In the first week of December 2019, we traveled to Odisha for a trip of five days. Out of all the days, there was one day, that was so well spent in Konark (65kms from the state capital Bhubaneshwar). It was so rich in art, history and culture that we were overwhelmed with joy and the things that this place had to offer us was a feast to our eyes.
Konark, located in Puri district of Odisha, is home to the Konark Sun Temple, an UNESCO World Heritage site which is one of the spectacular classic Kalinga style temple built in the 13th century by King Narasimhadeva 1 of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. The temple is one of the major tourist places in India for its amazing and intriguing architecture.
Konark is not just known for its Sun Temple but also for its love for visual and performing arts. During the 1st week of December, Konark hosts two major events - International Sand Art Festival and Konark Dance Festival, both happening simultaneously for 5 consecutive days with each day being an amazing celebration of culture and arts with the spectacular sand arts and the classical dances of India. Together, these two events have gained worldwide recognition and one among the most awaited festivals of India and attracts tourists from all over the world.
Our trip to Konark was planned so as to witness this cultural festival along with the fascinating history and architecture of the Sun Temple and we are so happy about that.
Since our time in Odisha and the journey to Konark began at Puri, let me brief about Puri and on our time spent in this coastal temple town.
Puri and Jagannath Temple
Puri, is also known as Sri Jagannatha Dhama named after the Shree Jagannath Temple located here which is dedicated to the Hindu god Jagannath (a form of Vishnu). This is an important pilgrimage for Hindus and is included as one of the Char Dhams. The annual Puri Rath Yatra is a famous event where the three deities [Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra] of the temple are taken for processions on huge decorated chariots or temple cars. The Jagannath Temple is built in the Kalinga architectural style and the deities of the temple are made of wood.
We reached Puri at about 6 in the morning as we traveled by train (Yeswanthpur-Puri weekly Garib Rath Express in AC Tier-3) from Visakhapatnam (a port city in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh).
After breakfast, we headed for the darshan of Shree Jagannath. Vehicles are not allowed near the temple and the car parking is approx 1km from the temple complex. It was a smooth darshan with not much of a crowd. There are other minor temples within the main temple complex such as Vimala (or Bimala) temple, Mahalakshmi temple, Surya temple and Ganesh temple that we visited.
After taking the blessings from Lord Jagannath, we then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at Golden Beach of Puri.
Sun Temple Interpretation Centre
On our second day in Odisha, we headed towards Konark by a vehicle that we had got arranged for our travel within Odisha [A very comfortable S-Cross arranged through one of my friend who is from Odisha]. Konark is about 35kms from Puri and it took us roughly an hour to reach.
The visitors car parking area is approx 600m from the Sun temple. From the car parking area, as we walked towards the Sun Temple, we visited the Sun Temple Interpretation Centre, an excellent air conditioned museum that showcases the historical and architectural details of the Sun temple and well maintained by the Indian Oil Corporation.
There are five galleries inside the museum which not only highlights the Sun Temple but also provides valuable information on the culture of Odisha and showcases architecture of other important temples of Odisha as well as other Sun Temples in India. The touch screen displays at each gallery is another highlight of this museum as it provides visitors an opportunity to gather extra valuable information.
There is also an auditorium which plays an animated movie depicting the origins of the Sun Temple and this was indeed a fabulous experience. All these are included within an entry ticket of INR 50/-.
We spent about an hour here and then proceeded towards the Sun temple.
Konark Sun Temple
The Konark Sun Temple is a magnificent Kalinga style architecture temple dedicated to the Hindu Sun God (Suryadeva) and is built in the form of a chariot [Similar to the chariot of the Sun God].
The temple that we see today is the ruins of this magnificent and very beautiful architecture. The ruins do not include the 'vimana' (the sanctum of the temple which was about 230ft high) while the Jagmohana (main audience hall which is about 128feet high), Bhoga Mandir (dining hall) and Natamandir (dance hall) are damaged at many places. Jagmohana is the principal structure of the ruins.
Upon entering the temple complex, we are greeted with the grandeur of the Natamandir (dance hall) which is right opposite to Jagmohana. In front of the Natamandir are two big lions subduing elephants.
The Jagmohana hosts the chariot structure and the chariot has 12 pairs of beautifully carved massive wheels (12 each on either side of the chariot) and is pulled by seven horses. The 24 wheels are considered to be representing the 24 hours of the day or 12 months of the year. Each wheel has 8 spokes which represent the different intervals of the day. The seven horses are considered to be representing the seven days of the week.
One can witness the beautiful carvings of musicians, dancers, animals, figures of gods and goddesses and erotic figures on the walls of the temple.
We spent about an hour exploring the glory of this beautiful architectural masterpiece. As we were heading back for lunch, we did explore the avenue leading to the temple which is full of shops filled with many artistic items like small sculptures made of wood and stone, wide range of handicrafts, paintings, etc. We did buy a Konark wheel replica and Puri Jagannath temple replica.
We then had lunch at Kamat Food Court which is next to the Interpretation Centre.
International Sand Art Festival 2019
Post lunch, we headed to Chandrabhaga beach, the beautiful locale for the International Sand Art Festival which is around 3kms from the Sun temple towards Puri. The Sand Arts festival is a celebration of sand sculptures done by amazingly skilled sand artists across the world. Padma Shri awardee Sudarshan Patnaik, an Internationally acclaimed sand artist from Odisha is the Brand Ambassador for this event. This is a 5 day event happening annually from December 1st to 5th.
The event had nearly 100 sand artists participating from across India and around the world like USA, Ireland, Denmark, Canada, etc
We reached there around 3PM and as we entered, there was a gallery featuring pictures of some of the previous year's sand arts and also some of Patnaik's amazing works.
As we walked through, we could see nearly 50 different sand arts where the artists actively working on their piece of art. Arts of International artists were showcased first followed by that of Indian artists. Visitors are allowed to walk on a carpeted pathway that is barricaded and are not allowed to enter the artist's playground.
We did take multiple rounds to witness the progress of these sand sculptures and some of them were at near completion. We were just amazed at some of the works as to how beautifully they are made. The dedidation and the talent of the artists as they worked through the finer details of their piece is very commendable. As most visitors or spectators did, we did take lots of pictures of these and as the crowd increased, we headed for some beach play and sunset.
After sunset, we stayed at the beach for some more time and then took another round of walk across the sand arts and then headed to witness yet another grand event of the evening, Konark Dance Festival.
Konark Dance Festival 2019
Heading back towards the temple, we were excited to be at the Konark Dance Festival which happens in the Konark's Open air auditorium with the Sun temple in the backdrop. As we were reaching the venue, we could see Konark's streets decorated with pretty Pipli lamps and lighting. The same was with the case of the Open air auditorium, such beautiful decor I must say.
This 5 day event happens from 6PM to 830PM showcasing two cultural dances of India on each day. We were lucky to have Odissi and Mohiniyattam on that day. Odissi is a classical dance form that originated in Odisha while Mohiniyattam is a popular classical dance form from Kerala.
The lowest entry fee was INR 100/- and offered a side view of the stage. With entry tickets of higher price, one can get the frontal view of the stage to see the amazing temple backdrop. We were not aware that we would get the side view and purchased the 100/- tickets. However, we were not much disappointed since the view was not that bad.
The cultural evening started with lighting the ceremonial lamp and taking the blessings of Lord Jagannath.
The first performance was a beautifully choreographed and amazingly performed Odissi dance by Swapnarani Sinha and her group Nrutya nilaya. They presented 'AgniStutee', a performance dedicated to the Fire God, Agni and then another dance piece based on the confluence of the three holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati called 'Trivenee'. This was the first time, I was witnessing an Odissi dance performance and that too live. It was an awesome experience. It was like we were transported to another world.
Next up, there was mesmerizing Mohiniyattam performance from Jayaprabha Menon (renowned Mohiniyattam dancer) and her group based on Ashtapadi and Chandana charitha, an extract from Geeta Govinda. A truly faboulous performance that made our day.
That brought us to the end of this beautiful well spent day as we headed back to Puri.
Other fascinating places in Odisha that we visited
We visited some of the other major tourist places of Odisha during the remaining days and I must say we were amazed by each one of them.
Chilika Lake which is the largest salt water lagoon in India where tourists can go for boating to witness the migratory birds, red crabs and the Irrawaddy dolphins. Satpada town which is on the eastern bank of the lake is about 50kms from Puri.
Raghurajpur, a heritage handicrafts village which is 14kms from Puri and off the highway from Puri to Bhubaneshwar. This place is known for its pattachitra paintings made over a piece of cloth. Jagannath paintings on betel nut and coconut shells are also available here along with stone idols, sculptures and wooden toys.
Dhauli Shanti Stupa, is a hilltop Buddhist structure located on top of Dhauligiri about 8kms from Bhubaneshwar and is also called Peace pagoda. It is believed that the Kalinga war was fought at Dhauligiri.
Kandhagiri and Udayagiri caves are sets of partly natural caves on two adjacent hills of Kandhagiri and Udayagiri near Bhubaneshwar
Lingaraja temple, the largest temple in Bhubaneshwar dedicated to Lord Shiva built in the style of Kalinga architecture with the central tower being 180ft tall. The temple complex has nearly 50 other small temples making it a top tourist attraction of the state and a must visit place.
Mukteshwara temple, a 10th century Hindu temple in Bhubaneshwar dedicated to Lord Shiva and often considered the "Gem of Kalinga architecture"
Nandankanan Zoo, about 18kms from Bhubaneshwar and is home to more than 150 species spread over an area of about 1080 acres with more than 3 million visitors annually.
Hope you found this interesting.