It’s been just about a half year; I have visited no places. The last time I was in a long vacation was in Andaman. As I am trying to prepare a plan for my expeditions to cover some beautiful places around Bengaluru, here I got time to glance back at one of the excellent memory of Orissa.
I was planning to visit this place since long back. After I met Yogmaya, now one pillar of our NGO, I thought of visiting her home and also visiting the beautiful Konark and Puri temple. Though that didn’t materialize, luckily I visited one institute in Bhubaneswar as an interview panel. That time I was so excited to be there. Though I couldn’t get time to visit Puri, I got a little time to explore the beautiful architecture of Sun Temple Konark.
Sun Temple Konark :
Those who think only the southern part of India has beautiful temples should visit Konark. It is built by the Narasingha deva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. There are many theories for the ruined sculptures of the temple, but as per the textual evidence, it occurred between the 15th to 18th centuries.
Look at the wheels carved on the walls of the temple. When you take a tour around the temple, you could count 24 wheels. Imagine if you could see the temple from the top, it might look like a chariot with 24 wheels. The 24 wheels signify 24 hours of a day and the 8 spokes signify prahars (three-hour period) of a day. Konark Wheel is used in Government of India official symbol and some currency notes of Indian rupees. Now the replica of Konark Wheel is available in Stone, silver, and wood are having a good demand in the market. You could also see the 7 horses out of which one horse is damaged. This temple is beautifully carved to show the God of the Sun in a chariot of 24 wheels (12 pairs) and 7 horses. Probably these kinds of minute details of the temple have influenced its case for UNESCO heritage site. Some say the wheels represent the 24 hours in a day and others say the 12 months. They say the seven horses to symbolize the seven days of the week. Sailors once called this Sun Temple of Konark, the Black Pagoda because it was supposed to draw ships into the shore and cause shipwrecks.
Kalinga architecture
The first time I read about Kalinga, I was a small kid. I read it as the place where the cruelest war was fought. But this place is also significant because this war made Emperor Ashok denounce the expansion plan of his empire and adopt Buddhism. It was the last war fought by Emperor Ashok.
Kalinga is nothing but today’s Orissa and North Andhra Pradesh. We find the Kalinga architecture in this region.
I don’t remember I have seen any temple with Kalinga architecture before. This was the first instance I witnessed the beauty of this architecture. When the flood happened in Orissa recently, I was worried about this architecture. The flood has damaged a small part of the temple. Places like this can take you to the imaginative world. If you think about the minute details of this architecture, you will get 100 different ways of thinking.
At the entrance of the Sun Temple, you can find two lions at either side of the entrance that is seen crushing an elephant each. Beneath each elephant is a human being. Here, the lion represents power, and the elephant portrays wealth. The whole illustration symbolizes the major problems faced by man in his life - money, and power. Like the temples of Khajuraho, the Sun Temple at Konark also has an abundance of sculptures that depict Kama, Artha, Dharma, and Moksha that are the four major pursuits of life.
The unfinished some sculptures might have a different story to tell. But if you look with a different perception, those unfinished sculptures are also marvelous. The dance hall and audience hall all give a glimpse of the lifestyle of the Ganga dynasty. Protecting these monuments from natural calamities and the other factors should be taken care of.
Food and lifestyle:
One of the good things I have observed in Orissa is that they are not fully commercialized. The hospitality in the college was very good. Even the people were very polite while speaking. Our driver took us to one of the famous sweet centers in Bhubaneswar. One must try Rasagolla here. Rice and Dhal are very much common. The vegetable curries we tried were of great taste. I liked Chenna Poda made up of Cheese and Rabri and Ras malai.
It was one of the memorable trips for me. Konark was quite a different architecture compared to Chalukya, Hoysala, and Rashtrakutas. There might be a little influence from other architecture but it has its unique charm. As I am covering more architecture, I could observe the different styles, life, and history of different eras. Being a working professional, covering these places needs more time and financial management. Without a great plan, you can’t fulfill your dreams. Traveling teaches you a lot about these planning aspects which will make you a better person.
Travelers don’t have one life. We have many lives. Sometimes I am more interested in architecture, then I read a book on the train, then I will be inclined to literature. While visiting places like science and archaeological museum you find yourself as a history and science enthusiastic student, then you come out and visit the temples, mosque, and churches. While interacting with different people, you feel you are a good communicator and then you find a kid with whom you play games with the only smile as a communication. That’s why we always need to travel to have many lives and find out our source of inspiration.
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