Rajarani temple and Lingaraj Temple on two wheels

This place is neither fancy (by that I mean it may not show up in most of the tourists ‘must visit’ places list) nor far, so, why did I choose this place? Well, I did not, it just happened and I'm glad it did!

I had rented bicycle from my college till 11 a.m. and had ventured out just to test my endurance level. This made an ideal destination as I had the directions to this place from a previous trip plan which had not materialized because my greed for sleep on a Saturday afternoon had overpowered my enthusiasm to visit a temple. Another reason I took up this route- it was at an appropriate distance i.e. 12 km.

Google Map of Lingaraj Temple ( Rajarani temple en-route)

I had started a little too late for a bicycle trip (at 7:45 a.m.). Wait, I'm sorry, did I mention it was a bicycle trip? Well that’s the reason I was looking for a place around 15 km from my college. I had missed the sunrise, early morning pleasant weather and sweet breeze and I was wishing not to fall asleep as I had only managed two hours of sleep the night before. The idea was to stay up all night as waking up early morning never seems to happen, But at 4 a.m. I had magically run out of everything to do. No more videos to watch, no more cleaning I could do, so eventually, I HAD to sleep. It did take me quite a lot of strength to get up from the bed but once I was up I was adamant on going out and exploring a new path if not a place. The wanderlust had to be quenched!

 A friend who gave his word to accompany me ditched me in the last minute and I had to once again go on my own.  This worked in my favour as a good motivation to visit a better place to be able to come back and make him jealous. Although, I do like travelling alone but this time I was advised by a senior not to venture out early in the morning alone. So, all I wanted was a reliable male company but alas I really suck at asking people to accompany me especially because a lot of them not only accept it solely out of sympathy (I can almost hear them say ‘Oh poor little girl, travelling alone’) but they also try to deter my spirits to go ahead with my plans. Okay now I feel like a liar so let me take the blame too, my trips are always last minute plans and subject to my mood on the scheduled time and this is why I have a hard time asking people to accompany coz there is really NO time to do so*.

Anyway, coming back to my trip, so, I had started to check my stamina while being on the route to Rajarani temple. Starting my bicycle experiments with a 25 km trip did not seem like a great idea but then I had started the journey to push my limits so had to ride through all the pain at the wrong places. I'm not sure if it was the extremely tough seat or the stretched journey but my backside first started hurting then it started hurting real bad and then it went numb only to get back at me with full vigour when I got off the bicycle and sat to cycle again.

I reached Rajmahal junction with little difficulty. I knew the temple wasn't too far from there unlike what others suggested. I carried on and reached Rajarani temple in 45 minute from starting point. I was the first visitor of the day at 8:30 a.m. actually I was the only visitor there till 9 a.m.

First View of the temple

The Sole Visitor

I was wondering if they get enough funds to maintain the temple. It had a vast garden and was extremely well maintained. All that aside, I hate using the word but the temple was a little ‘Spooky’ inside. There were no idols, it was awfully dark and of course I being the only visitor was not helping. The first time I went in I came out running. After a few minutes I tried again and with success.

Images from my first attempt, second and side view inside the temple in the second attempt

 I sat outside for some time appreciating the cleanliness and architecture.  Just a few minutes from all the hustle bustle of the work, there was this place that was amazingly quiet and beautiful. I could spend hours there sitting in silence just celebrating the simple pleasures of life.

The beautiful architecture

There were two men working on the garden bushes, I called the one I could see to click a picture of mine. I turned back to face the temple while fidgeting with my phone. A few minutes later I turned back to see him gone. Was cursing my luck and calculating the probability of him being a ghost when I turned back only to find him right behind me. Probability of he being a ghost shot up to 95%. He seemed high by the way he was wobbling on his feet. I did not have my shoes on else would have done my morning sprint to exit.

Happens very occasionally - Me, not smiling in a pic

I gave him the phone, quickly explained what to do and walked a little for him to click. I was not sure if he understood or took a snap I just wanted to get my phone back and leave, which I did. Human beings are so much scarier than ghosts.

While leaving I collected my change and had a small talk with the person issuing tickets. I told him about my plan of heading for Lingaraj temple. He advised me to be wary of the priests there. I took the advice and left with my bestie of the day- “Cycle No. 1”

Lingaraj temple was a different visit all together. It was very commercial like. Two wheeler parking tickets, puja material sellers, people sitting in a row asking for alms and all the typical city noise. I parked my bicycle, kept my shoes and cell with a watch-keeper and went in. 

From there to here

Lingaraj Temple has a total of 108 temples inside it. By the end of my temple tour I was saying only ‘Hello’ to the Gods. Took a quick round then sat behind a small temple that had red bangles tied all over the tree there. It was beautiful in its own way. The visitors had started pouring in but it was still very peaceful. Spent another 30 minutes in the serenity. I was surprisingly calm. Usually I’ve a lot of confessions and conversations to do with ‘Bhagwan ji’ but at that moment I could only appreciate everything around.  I headed back to avoid the peak hour traffic and terribly scorching weather. The return journey was tiring. Sun was right over my head; traffic was at its peak, Being Sunday the market area was all the more crowded.

I took a quick halt at an army cantonment area to check regarding a few things and more importantly just to have a view of the colony. No matter where I go, defence colony never seems cold or unfamiliar, it always gives me the feeling of home. When I enter through the gates I can almost feel a mother embracing her child and a father asking to be ‘right’.

I had overshot the rent time by half an hour. I met a few friends in college and couldn't help talking about the trip and then it was time for me to part from my “Cycle No. 1”, I'm sure it wouldn't be long before we head out to an equally charming place if not better.

Never miss an opportunity to get your picture clicked

And then, I headed back to my room to start the day - The day of Diwali.

Satapada (Chilika Lake)

This turned out to be a less of a destination based trip, and more of a road trip. And yeah this time I had a company - Couchsurfer Saurabh. My views might be biased here, as I was travelling immediately after the day I got done with my week long exam schedule.

With less than three hours of sleep, it’s only the enthusiasm to travel to a new place that can pull me out of my bed. We started off early to avoid the peak hour traffic and, it was a wise decision. We got to see the fields not through the window of polluted gases but through the early sun rays, or, may be again, it might just be the sheer joy of not going to the library and cursing my bad memory the whole day.

As luck would have it, we were taking the Chandanpur route and decided to take a halt at Raghurajpur. Saurabh had not been to the place before and I absolutely had to show this place to him. It was a quick visit, for about an hour. Saurabh seemed mesmerized by the beauty and sheer serenity in the air.

(Experience of my first visit to Raghurajpur - 

http://azillionwalks.blogspot.in/2013/08/exploring-orissa-1-raghurajpur-heritage.html)

The little Krishnas of Raghurajpur

Ganesh Puja Preparations

We stuck to our plans made before the commencement of our journey in spite of heavy rains, we reached Satapada. We paid for the boat ride with the maximum number of viewpoints - as suggested by Saurabh. It did seem pretty costly to me, but this was the standard price - could have easily gone to my home (over 400 kms away) and come back in that money. Moreover, I could not have missed out on this experience.

Now, the advice here is to go with a bigger group of friends, because it’s not the per-head cost but the boat ride cost.

The weather was better than what I could have asked for. It seemed like the moment - “just before it rains”, had been paused. However, I did miss that sweet scent which comes to life when mother earth embraces the first raindrops - I was surrounded by only water. Although the river Dolphins pretty much compensated for it!

Picture courtesy - Google

There was an island where a guy jumped into our boat and started showing with his artistic hands the method of finding a pearl in the oysters. He would break the oysters to find either nothing or a pearl. He claimed they were natural pearls, and what we get in Hyderabad are cultured ones. Now the story was good till here, but he went on to convince us that there were also precious stones like emerald and ruby found the same way in oysters - sound echoing in my head - ‘Busted’!

Picture Courtesy - Google

After around 4 hours of boat ride, we reached an island where Chilika Lake meets the Bay of Bengal. The place was full of red crabs, and the only business on the island seemed to be of sea food. People flaunted their catch; I went on to see what they really had in store. When one of them started hard selling, I told him with a smile - ‘I’m a vegetarian!’ (Which in fact is true).

The determination to make a sale was commendable; a man accompanying this shopkeeper started persuading me to turn into a non vegetarian immediately. All I could really think of at that moment was ‘PETA’. They took pride in their stock still being alive, and I could not help pitying the little creatures.

Again from Google

We had tea, some snacks and headed back.

Travelling indeed is eternal bliss

During the boat ride, our helmsman told us how they are being exploited. The operator charges 1800 from the customers but all the helmsmen get is Rs. 135 and when there’s no customer, Rs. 30 is all they get. He might have been lying to get an extra tip but we still went on to do that coz if he was not, then he did deserve a lot more than what he was already getting.

Although I do agree that Tipping is not the solution, but like it’s ingrained in us, I chose the easier path that gave instant satisfaction to our desire to help others in our quest of making peace with life. Because, more often than not, we help others to help ourselves. We derive happiness out of helping someone in whatever small way we can. This happiness is what I call peace.

On our way back we went to Puri lighthouse; enjoyed the bird’s eye view of the city; discussed my B-Plan at length, and my other dreams. In short, all the things that occur to you when you’re not studying aimlessly, they come to you when you’re at peace; at peace with yourself and the world around.

The top of lighthouse

City View from up there

We headed back, determined not to take anymore halts as it was already pretty late. I could not help criticizing the bad roads with no street lights. We managed to reach my college alive. I Gave Saurabh a quick tour of my college. He appreciated the green, the crowd - actually he appreciated everything. This helped me like my college a little more than I already do.

Raghurajpur - The Heritage Village of India

It all started with a reference of 'Raghurajpur' in a quiz conducted in my College. Within a week I encountered the name in a magazine that I got my hands on in the library. Two references to the same place in a week - I took that as a sign and the very weekend I was on my way to RAGHURAJPUR :)

The lazy bones had their excuses for not coming. I did not push anyone so I was on my own in a state I've been staying in for a month and off to a place I had only heard of.

Thanks to Google maps (The Bestest invention for travelling) I figured out where I should be heading for once I leave my college campus.

Travelling included the regular negotiations with autowallas, receiving strange looks from fellow passengers, finding a seat in the Bus and then holding onto that seat. Although the last stretch of the travel came unexpected but was undoubtedly the best part of it all.

Modes of transport I used -

--> Auto from XIMB main road to Kalpana Square (100 Rs. could be negotiated to lesser amount)

--> Bus from Kalpana Square to Chandanpur (On the way to Puri so any Bus going to Puri would do, Ticket cost – Rs 25)

--> From Chandanpur I walked about 500 m when an elderly person offered me lift, on his bicycle :)

      I grabbed the opportunity without any second thoughts.

From the walk towards the Village and to the view of the Signboard 'Raghurajur - The Heritage Village of India' I fell in love with the place. It was Beautiful.

Dust if any was washed away by the rain, the leaves shone in glorious green, the river flowed with all its might and the pond as serene as an untouched sky - EVERYTHING, all of it was beautiful.

While I was lost in the beauty, my lift wale uncle was getting me acquainted to the tradition and also how his family has been into art for generations. His daughter who happens to be an Odissi dancer was travelling somewhere in the other part of the world then.

As the place was neatly laid out; there was absolutely no confusion while exploring the village. The view of everybody indulged in some form of the art or the other was mesmerizing. I was in teary eyes just at the sight of it. Walls were casually painted like we would see in an art gallery. Art just ran through the village. It was not just their way of earning; it’s a way of life there.

 (Just another 'wall' there)

Someone carved wood while sitting in the veranda while someone sketched in their workshop. No matter where they sat and what they did, the simplicity in the air would melt your heart and compel you to question your ways of living. Do we really need to crib as much as we do?

How can this place be so less known or am I the only ignorant person?

(I took his permission to enter his space and click pictures. They were friendly and more than welcoming)

The people without saying anything easily communicate the message that if we really want, we can make the best out of whatever we have and be AWESOME at it.

Time flew by and I could only visit 4-5 houses of the 120.

I left but with a promise to visit again.

               

(outside an artists's home cum workshop)

Keep travelling,

Manisha