Welcome to Orissa
July 10th, 2007 | Published in dispatch | 9 Comments
Today: Bhubaneswar
Tomorrow: Puri
I think I prefer my maps blank.
There’s something about Orissa. It feels a world apart from the India I know; sure, Hindi is spoken and the local language, Oriya, shares many similarities with the only South Asian language I have an OK grasp of, Bengali. But it still feels a world apart, almost untouched; perhaps even remote, like the rural provinces of Bangladesh. The weight of the ancients: Here is where their powerful predecessors, the Kalinga empire, controlled the seas and trade routes, spreading their influence far and wide to what we know today as Bali, Java, Sumatra, Angkor, Siam; where some historians claim are the roots of the word “keling” in Malaysia and Singapore (used colloquially to refer to people of South Asian origin). Here is where Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan empire waged a bloody battle over Kalinga, turned remorseful and inscribed Buddhist edicts at Dhauli Giri, 261 BC; then came the Jains, Hindus, Muslims, and today’s lingering spectre of Jagannatha worship (Hare Krishna).
As with any other new place, I’d refrain from making knee-jerk assumptions about a state I’m new to, so an overview of Orissa will have to wait… in other news I am getting used to being alone in strange places.
July 10th, 2007 at 3:17 pm (#)
Just something somewhat off-topic. May I know if you have been to Nagaland? And if you have, what did you think of it?
July 10th, 2007 at 3:20 pm (#)
I’m going to spend some time there next February. Takes a lot of effort and logistics to coordinate a Nagaland trip… even Indians need permits to enter. It’s a highly sensitive area because of the tribes and national security and separatist terrorism.
I was in Assam and Meghalaya, though, which is not too far from Nagaland and they share many similarites (just different tribes) — from what I understand Nagaland is far more untouched than that. But I’ll let you know after I spend a month+ in Nagaland early next year.
July 11th, 2007 at 10:17 am (#)
Hi popagandhi,
I wouldn’t mind a invite for Skitch. Thanks in advance.
Regards.
July 11th, 2007 at 3:31 pm (#)
haiya. come back here!
stop working on ur india PR status.
i miss you.
c
July 12th, 2007 at 4:06 am (#)
I’ve never been to Orissa but it seems to be an intriguing place, after listening to all the tales of the place from my colleague who comes from that part of the country.
July 13th, 2007 at 10:09 am (#)
Thanks thanks. I look forward to what you have to say about Nagaland.
Last year, I was reading about the restrictions on travel there and the insurgency depending on how one wants to look at it. Oppression versus freedom fighters or separatist terrorism.
Of course, I don’t know enough. I read the official government Nagaland site and a few others. Even then, there was very little information.
The people and the culture and other heard of bits seem rather mysterious and intriguing.
July 13th, 2007 at 10:19 am (#)
I should you get to travel to the countryside in Nagaland. The mountaintop villages and more.
July 14th, 2007 at 7:21 am (#)
Bahini: I too felt that Orissa was almost out-of-time. I loved the beaches with the fishing villages. And Konarak was incredible. I was traveling alone and rememeber that everywhere but Puri seemed quiet and slow. Sabu
January 4th, 2008 at 11:14 pm (#)
Welcome to Orissa. You will never regret it.