Puri

Time: Sept 9-14 2008

Place: Simhachalam, Bhubaneswar, Puri, Chilka, Konark

Company: Parents & wife

Album: Click here

Highlights:

Day 0: Left Bangalore in the 7.35 pm Yeswantpur-Howrah express. Some confusion about reservation chart showing our reservation only till Vijayawada and TT too had no clue about it!

Day 1: Prior to Vijayawada, another TT allotted different berths post Vijayawada and we had to shift although just a couple of seats away. Apparently some confusion in this train everytime, grumbled frequent travelers. Slept all the way till Vishakapatnam (massive bridge on Godavari was awesome) which we reached by 4 pm, dead on schedule. Took railway retiring room and freshened up before heading towards Simhachalam.

Wrong information led us to believe that temple closes at 8 pm but it actually closes at 7 pm. We ran the steps to just make it inside the temple premises. A quick but amazing darshan of the standing Narasimha temple sufficed the near-miss. However dark clouds and lack of visibility robbed us off the amazing view of this temple which is set amidst hilly valley.

Some confusion about veg hotel for dinner + quick rest and we checked out of the retiring room to catch the 11.55 pm East-coast express train to Bhubaneswar.

Day 2: Train delayed by 2 hrs. It finally left VSKP station at 1.35 am instead of 11.55 pm and we duly reached BBSR at 9.25 am instead of 7.25 am. An idle glance of our return ticket (HWH-YPR from BBSR on 14th at 3 am) by the VKSP-BBSR TT changed the whole course of this trip. He mentioned that HWH-YPR train might be diverted off BBSR and asked us to check in advance. When we did so at the BBSR railway station, we were told that it was diverted till 15th Sept and we had to make alternate arrangement. There was just one more train and it was waitlisted in 150s. Another option was to reduce our holidays and leave to BLR earlier than scheduled. But we went with flight option and booked the flight tickets for 14th from BBSR to BLR in Air Deccan. Couple of days of frantic calls to IRCTC and emails in cyber café finally led us to cancel the train tkt with full refund.

Took accommodation in Pejawar Mutt, BBSR which is about 4 kms from Railway station which we covered in a taxi. Quick freshening up and quick bite and quick nap! Took a “package” auto for sight-seeing BBSR and surroundings. First stop was Udayagiri and Kandagiri where nice caves have been excavated on hillocks. Nice view on hill tops esp the BBSR airport and runway strip. Lots of monkeys around and one has to be careful with eateries.

Next stop was Lingaraj Temple: the main temple of BBSR and the main reason for Bhubaneswar to be named as Bhubaneswar (Lord Eshwar has taken birth in the form of a rock from the Earth (Bhu)). Local pundits loot devotees and one has to be careful. But nice information such as flag-hoisting schedule, food processing and procedure for the God where the passageway from Kitchen to sanctum-sanctorum doesn’t even allow sun to cast its light for even Sun isn’t allowed to see food prior to Lord seeing food, Vishnu-Eshwar combination due to which actual Linga missing in the idol, etc. About 100 odd small temples scattered everywhere in the temple premises.

Next stop was Dhauli Giri which is located on a hillock. It was here that King Ashoka saw blood everywhere and took an oath to stop war and adopt Buddhism and peace forever. A nice calm spot with excellent 360 degree view.

Next stop was Mukteswar-Siddeswar temple. Nothing to write home about but nice garden to spend time and nice sculptures.

Next stop was Ram Mandir. Smiling idols which please one and all. Also a nice place to sit in the evening and spend a relaxing time.

Return to acco + dinner + sleep.

Day 3: Left acco at 8 and took bus to Puri. On and off rain indicated tropical climate. Nice green picturesque 1.5 hr journey. C T Road in Puri is the most hep place in Puri with lots of hotels and restaurants and it is also the nearest road to Bay of Bengal. Like Ocean Drive in Miami! Took a hotel there (Hotel Jayashree) which was both reasonable and neat plus a slight view of the ocean from our room balcony. Freshened up + Breakfast + charted out plan for next 2 days with hotel’s travel agent.

Quick dip in the Bay of Bengal before visiting Lord is supposed to increase the Punya counter. So did that! Auto-wallah came at 12 sharp and he took us to Lord Jagannath temple which was about 3-4 kms. Hotel’s temple pundit met us there and guided us around. Without him, other pundits would have looted us. A huge temple which took us about 2-3 hrs to complete viewing (similar passageway from kitchen to sanctum sanctorum as in BBSR, museum depicting story, innumerous small temples, sculptures and carvings, the darkened kitchen itself, sanctum-sanctorum itself, the famous wooden idols, Anand Bazaar where prasadams are sold in lots, etc). Camera, umbrella, cooked food, mobile phone, leather, etc not allowed inside temple. Hence no snaps.

Lunch at Grand Hotel! It was grand! Then auto-wallah took us to Chandan Talab where we were actually supposed to take bath after bath in BoB (but we took bath in hotel itself). Next stop was another temple where Lord Jagannath stays for 9 days every year – the other end of the main road where main temple lies - based on a mythical story. Next stop was another small Ram temple.

Back to hotel. Relaxed and then went to beach in the evening for a lazy time amongst the waves and the moon. I went to cyber café (irctc issue) while others visited one more temple. Dinner at Ambrosia (yummy) and sleep.

Day 4: Up at 4.30 to view sun rise. But clouds covered it completely and at 6 am, it was already up amongst clouds while we were still hoping it would rise from ocean! Ready by 9 after breakfast at Dakshin.

Taxi took us to Chilka lake after 2 hrs drive. A 3 hr boat ride to view dolphins (nice!), sea-mouth (Chilka lake entering ocean) and red crabs (yuck). Enjoyable but it got boring. Then headed to Konark via Puri. Had lunch in Puri.

Reached Konark at 5. Visited Chandrabag river and ocean beach on the way along with another Ram temple where Mahanadi tributary runs parallel to the Bay of Bengal. Beautiful places.

Got a guide at Konark called Malla. One of the best Govt approved guide (apparently there are a number of unofficial guides acting as official guides). He gave us a complete 1 hour clear-cut explanation of the whole Konark Sun Temple. Like what kind of stones were used to construct the Sun Temple, how were the stones clamped to one another without concrete, how the structure of Sun Temple was divided mainly into 3 sections (Dancing Hall, Prayer Hall, Sun God’s sanctum sanctorum) and how the sun’s first rays of the earth were falling directly on the Idol back in the days when the temple was on the shores of Bay of Bengal (in 18th century, the sea receded due to a heavy cyclone) through the Dancing Hall and the Prayer Hall even when Sun moved slightly north-south during Summer and Winter, the 7 layers on the door frame depicting the Sapta Rishis who came up with 4 main Vedas (rules of life), the 24 wheels carrying the idol depicting 24 hours in a day (and many more implications), with each wheel having its own connotations such as 10 avatars of Vishnu, activities of a woman, etc, the places in the premises causing destruction like kitchen being beside well, not depicting togetherness as Fire and Water do not go hand in hand, the ruins made by Moghul Emperors, the sanctum-sanctorum’s complete ruins (mythical story being that whole of the building was controlled by a powerful magnet placed at the top which set the walls exactly in place but this magnet had to be removed because it was causing problems to shipmen in their navigation devices whilst they were passing near shore on the Bay of Bengal and due to this removal, the whole building collapsed), the 3 avatars of Sun (youth, middle aged and old) depicting one Sun’s transition to another Sun, the significant carvings at each side to reflect prominent character with their prominent identity symbols, the nearby olden Sun temple, carvings even of how the stones were being obtained for the Sun Temple construction and of the workers and the master architect and the King who was behind it all, and many many such important and relevant information which easily creates an expression of awe. Clearly a must-see place especially because of its scientific and historical value.

Back to Puri, one more visit to Lord Jagannath temple. This time comparatively less people than morning and had nice darshan. Dinner and sleep.

Day 5: Left to BBSR in private bus. A strange incident at the bus stop where conductors of different private roadlines manhandle you and the luggage, and virtually toss you into their bus! Reached BBSR airport at 11. Well on time for check in, security check and boarding. Uneventful flight journey back home to Bangalore. Reached to a raining home at 5 pm.

Overview:

1. Badrinath, Rameshwaram, Dwarka and Puri constitute the char dham in India (4 must see pilgrimage places) and this trip concludes the odyssey that began in 2004 May with Badrinath.

2. If the VSKP-BBSR TT had not noticed our return train ticket, if my mom had not given that TT that return ticket, if he had not been from Bangalore to comment on Yeswantpur, we would’ve gone to BBSR railway station on Day 5 at 3 am only to learn that the train had been cancelled. Distress that would have ensued then is unimaginable. I thank the VSKP-BBSR TT who came to us like a messiah. Learning is to confirm return ticket once you arrive in a foreign place if date of boarding is not far off.

3. This was a trip fraught with lots of inconveniences and yet was successful in the end in its own way. Like how the train tickets were never favorable (YPR depart and arrival, improper timings (3 am depart from BBSR and 6 am arrival in Krishnarajapuram, etc)), like how Puri and BBSR and Konark trip kept getting postponed for such a long time, like how irritating the taxi driver was who took us from home to YPR station on Day 0, like how reservation chart had wrong place for ‘Reservation till’, like how Simhachalam just closed as we entered and we could neither spend required time nor could see surrounding picturesque beauty, like how we had to wait for the bus at Simhachalam for almost a panicky hour, like how VSKP-BBSR train was delayed for 2 hours, like how it was raining on and off in Puri partly because of which we could not see sun rise and like how return train was cancelled. Yet, alls well that ends well.

One more memorable trip!