Weekly Village market in Koraput

I remember, almost two decades ago when I used to visit the local weekly market with my father to get fresh vegetables directly from farmers. I did experience these kind of markets mostly in coastal Odisha, but this time I was in Koraput (Koraput is the Southern most district of Odisha) and fortunately landed in a weekly market for work. This market was so different and lively that the experience is indescribable. Tribals are very happy and fun loving innocent people. And not to surprise me, they were so friendly that I did spend 2+ hours roaming around and speaking to people and clicking there portraits (Will pen down those stories here).

More portraits and happy faces to follow soon :)

Travel: Bichitrapur mangroves, Odisha

 It is an absolute delight to see plenty of red crabs there on the beach.

This time the purpose of the visit to Bichitrapur was not travel but to do the post-wed shoot of my childhood friend. As all other pics posted above were very very random, so sharing few framed compositions :)

Utkal and Pragyan... The sweetest couple ever.

How to Reach: Bichitrapur is roughly 50 kms from Jaleswar and 100 kms from Baleswar. Digha beach in West Bengal is only 18 kms away.The diversion you need to take from NH5 is towards Digha/Talasari before the octroi toll gate (Signage by Odisha Govt is there but chances of missing them are there because of the road construction work and lots of diversions). The road after Jaleswar is good but construction work at some patches (may be the road will be smoother by next month). Chandaneswar is the diversion point, from here Bichitrapur is towards right (10 kms). The left one goes to Digha (6 kms) and straight down is Talasari (3 kms). The 10 kms drive is on a single lane typical road through villages and is worth looking around. Nearest railway station is Jaleswar and most of the trains do have a stoppage.
Rest room facility is there at Bichitrapur.
Contact Details: Resource manager - +91-7894542500, +91-9937157332
Divisional Forest Officer (Balasore Wildlife Division) - +91-6782-256142
GPS Coordinate: 21.589698, 87.419135
What to Do: A boat ride into the mangroves is the attraction. The boat ride for nature watch can be availed from the lone government facility only. 6 and 8 person boats are available and the trips lasts for around 60 minutes with a tariff of INR 1000 and INR 1200 respectively. The service is available from 10.30 am till 5.30 pm.
Where to Stay: OTDC Chandaneswar Panthasala (Govt.) is the best place around. It is close to Talasari beach and seems to have good amenities. Large government standard rooms with big washrooms and all is pleasure. Not to mention about the very friendly staff, they were happy to answer all my queries to the detail.
Contact Details: +91-6781-232528/212500
What to Eat: Being an Eco tourism site, Bichitrapur is less commercialized and has only 2 small shops probably who sell some sort of snacks and water etc. If you are planning for a long stay there, then my personal advice will be to carry some food, especially if you have kids along. The nearest market is Chandaneswar (10 kms) and good restaurant is at OTDC Panthasala at Talasari. There must have many options towards Digha but I personally have not explored that route. But OTDC restaurant at Talasari offers some of the best food at unbelievable pricing on the menu. Especially the locally caught crabs from Subarnarekha River.
Nearest Tourist Attractions: Talasari Beach, Digha Beach, Mondarmoni Beach, Chandaneswar Temple, Bhusandeswar Temple
Caution/Precaution: Carry food for Kids and Infants. And be careful for your camera accesories as water may keeps spilling into the boat. There is no shelter/shaded place at the last destination point where you will walk towards beach. So you may carry an umbrella for the kids and elderly. Sleepers or Water-proof shoes are preferable if you are going during high tide. You can leave your shoes in the boat though as walking barefoot on the sand will be fun.


P.S. I visited the place during low tide i.e in the afternoon (5 ish) but during the high tide the place is brilliant and you will find all the mangrove area wet. Even the beach at the last point looks interesting with water level up. So you may plan your visit in the first half of the day for some adventure.

Travel: Gopalpur on Sea, Odisha

I always did regret that I could not explore my home state Odisha much. Average one visit to home town almost every month and still did get enough time to explore places around, but this August was different. Three new places and 2 of them were less explored was like an unexpected lottery.

Putting them in three different posts (mostly as photo features) and starting with Gopalpur-on-Sea :)

Visited this place 2-3 times earlier but never experienced the Sun-Rise... So this time, the early morning stroll on the beach with a camera in hand was just perfect.

A panoramic view of the Gopalpur beach...

Early morning stroll...

How to Reach: Gopalpur is only 170 kms away from Bhubaneswar and is well connected by Rail and Road. NH5 is at it's best and barely takes 2 and 1/2 hours to be there. And this place is 16 kms away from Berhampur city. The nearest railway station is also Berhampur and has good connectivity from the state capital as well as from Vizag (Andhra Pradesh).

Where to Stay: Gopalpur offers a variety of places to stay. OTDC PanthaNiwas is something I will suggest to contribute to the governments efforts. It has 4 independent cottages and AC and Non-AC rooms with dining facility. Mayfair and Swosti are there for Luxury. All these are on the beach and have brilliant views.

What not to miss: The sea at Gopalpur is quite violent in compared to other beaches in Odisha and watching the Sun-Rise is a pleasant experience along with an early morning stroll.
What to Eat: If you are a foodie, then berhampur is the place you should go to have a different culinary experience. 15-16 kilometers is hardly a distance to have some good food. I personally had been to 'Girija Restaurant' and not to mention the butter chicken they make is an absolute delight to have with Stuffed Bread. And so is their Chicken Pakora. Though this place lacks a bit on cleanliness but the taste is guaranteed. Berhaupur city also has many famous South-Indian food joints to offer a great breakfast experience.

Travel: Odisha State

Few glimpses of Beautiful Odisha... that I got to see during my visit last month.

Road to Heaven...

BLISS

Philin Fear

With all your good wishes and blessings of the almighty... things are much better in Odisha as the major fear/phase of Cyclone Philine is passed. The damage is huge but thankfully there is minimum loss of lives. Still there is rain and wind in some parts of the state and there is a new threat of FLOOD. Lets hope for the best and wish that people of Odisha will overcome this natural calamity again.

P.S. The photograph above was clicked during my visit to Odisha last month, somewhere in the interiors of Gajapati district.

The Breakfast ;)

Some of you must be wondering 'What is this strange stuff' and some of you must be literally creeping to have this.... This is how a typical vendor sells the mouth watering 'Aloo Dum Dahibara' in most parts of Odisha state, especially the coastal belt. This actually is the specialty of the thousand year old Silver city 'Cuttack'. In joke we even say that, people of Cuttack do swear by this and can eat this for Breakfast, Lunch, even for dinner ;) but mostly it is a breakfast stuff.
This 'Aloo Dum Dahibara' in simple terms is urad dal doughnuts or fritters soaked in tangy curd and topped with spicy potato curry with finely chopped onions. For the recipe you need to Google or do check HERE, I only know how to enjoy the food ;)

This particular vendor stands in front of Siddheswar Temple in Old part of Bhubaneswar. When ever I'm in the town, one of my early morning is dedicated for a photo shoot around the place and visiting this guy is a must.

Another Evening

I'm counting my days here in Bhubaneswar and the last evening could not better than this. After long I was seeing a beautiful shade of cream-son red and could not resist to frame it from roof top.
This view you are seeing here is a very typical one here in coastal part of Odisha with coconut trees around.

Rath Yatra 2012: The Making

Only 5 days away from the World famous Rath Yatra (Car Festival) of Lord Jagannath, and as I visited the place, just sharing few frames from the making of the Cart for the deities and the people behind it.
For your information, the making of a Carts is not as simple as it looks but has many rituals involved.










P.S. The rituals of the making of the carts will be in another post and in detail.

Eeshwaras of Bhubaneswar

Eeshwaras of Bhubaneswar (God & Goddesses of Bhubaneswar)

Bhubaneswar, the capital of East Indian state Odisha is also known as 'Temple City'. Literally the meaning of the word Bhubaneswar os 'The adobe of Lord of the Universe', and to complement this the city got numerous century old and finely crafted masterpiece temples all around to mesmerize anyone.
Here is my attempt to show you the richness of Temple architecture and culture from my home town through my faithful lens... Stay tuned.

Dhauli Mahotsav 2011

Organized since 2003, on the foot hills of the heritage site, Dhauli, the mahotsav, has created a place for itself in the cultural map of the country. The aim in organizing this mahotsav is to keep alive the ancient Odishan culture and create awareness amongst the young generation. The objective is to preserve, promote and popularize the heritage at the national and international level. At the backdrop of Dhauli's rich historical and spiritual base, attempt is made to bring together artists of diverse discipline in the spirit of cultural solidarity. The ambiance is enchanting, performances enthralling which captivate the audiences by a true presentation of artistic excellence.

(Source: Dhauli Mahotsav Invitation card)

Touring season starts...

After 14 months since I last tried my hands on a mechanized two wheeler, this so called biker got promoted from the Unicorn to a first generation Scooty. All thanks to my study session and the bicycle I own there in UK, I hardly realized any difference in riding the Uni at 100+ kmph when compared to the all time 0 kmph in later one's speedo. But it was quite noticeable from the travel time, I could have reached US of A earlier than the time this usually takes from Vanivihar Square to Bapuji Nagar. All the credit goes to my little sister for being kind enough to hand me over her Scooty keys which perfectly was in its shape. After torturing that tiny little vehicle around the city of Bhubaneswar for more than 45 days, I did try my hands on a friends new Activa and it was with me for few days, how this happened is a complete different story altogether. The 1 and 1/2 month city scooty ride helped me a lot in increasing my carbon-footprint though, but it is still manageable if I'm calculating previous years fossil fuel consumption. Anyways.

This 110cc and 8 bhp honda machine forced me to hit the road to get the glimpses of Odisha state and to get the blessings of Maa Sarala. The thought made me ride this vehicle 200+ kilometers in 6-7 hours including the darshan time and all photo sessions, also interaction with some villagers and kids.

And thus the touring season starts... :)

Harvesting Gold...

Paddy being the prime corp of Odisha, is often compared with Gold. With the start of winter months, the paddy fields start to ripe and often resembles as bright gold with the early morning Sun shine. This harvest actually fulfills the whole requirement of rice throughout the year and some extra income to the village farmers with the sell of excess and acts as the economical backbone.

This photograph is shot somewhere in Jagarsinghpur district of Odisha.