A Sunday after long...

Finally a Sunday for me after ages... A quick drive on DND and Yamuna expressway to BIC (Buddh International Circuit) with close buddies. Thanks Saurabh and Om for the wonderful spin and all loud music \m/

Travel: Delhi-Bhubaneswar Run

I should call it just another crazy drive. Last month me and another friend just drove down to Bhubaneswar from Delhi in 32 hours flat. Yes, 32 hours and the major halt was for 2 hours around for a power nap somewhere before Jamshedpur probably. It was fun again with a very small peg of adventure. And to anyone's surprise, I did not take my camera out anywhere. Only managed to click a few (read 3-4) with cell-phone camera. Unlike the last Bhubaneswar-Delhi drive, this time we had the comfort of being inside a car :D

The Adventure Leg:

I did came via Kharagpur-Durgapur and did hit the GT road or NH 2 (now NHAI has termed it AH, Asian Highway) at Asansol. We were suppose to take the same route but decided to enter into Jharkhand from Dhanbad. It was the next rainy evening and our aim was still the same, to hit Bhubaneswar in one go. Being on a new route and rainy outside there hardly were any locals around. So GPS became our navigator and dumped us somewhere deep into the forest giving us a brilliant vibe of Naxalites around. The super tallented GPS navigation system was still insisting us on the existence of a Bridge to cross River Damodar. Somehow we managed to find the way to the bridge to find the Purulia-Dhanbad road. The rain was pretty gentle until it was dark but showed us its face afterwards, from 7pm till 11, it rained like anything. Superb road with strategically placed pot holes filled with water accompanied us till Jamshedpur. Almost around midnight by then as the adventure ended. So another experience :D

By dusk we did hit Odisha border at Jamshola and the roads were surprisingly well and within an hour we crossed Balasore and around 3-3.5 hours more till bhubaneswar. And all in an Alto :)

Route:

Delhi (Saket)-DND-Yamuna Expressway-Agra-Etawah-Kanpur-Allahabad bypass-Dhanbad-Purulia-Barabhum-Ghatshila-Baharagora-Jamsola-Balasore-Bhadrakh-Bhubaneswar

Travel: The Leaning Temple of Huma

Huma Temple, famously known as 'Huma Bakra Mandira (Leaning Temple of Huma)' is the abode of lord Shiva who is being worshiped here as 'Lord Vimaleshwara'. 23 kilometers away from Sambalpur city, the drive does show you a beautiful rustic view of typical Odia country side and farm lands.

The temple is not that big or that old. There are two contradictions regarding the construction period of the temple. According to some it was built in 17th century, where as some documents say it was built in last quarter of 19th century.

The most wonderful thing about the temple is, it is significantly leaned towards the North-East side. It is quite strange. And at the same time the other small small temple structures inside the campus are also tilted to different different sides. The inclination also has come controversy. Some researchers believe that the temple is leaned because of the movement of the foundation stone due to heavy floods and according to some, it was the idea of the designer or architect to protect the structure from the heavy current of flood water of Mahanadi as the temple is inclined opposite to the flow of water. Very interesting, is not it!

What NOT to miss!
- If you are visiting the place, do spend little time inside the campus and try to read the architecture and inclinations.
- Even the boundary walls are inclined.
- Do visit through the rear gate of the campus towards the rocky river bed. Sin on the concrete steps and soak your legs with chilled water of River Mahanadi. There are very interesting and big big red colored fishes with some mythological importance. So people do feed them with some special food available there.
- You can take a small boat ride also in Mahanadi.

Eat Fresh, Stay Healthy :)