Before proceeding
to tell you more about orissa mentioned below are some basic facts of Orissa
Capital Bhubaneswar Area 1,55,707 sq. kms.
Language Oriya Population 31,512,070
Monsoon July - October Summer 27 C to 49 C
Best Season
October-March Winter 5 C to 16 C
Orissa is located on India's
northeast coast of Indian Peninsula between 170 and 280 East Longitude,
slightly arched by the placid blue waters of the Bay of Bengal on the East. It
is bounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east and the states of West Bengal in
the northeast, Bihar in the north, Madhya Pradesh in the West, and Andhra
Pradesh in the south. The capital of Orissa is Bhubaneswar. Bhubaneswar is also
the most populated city in Orissa. Cuttack and Puri are two other cities with
high populations. 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. This rural
riverine land of multi-splendours, is watered by the rivers Mahanadi, Brahmani,
and Vaitarani flowing in the south-easternly direction before merging in the
Bay of Bengal. These rivers and their tributaries provide the state with rich
alluvial tracts.
Orissa is possessed of an extensive plateau
in the interior with sprawling coastal plains in the foreground. This plateau,
an undulating upland, gently slopes down towards the Bay of Bengal. Its
extensive palm fringed coast-line running to 482 kms., serene holiday beaches,
pronounced rural environs, charming blue hills rising here and there abruptly
from the plains and the plateau, green wood-lands, rock caves, so fascinatingly
sculptured temples and other monuments , picturesque mud villages set in
greens, modern industrial leviathans, colourful and gay tribals and so rich and
varied handicrafts make Orissa a miniature India.
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.
The history of
Orissa makes an interesting case-study in that it's history is in many ways
atypical from that of the northern plains and many of the common
generalizations that are made about Indian history do not seem to apply to the
Oriya region.
History of Orissa
has a place of distinction in the Indian folklore. The famous Battle of Kalinga
was fought near the city of Bhubaneswar in 260 BC. The battle transformed
Emperor Ashoka into a philanthropist and patronizer of the Buddhist faith. Many
battles took place during this time period, and the next rulers of the Orissan
area were the Kesari, a Hindu people, and then the Ganga. Then in the 16th
century the Mughals brought Orissa in its empire followed by the Marathas. The
British rule entered the political scene and took control of the state in 1803
with the rest of India. Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism flourished in Orissa.
The word Oriya is
an anglicized version of Odia which itself is a modern name for the Odra or
Udra tribes that inhabited the central belt of modern Orissa. Orissa has also
been the home of the Kalinga and Utkal tribes that played a particularly
prominent role in the region's history, and one of the earliest references to
the ancient Kalingas appears in the writings of Vedic chroniclers. In the 6th
C. BC, Vedic Sutrakara Baudhayana mentions Kalinga as being beyond the Vedic
fold, indicating that Brahminical influences had not yet touched the land.
Unlike some other parts of India, tribal customs and traditions played a
significant role in shaping political structures and cultural practices right
up to the 15th C. when Brahminical influences triumphed over competing
traditions and caste differentiation began to inhibit social mobility and erode
what had survived of the ancient republican tradition.
Orissa, the land
of the Oriyas, was known as "Kalinga" in ancient times. Very early in
Kalingan history, the Kalingas acquired a reputation for being a fiercely
independant people. Ashoka's military campaign against Kalinga was one of the
bloodiest in Mauryan history on account of the fearless and heroic resistance
offered by the Kalingas to the mighty armies of the expanding Mauryan empire.
Perhaps on account of their unexpected bravery, emperor Ashoka was compelled to
issue two edicts specifically calling for a just and benign administration in
Kalinga.
Unsurprisingly,
Mauryan rule over Kalinga did not last long. By the 1st C. BC, Kalinga's Jain
identified ruler Kharavela had become the pre-eminent monarch of much of the
sub-continent and Mauryan Magadha had become a province of the Kalingan empire.
The earliest surviving monuments of Orissa (in Udaigiri near Bhubaneshwar) date
from his reign, and surviving inscriptions mention that Prince Kharavela was
trained not only in the military arts, but also in literature, mathematics, and
the social sciences. He was also reputed to be a great patron of the arts and
was credited with encouraging dance and theater in his capital.
Although the
bravery of the Kalingas became legendary, and finds mention in the Sahitya
Darpan, it is important to note that a hereditary warrior caste like the
Kshatriyas did not take hold in the region. Soldiers were drawn from the
peasantry as needed and rank in the military depended as much on fighting
skills and bravery as on hereditary factors. In this (and other) respects,
Oriya history resembles more the history of the nations of South East Asia, and
may have been one of the features of Oriya society that allowed it to
successfully fend off 300 years of raids initiated by numerous Islamic rulers
untill the 16th century.
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 Bhubaneswar, 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 Bhubaneswar). 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 Bhubaneswar, 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 Bhubaneswar 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
19th August 1949 (after India’s independence in 1947).
In Orissa one out
of every four persons is an Adivasi or Tribal. These tribals are heavily
concentrated in the hilly tracts of Western Orissa. In the coastal regions they
constitute a small percentage. They live there in a certain degree of seclusion
and prestine form. They must have settled there in obscure past long before the
coming of the Aryans.
The aboriginals
still lead a simple, traditional and colourful life, hunting and agriculture,
amidst deep woods, valleys, lush forests, and primitive situations in spite of
the inroads of so-called modern civilization and developmental programmes. Over
62 distinct tribal groups live in Orissa, each one with its own culture and
traditions different from the other. The main Adivasi groups include Kondh,
Bondas, Santals, Juangs, Parajas, Oraon, Godabas and Koyas. The dormitory life
among the Bonda youngs is quite fascinating. In the evening unmarried boys and
girls enjoy music, dance, frolic and fun together and spend the night in
dormitories until their mutual intimacy develops into a marriage. The simple,
gay, abundant and colourful tribal life can be a great source of entertainment
and education to the visitors. Their life is most characterized by dance,
music, rituals, hunting, gaiety and wild ways.
Orissa has vast
mineral, marine and forest resources for setting up large, medium and small
scale industries. Today Orissa can boast of a leviathan Steel Plant at
Rourkela, Sand Complex at Chhatrapur, Heavy Water Project at Talcher, Aluminium
Smelter at Talcher and a fertilizer Plant at Paradeep. In spite of this rapid
industrialization, Orissa remains mainly an agricultural state and over 76
percent of its people are dependent on agriculture. Rice, pulses, oil seeds,
jute, sugarcane, turmeric and coconut are its main crops.
Over 76% of the
people are dependent on agriculture. Out of the gross cropped area of 87.46
lakh hectares are 87.79 lakh hectares are irrigated. Rice, pulses, oil-seeds,
jute, mesta, sugarcane, coconut and turmeric are important crops. The state
contributes one-tenth of the rice production in India.
Orissa is also
noted for its classical dance Odissi and many folk forms like Chhau, Chaiti
Ghoda, Patua Jatra and tribal forms. Orissa is also famous for its traditional
handicrafts which include glass beads, stone carvings, silver filigree,
horn-work, wood carvings, lacquer and bamboo wares, toys, sea-shell work,
banana fibre works, tassar fabrics, lustrous handloom silks and curtains.
As of 1991, the
time that the last recorded census was taken, there were approximately 31, 660,
000 people living in the state of Orissa. Fewer than 14% of all citizens of
Orissa live in cities. This number illustrates the great number of people who
live in the country and work on farms. The ratio of males to females is about
1: 9.7. About one half of all the people living in Orissa can read, a high
number for a relatively rural state. The most common language spoken in Orissa
is Oriya. The average individual income, annually, is 3,963 Rupees.
Owing to its vast
mineral resources, metallurgy developed quite naturally in ancient Orissa and
may have been an additional factor in catapulting the region to considerable
importance during the Iron Age. Iron tools were used in agricultural production,
digging irrigation canals, stone quarrying, cave excavation and later
monumental architecture. Rice cultivation got a particular fillip and during
the iron age irrigation works from Orissa spread to the regions of ancient
Andhra and Tamil Nadu around 300 BC Orissa also became a major steel producing
center and steel beams were extensively used in the monumental temples of
Bhubaneswar and Puri.
The Central Sector
Projects are: Steel Plant at Rourkela, SAND Complex at Chhatrapur, Heavy Water
Project at Talcher, Coach Repairing Workshop at Mancheswar, Aluminum Complex at
Koraput, Captive Power Plant at Angul, Aluminum Smelter at Angul and Fertilizer
Plant at Paradeep. Major thermal and hydel power stations are Talcher, Hirakud,
and Chiplima. Major rhermal and hydel power stations are Talcher, Hirakud and
Chiplima. Other power projects are Upper Indravati, Upper Kolab, Rengali and
Ib.
Industry also
plays a key role in the economy. Products manufactured in Orissa include
textiles, paper, leather goods, cement, soap, glass, aluminum, and flour. Some
of the natural resources that are mined are iron, coal, and zinc. Orissa has
trade relations with other states of India, the United States, Japan, Britain,
and Germany.
There are many
products that are shipped in and out of Orissa annually. The main exports are
expensive gems, fish, fancy jewelry, baskets, and clothing. Orissa is known
worldwide for its fine cloths and the painstaking effort with which they are
made. Orissa also imports many things. The chief imports are machinery, steel,
and fuel.
Bhubaneswar,the city of
temples with important places to visit like, Bindusagar, Vaital temple, Mukteshwar temple, Kedareswar temple,
Parasurameswara temple, Lingaraja temple, Ananta Vasudeva
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 Dhauli, 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
Bhubaneswar), Barheipani Water
Falls (106 km), Ushakothi Wildlife Sanctuary, Hirakund, Dumduma 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.
Monasteries can also be found
in Orissa, famous amongst them being the Buddhist caves & monasteries at
Ratnagiri, Lalitgiri and Udayagiri near Bhubaneswar. Seven kilometers from
Bhubaneswar, one comes across the Jain caves at Ratnagiri. 90 km from
Bhubaneswar, 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.
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.
Being a coastal
region, maritime trade played an important role in the development of Oriya
civilization. Cultural, commercial and political contacts with South East Asia,
particularly Southern Burma, Malaysia and Indonesia were especially extensive
and maritime enterprises play an interesting part in Oriya folk-tales and
poetry. Historical records suggest that around the 7th C. AD, the Kongoda
dynasty from central Orissa may have migrated to Malaysia and Indonesia. There
is also evidence of exchange of embassies with China. Records of Oriya traders
being active in the ports of South East Asia are fairly numerous and in his
descriptions of Malacca, Portuguese merchant Tome Pires indicates that traders
from Orissa were active in the busy port as late as the 16th C.
(There is evidence
to suggest that trade contact between Eastern India and Thailand may date as
far back as the 3rd or 4th century BC. Himanshu Ray in his book, The Winds
of Change - Buddhism and the Maritime Links of Early South Asia, suggests
that at least eight oceanic routes linked the Eastern Coast of India with the
Malayan peninsula, and after the Iron Age, metals (such as iron, copper and
tin), cotton textiles and foodstuffs comprised the trade. She also suggests
that the trade involved both Indian and Malayo-Polynesian ships. Archeological
evidence from Sisupalgarh (near Bhubaneswar) in Orissa suggests that there may
also have been direct or indirect trade contacts between ancient Orissa and
Rome dating to the 1st-2nd C AD (or possibly earlier). The chronicles of Huen
Tsang refer to Orissa's overseas contacts in the 7th C, and by the 10th C,
records of Orissa's trade with the East begin to proliferate.)
Adequate
agricultural production combined with a flourishing maritime trade contributed
to a flowering of Orissan arts and crafts especially textiles. Numerous
communities of weavers and dyers became active throughout the state perfecting
techniques like weaving of fine Muslins, Ikat, Sambalpuri and Bomkai silks and
cottons, appliqué and embroidery. Orissa was also known for it's brass and bell
metal work, lacquered boxes and toys, intricate ivory, wood and stone carvings,
patta painting and palm leaf engraving, basket weaving and numerous other
colorful crafts. Often, decorative techniques relied on folk idioms as in the
painted, circular playing cards known as Ganjifas.
Later, Cuttack became
the center for lace-like exquisite silver filigree work, (known as Tarakashi)
when Orissa was brought under Mughal rule.
Both Buddhism and
Jainism played an important role in the cultural and philosophical developments
of early Oriya civilization. Most Buddhist and Jain texts were written in
Pali-Prakrit and the Prakrita Sarvasva, a celebrated Prakrit grammar text was
authored by Markandeya Das, an Oriya. Kharavela's Hatigumpha inscription is in
Pali, leading to the speculation that Pali may have been the original language
of the Oriya people.
By the 7th C. AD,
Brahminism had also become influential, especially in the courts and Hiuen
Tsang (the well-known Chinese chronicler) observed how Buddhist Viharas and
Brahminic temples flourished side by side. And although royal inscriptions of
this time were in Sanskrit, the most commonly spoken language was not, and
according to Hiuen Tsang appeared to be quite distinct from the language of
Central India, and may have been a precursor of modern day Oriya.
But even as the
Bhauma Kings of the 6th-8th C issued edicts in Sanskrit, they patronized
numerous Buddhist institutions and the art, architecture and poetry of the
period reflected the popularity of Buddhism in the region.
Later, Orissa's
Buddhism came to be modulated by strong Tantric influences, while a more
traditional Vedic and Brahminical version of Hinduism was brought to Orissa by
Brahmins from Kannauj. Shaivism from the South was institutionalized in Puri.
In addition, the majority of Orissa's adivasis continued to practice some form
of animism and totem-worship. Unifying all these different traditions was the
Shiva-Shakti cult which evolved from an amalgamation of Shaivism (worship of
Shiva), Shaktism (worship of the Mother Goddess) and the Vajrayana, or Tantric
form of Mahayana Buddism.
What made possible
this fusion was that apart from the formal distinctions that separated these
different religious and philosophical trends, in practical matters, there was a
growing similiarity between them. Whereas early Buddhism and the Nyaya school
within Hinduism had laid considerable stress on rationalism and scientific
investigation of nature, later Buddhism and the Shaivite schools both
emphasized philosphical variants of concepts first developed in the Upanishads,
along with mysticism and devotion. Tantrism had also developed along a dual
track - on the one hand it had laid emphasis on gaining practical knowledge and
a clear understanding of nature - on the other, it too came steeped in
mysticism and magic.
At the same time,
the Buddhist ethos had created an environment where compromise was preferred to
confrontation. This allowed tribal deities and gods and goddesses associated
with numerous fertility cults to be integrated into the Hindu pantheon. Tantric
constructs also met with some degree of approval.
Since Tantrism
emphasized the erotic as a means to spiritual salvation, the culture of
austerity and sexual abstinence that had pervaded early Buddhism was replaced
with an unapologetic embrace of all that was erotic.
Unlike some other
parts of India, Oriya society had not yet been deeply differentiated by caste,
and egalitarian values remained well-ingrained amongst the peasant masses.
Hence, any idealogy that championed a hierarchical division of society would
have been unacceptable. The Shiva Shakti cult was a compromise in that while it
did not exclude social inequality, it did not preclude social mobility either.
In fact, the cult became popular precisely because it articulated the
possibility of upward mobility through the acquisition of knowledge, skill or
energetic personal effort.
Tantric influences
were of particular import for the survival of the Yogini cults in Orissa. The
Yogini cults concentrated on worship of the shakti (female life force), with a
belief in the efficacy of magic ritual. In ancient texts, Yoginis are depicted
as consorts of Yogis, and like their male companions practiced yoga to gain
mastery over science and acquire magical powers. Some tantric schools
associated with the Yogini cults such as the Kaula Marga prescribed Maithuna
(sexual intercourse) with outcast women or women of low caste as the most
consummate soul-lifting experience. Although Yogini cults were not unique to
Orissa, two out of four surviving Yogini temples are to be found in Hirapur and
Ranipur-Jharial.
The Hirapur temple
is ascribed to the Bhauma and Somavansi rulers of Orissa (mid 8th - mid 10th C.
AD) who were known for their eclectic liberalism and noted for their patronage
of philosophy, art, architecture and literature.
While the
literature of the court and the intelligentsia was primarily written in
Sanskrit, and included a variety of commentaries and theoretical treatises on
religion, politics, art and literature as well as reworks of the epics, popular
literature in Oriya initially focused on folk tales, ballades, creation myths,
devotional songs, love poetry and erotica.
But in the 15th
century, the Gangas who were patrons of many of Orissa's monumental temples
were defeated by Kapilendra Deva, who rose from the ranks to found the Surya
dynasty. It was in his reign that Sarala Das wrote a popular Oriya version of
the Mahabharatha. Sarala Das arose from a peasant family and took his name from
the goddess Sarala who was worshipped in his village in the district of
Cuttack. He described himself as an unschooled 'Shudra' and became popularly
known as Shudra-muni. Although the broad themes his Mahabharatha match other
traditional versions, there is much that was original and written with a
popular sensibility. His version knitted in local folk tales and ballads, and
incorporated the ethical and moral values then embraced by the artisan class
and peasantry.
The Chandi Purana,
also written by Sarala Das referred to Yoginis as forms of the Devi or the
Supreme Goddess illustrating the continued popular appeal of the Yogini cults
in Orissa's coastal belt.
Thus what emerged
in Orissa from the 9th century on was a heady cocktail of mystical and
practical currents that allowed for a certain degree of social mobility and
provided space for ordinary peasants to make contributions to popular
literature and poetry.
This stimulated
the popularity of reading and since there were no taboos against learning
Oriya, literacy spread in the villages and such popular literature developed a
wide mass following. A network of village libraries housed popular texts in
neatly transcribed versions. Illuminated manuscripts and illustrated epics also
became popular. By some accounts, literacy in many villages reached 40% or more
before the onslaught of colonial rule.
The first signs of
decline in Oriya society came as the administrators of the Ganga and Surya
kings began to usurp undue privileges and acquire a greater number of
hereditary rights. At the same time, religious affairs began to be dominated by
the Puri Brahmins who were instrumental in promoting ever increasing ritual and
unprecedented ceremonial pomp during religious festivals. Tribal deities were
slowly edged out as Brahminical gods acquired supremacy. Social mobility
declined and the first concrete appearances of a formalized caste system began
to appear. The Patnaiks, Mahapatras, Nayakas and others who had played a major
role in the royal administration, along with the Brahmins comprised the
upper-caste elite as social stratification crystallized.
The silting up of
Orissa's major rivers in the 16th C. led to a severe decline in maritime trade
and may have further aggravated socially regressive trends. Orissa also
suffered decisive defeats at the hands of Raja Man Singh (Akbar's military
general) and the Marathas, leaving it dismembered and particularly vulnerable
against the British who colonized it soon after the victory in Bengal.
Like much of
India, colonial rule had a devastating impact on the economic and social life
of the Oriya people. Numerous categories of crafts workers, especially weavers
and dyers were bankrupted and reduced to abject poverty. The peasantry suffered
under the burden of backbreaking taxes and forced unpaid labor. But the Oriyas
did not accept subjugation without putting up heroic resistance. Just three
years after British occupation, Jayakrishna Rajguru - hereditary priest of the
Gajapatis (or the Rajas of Khurda) organized a revolt that ended in tragic
defeat and his public hanging at the hands of the British. In 1818 there was
another revolt when the entire state rose up under the leadership of Bakshi
Jagabandhu Vidyadhara of Khurda. For six months the people of Southern Orissa
were practically freed from British rule but in the end the rebellion was
ruthlessly quelled and the aftermath was to be disastrous.
The nobility was systematically decimated, the Paikas - the national militia were disarmed and disinherited, and the peasantry already reduced to virtual slavery. All administrative posts not directly handled by the British were assigned to Bengalis who were perceived to be more loyal to British rule. From local police constables to assistant school teachers - Bengalis were hired but Oriyas excluded. Bengali chauvinists in Calcutta defended such a regime, some even going to the extent of demanding that all Oriyas be taught in Bengali since Oriya was nothing but a minor dialect of Bengali.
Even as urban
Bengal received a few concessions like the founding of universities and
cultural societies - Orissa was reduced to a minor outpost of the colonial
empire - a cultural wasteland. Orissa's future was now inextricably linked to
the growth of the national struggle in Bengal and the rest of the country, and
any hint of growth in the national movement naturally drew enthusiastic support
from nationalist-minded Oriyas.
Although
independence brought about dramatic improvements in the lives of all sections
of the population, two centuries of damage wrought by colonial rule could not
be easily undone after independence. As evident from recent census results,
high levels of poverty and illiteracy continue to dog the state.
For Orissa to
regain it's ancient vitality, it will require not only greater sympathy from
other Indians but a conscious programme of affirmative action from the centre
that promotes mass education and employment opportunities so that Orissa can
fully join the Indian mainstream as a vibrant and equal member of the Indian
union.
Note: References
to ancient Orissa may well include parts of Jharkhand, Southern Bengal,
Chhatisgarh and Northern Andhra - which at various times were politically
integrated into the different kingdoms of ancient and medieval Orissa.
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.
Government of
India Tourist Office, Tel No. 0674/ 2432203.
Since there are numerous hotels in the major cities of Orissa, getting a room
is no problem. But if one wants to visit these places at the time of a local
festival like for example, the "Rath Yatra" at Puri, then it is
prudent to make bookings well in advance.
(The information provided
above are all based on the collection by the author. Readers are requested to
verify the information before use)
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