for uniting Utkal, Kostala, Kangoda and Kalinga in the imperial tradition of Khasvela. The streak of the golden period in the history of Orissa continued under the kings of the Ganga dynasty (12th-15th century). The kings of this dynasty who were affluent due to trade etc., made and supported ambitious programs of developing temple architecture. They were responsible for the Jagannath Puri temple and the Sun temple at Konark, which was built under the patronage of king Nara Singha Dev.

From the 14th century, Orissa was ruled successfully by five Muslim kings till 1592, when Akbar annexed it to the Mughal empire. This period saw the destruction of temples in Bhubaneshwar and Puri.

The Marathas followed the Mughals in 1751, till the British took over in 1803.

In 1936 Orissa was made into a separate province by the state's merger order (Governor's provinces) of 1949. Princely states in and around Orissa surrendered their sovereignty to the Government of India and merged with the state of Orissa on 19^th August 1949 (after India’s independence in 1947).

Orissa is situated in the northeastern section of the Indian Peninsula, between 17^o 28^', East Longitude, slightly arched by the placid blue waters of the Bay of Bengal on the East. Orissa is bounded on the North by Bihar, on the West by Madhya Pradesh, on the North-East by West Bengal and on the South by Andhra Pradesh. The state can be divided into four distinct geographical regions, each with different and unique characteristics i.e., Coastal plains, Eastern hills, the Central river basin and the Northern plateau.

Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa is the land of temples. During ancient times, there were nearly 2,000 temples out of which only 500 survive today. The ravages of nature and the large scale destruction of the temples by the Muslim invaders, has led to the drastic fall in the number of temples existing today in Bhubaneshwar.

TOURIST CENTRES/PLACES OF INTEREST

Some of the tourist centres are -

Bhubaneshwar,the city of temples with important places to visit like, Bindusagar, Vaital temple, Mukteshwar temple, Kedareswar temple, Parasurameswara temple, Lingaraja temple, Raja-Rani temple and Brahmeswar temple etc. In addition, one can visit the Planetarium and the Tribal museum near Baramunda Bus Station west of New town, and the Handicraft Museum and Botanical garden. Caves of Ratnagiri, Lalitgiri (8 Km from Bhubaneshwar), Udaygiri, and Khandgiri, the White Pagoda and Rock edicts at Dhuli, Taptapani near Cuttack are some of the interesting places to visit.

One can go to Puri (62 kms), to see the impressive Lord Jagannath temple and witness the Rath Yatra. Chilka Lake, Simlipal National Park (36km from Bhubaneshwar), Barheipani Water Falls (106 km), Ushakothi Wildlife Sanctuary, Hirakund, Duduma Waterfall etc. are also worth seeing.

A visit to Konark (62 km from Bhubaneshwar) to see the famous Sun temple is a must, especially the Chariot of the sun shown here. Pipli (21 km from Bhubaneshwar) is famous for applique handicraft. Nandankanan, (23 km from Bhubaneshwar) is a Lion Safari Park & a park where animals are kept in a zoo resembling a natural jungle. Gopalpur- on-sea (196 km) is a beautiful beach resort and last but not the least, the Hirakud Dam.

CLOTHING

Light cottons in summer and light woolens in winter. If one plans to visit any hilly area in Orissa, then good woolen clothing is recommended in winters.

Monasteries can also be found in Orissa, famous amongst them being the Buddhist caves & monasteries at Ratnagiri, Lalitgiri and Udayagiri near Bhubaneshwar. Seven kilometers from Bhubaneshwar, one comes across the Jain caves at Ratnagiri. 90 km from Bhubaneshwar, two monasteries have been excavated.

The Orissa state Museum in Gautam Nagar opposite Hotel Kalinga-Ashok Bubneshwar. The collections in this museum includes palm leaf manuscripts, stone inscriptions and tools, copper plates, coins, excavated artifacts, folk musical instruments, tribal portraits, and an interesting display of Orissa’s tribal anthropology.

TIMINGS
The museum is open from 1000-1700 hrs. It is closed on Mondays and other Government holidays. Entry fee is a token of Re.1

"Handicraft Museum" is on secretarial road Bhubaneshwar. One can see large collections of traditional art, crafts, brass and horn work, stone sculptures, silver filigree items, toys, applique work etc.

TIMINGS
This museum is open from 1000 hrs to 1700 hrs. It is closed on Sundays.

"Archaeological Site Museum" at Konark has a rare collection of sculptures from the ruins of the main temple.

ACCOMODATION
There are all types of accommodation and restaurants available in the major cities of Orissa like Bhubaneshwar, Cuttak, Puri, and Konark.

Information regarding accommodation and bookings is available at -

INFORMATION