A Nostalgic Visit to Puri – The Abode of Lord Jagannath

As soon as our train stopped at the busy railway station of Puri, I was excited to see the city after a long time. Puri is one of the most visited cities in the Indian state of Odisha where people come in search of spirituality or solace for a few days.

Only 60 km away from Bhubaneshwar, Puri is home to the famous 12th-century Jagannath temple which draws almost half of the total visitors to Odisha (formally known as Orissa). Puri is also known as Sri Jagannatha Dhama after the Jagannatha Temple and is one of the original Char Dham pilgrimage sites for Hindus.

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A Roadtrip to Daringbadi – Everything You Need to Know About the Kashmir of Odisha

When traveling to Odisha, the first thing that comes to your mind is its famous temples or sea beaches. But Odisha has many more things to offer. Many don’t know that Odisha has a hill station of its own which is fondly known as the ‘Kashmir of Odisha’.

Yes, I am talking about Daringbadi, a hill station situated at an altitude of 3000 feet, in the Kandhamal district of Odisha. Daringbadi is a quaint place covered with pine forests and prolific green valleys that are covered with clouds during monsoons. It is the only knowing place in Odisha where the temperature drops to zero degrees and sometimes receives snowfall in extreme winter.

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A Glimpse into the Artworks of Raghurajpur Village in Odisha

When you enter any of the hotels in Puri, the first thing your eyes will land on is traditional Pattachitra paintings of Lord Jagannath with his siblings Balaram and Subhadra. Most of these paintings come from a tiny artisan village called Raghurajpur.

Raghurajpur is a heritage crafts village on the banks of the Bhargavi river in Puri district of India, well known for producing some of the finest Pattachitra artworks in the country. Pattachitra is a traditional form of cloth-based scroll painting based in the Indian states of Odisha and West Bengal.

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The Magnificent Sun Temples of the World

Sun God or Goddess has been worshiped throughout the World in various forms by various civilizations. Solar deity or Sun is perceived as the storehouse of inexhaustible power and radiance and is often worshiped during the harvesting months.

Many temples dedicated to worship Sun have been built in recorded history of mankind where Sun God is typically depicted riding seven horses on a chariot, representing the seven colors of a rainbow. There are even some temples enshrining the Sun God as the principal deity. Many of these shrines have been designed in such a way that the sun’s rays illuminate the sanctum on certain days of the year.

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