| A Trip
To The Konark Sun Temple, Orissa |
| Travels
In India |
| By Rajdeep Bhattacharjee |
| July 2005
After a brief
stay at New Delhi, I decided to travel to Konark Sun Temple which is located
in the state of Orissa near the sacred city of Puri.The World Heritage
Konark Sun Temple is dedicated to the Sun God or Surya as it is pronounced
in India.
It was a warm
welcome at the Bhuvaneshwar Airport with temperature at 38-degree Celsius.
Soon after getting out of the airport, I moved to May Fair Lagoon, a better
hotel in the capital of Orissa and stayed inside my room to refresh myself.
It was early next morning when I decided to travel to Konark temple, which
is 65kms away from Bhubaneshwar. |
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It was the
first time, that I traveled in a big Ambassador Car and it was real fun
traveling in it. Konark derives its name from Konarka, the presiding deity
of the Sun Temple. Konarka is actually a combination of two words, Kona
(corner) and Arka (sun), which, when combined, means the sun of the corner.
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The temple has
amazing architecture and is in the shape of a chariot of the sun god with
24 wheels, each about 10 feet in diameter, with a set of spokes and elaborate
carvings. Seven horses drag the temple. Two lions guard the entrance, crushing
elephants. The carvings on the temple give an insight of the royalty and
social environment of the 13th century. |
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| I could see
some wonderfully carved images of hunts, lovers, deities, dancers, birds,
animals, and mythological creatures as well as other intricate designs.
The temple is also famous for its erotic sculptures celebrating the joys
of living. There are three images of the Sun God, scientifically positioned
to catch the rays of the sun at dawn, noon and sunset. Though the motivation
for building this majestic temple is not known, the tea stall owners and
few other locals told me that it is believed that King Narasimhadeva, probably
constructed it as a victory monument, after a successful campaign against
Muslim invaders.
As I was trying
to capture some glimpses of the Temple, which is currently under renovation,
it was almost impossible to click the shutter because of the extreme heat
wave. But, the trip was good and while coming back from Konark, I took
a break and got out from the car at Chandrabhaga beach, which is close
to the Sun Temple and is not crowded and one can spend quite moments absorbing
the beauty of the surroundings. |
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Offshore
Resources Gallery
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| The beach
comes to full bloom during February when the Hindus celebrate Magha Saptami,
the Chandrabhaga Mela, is celebrated with much fanfare. On this day pilgrims
from all over India come to take a holy dip in the pool and then converge
onto the beach to watch the sun rise over the sea.
When To
Visit
You can visit
Konark throughout the year but the best time to visit is between October
and March. Don't make the mistake of traveling here during summer.
Getting
There
Indian Airlines
connect Bhubaneshwar from New Delhi. Other airlines and some of the newly
introduced budget airlines also connect Bhubaneshwar from Delhi and other
major points of India.
Please check
with your Travel agent for details. |
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| If you are
already in India, you can reach Bhubaneshwar by Rajdhani Express from New
Delhi. Trains from other metro cities like Kolkata, Chennai, also connect
Bhubaneshwar. Although it was a 1-day trip, I felt good after visiting
the Temple and shall try to visit other places in Orissa once the summer
is over.
The following
are Rajeep's previous articles for the magazine:
Rajdeep Bhattacharjee
is a Travel Writer and can be contacted at rajdeep@ecotourism.cc |
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