The Lap of Buddhism - Ratnagiri - Traveller's Paradise!

I am hereby redeeming a promise I had made to all my readers in one of my previous posts,i.e. to write in detail about each of the Buddhist places in the 'Diamond Triangle' of Odisha. So here goes the first exclusive write-up on the exquisitely beautiful Ratnagiri!

Being an esteemed part of 3rd International Buddhist Conference at Bhubaneswar has been a life-changing experience for me. The second day of Conference was a site-visit to the 'Diamond Triangle' of Odisha. Ratnagiri was the second destination in our Buddhist trail, after Lalitgiri.

Location: Ratnagiri is in Jajpur District, only about 100 km from Odisha's capital- the splendid Temple City of Bhubaneswar. You can reach at Biju Pattnaik International Airport or Bhubaneswar Railway Station, and head to Ratnagiri by extremely well-connected roads- can reach within 2 hours easily!

2nd Bus carrying Delegates of Buddhist Conference to Ratnagiri. Buses were parked about 1.5 km away from main site, as road is narrow for big buses. Later mini bus of OTDC took us to the exact site of Ratnagiri!

Literally meaning, 'Hill of Jewels' this site is lined with breathtakingly beautiful votive stupas and monasteries dating between 5th Century AD to 13th Century AD.

5 Ways to Manao* your Special Someone!

Sometimes a "sorry" is not enough... Then what is? #sorry

 

Right. "Sorry" is an ubiquitous and taken-for-granted word. Unless you back it up with some heartfelt action, you have no chance to win the other's heart.

So what are my five big ideas to achieve more than the effect of 'sorry' and indeed mend every crack in the relationship?! Here they go:

SURPRISES 

 

#UtkalaDibasaQuiz : Win 2N-3D Stay at Puri, Ratnagiri & lots more!

 

 

The following #UtkalaDibasa Quiz commemorates #UtkalaDibasa 2015 - Odisha's Foundation Day. 

Source

Check out the #UtkalaDibasaQuiz Rules and Terms and Conditions HERE.

A chance to WIN Travel-Stays worth Rs 11,000, Rs 8,000 and 10 other fabulous prizes!

How my New Life Starts!

Every time I attend new events and talk/interact or listen to new people, I feel I have started a new life! Each of them are bold steps to refine me and add value to my life! Especially this year, my plate has been full by God’s grace! 

In January month I attended two Literary Fests back to back in Kolkata- The #AKLF- Apeejay Kolkata Literary Fest 2015 and the Tata Steel Kalam 2015. Both these were held in the sprawling and extremely beautiful premises of the Victoria Memorial. I felt rejuvenated! 

At #AKLF!

Dhabaleswar Temple at Dhauligiri, Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Happy Mahashivratri to all! Today is the festival of Shiva, one among the Trinity of Lords in Hindu religion. As per mythology, Shiva married Parvati today. So, it is considered most auspicious. People keep fast and pray all through the night invoking Lord Shiva.

In Hinduism there are 33 crore Gods and Goddesses, but the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara (Shiva) are the chief among them, apart from Shakti or Goddess who is considered most powerful.

In one of the G+ messages I read today, this intriguing fact was refreshed in my mind: The Lords who drank Amrit or nectar became 'Dev' (Lord) while the one who drank poison became 'Devon ke Dev' (Lord of Lords) or 'Mahadev' (Great Lord) ,that is, Shiva.

3rd International Buddhist Conference, Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Ever since I had seen the below tweet on @odisha_tourism handle, I had been very excited to be a part of 3rd International Buddhist Conference from 13-15 February 2015! 

We are organising the 3rd International Conference on Buddhist Heritage of Odisha from 13th to 15th Feb. pic.twitter.com/3CzRF5RPUU
— Odisha Tourism (@odisha_tourism) February 5, 2015

Coming to know of the attractive itinerary, I was super-charged and decided that I would anyhow attend this promising event in the City of Temples, my beautiful city of Bhubaneswar.

#Nabakalebara 2015 at #Puri #Odisha

Nabakalebara is among the most unique and rare festivals of the Lord in the world. In the Bhagwad Gita, Lord Krishna has conveyed- "The body will get destroyed upon death. But just as we change into new clothes from old, so also the immortal soul will simply enter into new bodies but will never itself get destroyed".

Nabakalebara Logo from Odisha Tourism Website (Official Source)

Encompassing this deep-seated Hindu belief is the inimitable, one-of-its-kind festival in the entire world, called Nabakalebara. Naba means new and kalebara means body. Lord Jagannath is the presiding deity of Puri, Odisha who is considered as a Vishnu Avatar or a form of Lord Krishna.

April 1st is #UtkalaDibasa!

April 1st happens to be a very special day for over 5 Crore (50 million) people belonging to the eastern state of Odisha in India. This was the day - 1st April 1936- that Odisha was born as a state. Odisha's people are also called Odias. Today Odias are dispersed across India and the world, in this increasingly globalised era and all celebrate #UtkalaDibasa or Odisha Day with great joy and reverence. Odia is the language of the people of Odisha. This ancient, rich and great language has recently been announced as the Sixth Classical Language of India and the very first Indo-Aryan language which has been granted this highly esteemed status. Odissi is the classical dance of Odisha- one of the most subtle, beautiful, graceful dance forms of India.

On auspicious #UtkalaDibasa I convey my best wishes to all Odia brothers and sisters..Source

Odisha since historical times has had several names- Udra Desa, Kalinga, Utkala, Odisha. Hence April 1st is popularly called Utkala Dibasa : 'Utkala' name was popular during 19th and early 20th centuries when Odia freedom fighters took up the cause, and 'Dibasa' means Day. Famous patriotic song written by Kantakabi Laxmikanta Mohapatra 'Bande Utkala Janani' was made the state anthem upon Utkala's independence on April 1st, 1936. For full lyrics, click here.

Biju Pattnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar

Image Source

Airports are the first receiving points for tourists travelling by air into any country, state or city. It is rightly said thus, that the state of the airports determine the 'welcome' experience for especially the foreign tourists. Whether that experience turns out to be 'welcoming' or not, forms the first impressions of the country/state/city in the minds of the visitors.

In the country of 'Atithi Devo Bhava' or 'Visitor/Guest is like God', !ncredible !ndia must pay special attention towards building top class airports connecting all states of the country, to welcome her Guests
in the best way possible. We have made great progress in this direction no doubt, especially since the last six years or so, when swanky and colossal world-class airports have come up not just in Tier-I
cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad etc. in PPP mode but also in Tier-II cities like Nagpur, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar and so on. [Report: In the last five years, AAI has developed and upgraded 58 airports, including 35 non-metroairports.]

Here I embark on a journey to tell U what makes the new terminal of Bhubaneswar Airport inaugurated on 5th March 2013 quite a charming and admirable place as well as in what sense it remains wanting- by solving which it will become truly world-class!
- Wide & separate/dedicated entry & exit roads makes travelling to and from the airport very fast and convenient.
- The Airport's exterior boasts of extremely well maintained lawns and flower-plants which fills the heart with happiness! Sure it's a ravishing sight! All flowers in full bloom too this time of the year!