Through My Lenses: Koraput Memories — II

Those who have been regulars of Iris will recollect the ‘Through My Lenses’ series and Koraput Moments. I had promised in that article, written a year ago (precisely June 2010) that I’ll be back with the second part of the story soon. However, the pictures somehow vanished from my hard-disk and then I could not locate them for one year, until this June when suddenly they reemerged mysteriously from my old desktop’s hard-disk.

Well, a commitment once made is a commitment to be kept — so this weekend article is Anne’s tribute to some unexplored and exquisitely beautiful parts of Odisha — Koraput, Jeypore, and Gupteswar . It’s completely an individual’s experience and perception of the landscape  through the  camera lenses. I would love to hear your opinions and experience if any of the valley.

Koraput, is a sylvan landscape ensconced between hills and mountains. There is  the gorgeous Araku valley connecting Andhra and Odisha on one end and then there is the Salur Ghat  on the other end that connects NH 43 and the rest of Odisha to this valley town located ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’. Rajam is the largest town on the way from Bhubaneswar to Koraput.

Completely girdling the Eastern Ghats, the ghat roads are a beauty in themselves — clouds knocking at your window and if you are lucky enough you might catch a glimpse of thousands of tiger butterflies fluttering around. However, a word of caution — the ghat roads are not safe to be traveled at night or even late evening.

The ghat road

Butterflies flocking around _ in Salur Ghat

A Close-up Profile

Watching these butterflies fly around you is like watching thousands of gig-lamps burning at one go. The Eastern Ghats are known for their erratic weather and sudden spells of rain. I had described about Koraput and life there in the first part of this article. Let me invite you to a festivity that I saw in the place.

While staying in Damanjodi, one morning after a bout of rain and thunder-storm, when I found the skies white-washed and the weather inviting  for a walk, I took my digicam and went out for a walk from the guest-house towards the nearby locality. I was greeted to the chime of bells, ullu-ullu, and Sankha dhwani.  Followed the call of the sankha and landed up in an open area where many married ladies were gathered under a tree. Dressed up in their finery, with pallus over their foreheads and gold jewellery, anklets and alta adorning their feet, against the background of forests and hills — the sight was something to behold. The tree was decorated with sarees, festoons and underneath was the image of a make-shift goddess. On enquiry, someone informed me that it was Savitri Amavasya that day, where married ladies worship the goddess for the long lives of their husbands.

Savitri Puja

Ladies applying Kum-kum on each others forehead

The tree worshiped with sarees and coloured bands

That which struck me as unique in this particular place was the care in which the trees were treated by these ladies. Not a single leaf was supposed to be disturbed by anyone, I was told by an aged lady standing with the sankha there. There was a riot of colours — seemed like nature’s green and the multi-coloured sarees co-mingled and created a visual effect of their own. The rain-washed breeze added the required effect to the settings.

The next morning I went by a car to visit Gupteswar caves. Located 65kms from Koraput, you have to cross Jeypore and move through dense Sal forests in order to reach the caves. The picturesque and extremely controversial Kolab dam is visible from a distance on your way.

View from the roads -- Kolab at a distance

Pastoral

Those of you who are acquainted with Koraput and its histories must be aware that it is currently one of the most troubled landscapes in India. Maoism, Naxalite movements, and religious conversions keep the district in news. Its charm and scenic beauty have given way to turbulent uprisings and daily killings of innocent civilians or junior police officers in the name of Maoist movements and counter-attacks.

Gupteswar falls in that zone of fire. Situated 65kms from the town of Jeypore, the caves are a real adventure for the adventure lover. If you visit Gupteswar make sure that you return to Jeypore before sunset. Dense Sal forests, water-bodies, human-less natural habitats, snakes, and a huge  limestone naturally-formed Shiva lingam of more than 5 feet greet you in Gupteswar.

You might encounter some human habitat for a few kilometers after Jeypore, but after that for miles it is only jungle. I was amused by a forest dawk-bungalow inside the dense forests leading to the caves on a district road. If you are an ardent nature lover or a botanical researcher, this forest IB is a must stay place.

A forest dawk-bungalow

The smell of the forests is something unique — scary and enigmatic. The rules of the jungle are beyond the perception of the ‘civilized’ human — but these are rules still.

Miles to go

Road to Gupteswar

The area of Gupteswar is tribal in its life and orientation. For centuries the cave and the puja has been managed by tribes and you would find that the prasad also comprises banana, and wild berries. A fresh water mountain stream that becomes Kolab river criss-crossing the entire Koraput district runs along the foot-hills of the caves. Everything here has the organic charm of the mountains, untouched by the destruction of a ‘civilized’ modernized society. My best experience here was the interaction with the tribes and the women who sell berries — was overwhelmed by the love that they shared with me though we could not interact on the basis of language.   Sometimes silence is the best communicator.

A family I met

For the lenses

The gates

If I am asked about my experience of Gupteswar,  I would say — surreal. The caves are dark and you have to walk down a flight of steps cut out of the cave rock into a dense darkness. When you reach down and your eyes get accustomed to that darkness, through the lights of dimly lit Deeyas, you will see a huge limestone structure in the form of a shiva-linga staring at you. There are certain explainable aspects of nature and there are many other unexplainable aspects — Gupterswar falls under the category of unexplainable.

Entrance to the caves

The natural limestone Shiva-linga

Lighting up the dark caves

There is a word of caution. When you are walking inside the caves, be a little careful about snakes. Someone was greeted by a small yellow serpent coiled near his feet inside the cave.

Gupteswar

The caves in a close-up

The entrance into Gupteswar area has an interesting goddess with a very deeply entrenched tribal history. She is called — Dalkhai in that area (goddess who likes to eat branches (daal)). You can buy wild berries or branches of Sal leaves for Rs. 2 as a gift for the goddess, who ensures that your journey back to human habitat is safe enough. I met a little girl who appeared to be dressed in a school uniform. She said she goes to a school and also helps her mother to sell the wild berries in this area. Her name is Jhuma is what I could make out from our conversation.

Dalkhai

Jhuma selling wild berries

Share love if you should

My visit to Gupteswar was a revelation in itself. We do not know and neither do we bother to know the secrets of nature very close to human habitat. There is poverty, there is  Maoism, but there is also a deep sense of surrealism which is difficult to be expressed in words, unless you experience it.

As I said Koraput, Jeypore and the areas adjoining are troubled and perennially in news because of Maoist activities. While returning back to Jeypore via Nandapur, there is a police outpost called Ramgiri. As we passed Ramgiri, I had a glimpse of the violence that often rocks the valleys and brings it to front pages of newspapers. Ramgiri outpost had freshly been looted and there was a Maoist massacre just a few days ago

Ramgiri Outpost

Gates of the deserted police outpost

Broken gates and roofs _witnesses of violence

Koraput, Sunabeda and its adjacent areas are a delight for the explorer in you. However, these areas have their own set of risks — the risk is neither from animals, nor from the forests, and nor from the tribes. Here human beings of ‘civilized’ societies shed blood in the name of civilization and in the name of defending cultures. If you have to visit Koraput, you will be appalled by the choices that you have as a tourist — Boriguma, Kolab, Sunabeda’s Sabara Shreekshetra — each is a marvel of human craft and nature’s craftsmanship.

My Koraput series ends here. Will embark on a different journey through life, people, and places in the next article. The cup of  ginger tea has emptied and the clock says it’s past 1. 30 am. I am reminded of a beautiful mountain song sang by Paraja tribes (a famous tribe of this area) and recorded by Gopinath Mohanty in his novel Paraja:

To the rhyme of the maize that is fried
Or the maize that is boiled,
I fashion my song;
Oh my darling who keeps her word,
Lovely is your nose-ring of gold.
My dungudunga wears only a brass string
But it makes exquisite music.…
Oh my darling, do keep your word,
Save me, for I die with your name on my lips,
Oh Jili! (Gopinath Mohanty, Paraja )

Through My Lenses: Koraput Moments

These days people keep talking about ‘moving on’ with life, with times, with new acquaintances and with new careers. Life has become a fast food joint where we serve and are served with instant delicacies (maybe hazardous for health but delicious to taste) while longing for homemade food. However, in this era of fast moving lives, flash-decision making mental drives and glorious capacity of being amnesiacs, there are some things which haven’t changed much and those things pertain not to human habitats or to metropolitan sentiments but rather to nature — nature at its wildest, deadliest best. Nature too is changing because of global warming, climate changes etc., but these are directly or indirectly connected to human interference.

Let me invite you to a trip with me into the wilderness of Odisha, a journey into the district of Koraput.  I am sure Koraput, Rayagada, Sunabeda and the adjacent areas are not unfamiliar to an average Indian who reads newspapers at chai stalls or at the breakfast table. Yes! you got it right — Koraput and its adjacent areas are famous or infamous for being centers of naxalite movement in Odisha. Everyday a dozen deaths occur here due to naxalite and Maoist activities. Human life is at its extreme in and around Koraput — poverty, violence, murder, loot, governmental apathy at one extreme and simplicity of tribal life, hospitality, devotion and hard-work at the other extreme. However, it is not my intention here to either discuss naxalite movements or to bring into focus the poverty of people at Koraput — my aim is to capture through my lenses the richness of nature, the beauty and serenity of a place which is gifted organically yet which starves due to human violence and political indifference. If you have the spirit of adventure and a passion to explore the secrets of nature Koraput is the right place for you.

Koraput is located at the southern tip of Odisha and is around 370 kms from Bhubaneswar. It is 2500 mts above sea level and the highest peak of Odisha, Deomali is located in this district. Koraput is well  connected to Bhubaneswar and Visakhapatnam by train as well as by road.

Train Route

Train carrying Bauxite from the mountains

It is closely connected with Andhra Pradesh through the Salur ghat which divides Odisha and Andhra and acts as a natural border between the two states.

Through the Salur Ghat

The journey

The beauty of the ghat roads is unspeakable and indiscribable. The Persian poet Jami had said: “Gar Firduas ruhe zamin ast, hamin asto hamin asto hamin asto” “If there is paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this”. It will not be an overstatement if we use the same quote for Koraput and its adjacent places. Those who love mountains, winters and fresh air would find paradise in this place.

Call of the mountains

Marriage of Heaven and Earth

As you travel through the hilly terrains, you find nature at its elements and you also find traces of modernity in terrace farming and the mines.

Terrace Farming

Koraput and the nearby areas are rich treasure troves of minerals, herbs and hydro power. In fact, the “Panchpatmali mines” located near Damanjodi 30 kms from Koraput  is considered to be one of the largest bauxite ore mines of the country. It provides raw Bauxite to  National Aluminum Company Limited (NALCO) a public sector undertaking (PSU) through a long, winding conveyor belt that connects the tip of the Panchapatmali mountains to the refineries located at Damanjodi.

The Conveyor Connecting Panchpatmali Bauxite Mines

Snapshot of the Conveyor

The process of industrialization has brought many changes in the sentiments of the natives of this district — some positive and some negative. NALCO is not the only large PSU in this area, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) also has a large MIG aircraft manufacturing sector in this area. The changes heralded by industrialization has affected the natives in multiple ways. Tribal population of these hilly terrains are vehemently possessive about their traditions and their lifestyle. The economic changes that came about with industrialization pushed some of these tribal population into extreme poverty and isolation. Their dressing, food habits, culture everything got affected with the process of external infiltration and economic growth. Whether we name these changes as positive or negative depends on our individual beliefs and opinion.

Posing for my lenses

She said she goes to school

I could not venture into some of the tribal pockets which are still untouched and extremely perilous.  These areas are still dominated by tribes which resist any form of external interference or alien infiltration. However, my personal observation regarding the people of these areas is that they are  bonded to nature and earth. Their love for nature and earth is manifested in the form of their worship and cultural festivals. Especially, forms of worship in these areas are hugely motivated by forces of nature like trees, animals and birds. I got a chance to visit some of these places and let me admit that even with my ‘secular’ outlook and fear of hurting religious sentiments, I can claim that I deciphered a religion which preaches love and admiration for forces of nature. One such place is called Kanta-baunsiani (Thorn-Bamboo Goddess) an entire bamboo forest which has been personified by the tribals as the “Mother Goddess”.

Temple of the Bamboo-Goddess

Wish-fulfilling Bamboo?

Bamboo bushes worshipped as Mother Goddess

The forms of worship in these bamboo bushes are still primarily tribal. Let me note that sacrifice in the form of hens and lambs are still allowed in this place. The goddess is addressed as “Huzoor!” by the priests and there are no mantras but some form of rhythmic invocation in local languages. If you have some wish to be fulfilled by the goddess, the priest gives you a little raw rice and calls out loudly to the goddess to fulfill your wishes and asks you to wish in your heart and pour the rice grains on the altar. This goddess reminded me of Bono Bibi in the Sunderbans who is revered in similar fashion.

Rituals and Worship of the Bamboo Goddess

When you see these places in Odisha you will feel time stands still and the life that we are leading is just an illusion of modernity and progress. Kanta-baunsiani is a place where nature in the form of bamboo shrubs is revered. You cannot even dream of felling these bamboo bushes.

The story of Koraput remains incomplete. I will take you through some other interesting moments pertaining to places and rituals of Koraput in the second part of this article reserved for my next post.

As the sun sets

Through My Lenses: Odisha Reflections

In my last post I had written about the trip to Puri and peppered it with visuals from Puri highway and Bhubaneswar.

Towards Dusk

Before getting away to a different destination one last remark about evenings at Puri. Puri is a great romantic get away for people who believe in a dream date who takes them to the sea beach in the evening, clear moon lit night and the roar of sometimes Turquoise and sometimes Lapis-Lazuli Bay of Bengal with your loved ones close by. Hmm! Keeping aside the romantic quotients, the Puri sea beach is well endowed with restaurants, inns, bread and breakfast and hotels. In the evening the beach transforms into a makeshift shopping ghetto selling trinkets, accessories, conch and mother-of-pearls, beach wear, kurtas and comfortable sleep-ins. If you are lucky then there might be a Beach festival running in the vicinity of the sea, a real visual bonanza. However, of the less luckier ones like me and for an affordable luxury one might like to hire one of the plastic chairs that cost 10 rupees per head for an hour and enjoy the evening in languorous silence sipping a local chai at 3.00 rupees, interrupted by nothing but the roar of the vast black stillness spreading upto the horizon.

Luxury Hotels by Puri Beach

Hawkers and Stalls

This post will again have a lot of visuals, but not everything is going to be about the ‘beautiful’ and magnificent Odisha.

While the main highways and the roads are being cleaned, decorated and made a visual treat, there are loopholes in the maintenance of housing areas and suburbs. Take for example the most populated suburb Sailashree Vihar in Bhubaneswar. The suburb has  houses and plots sold by the Housing Board Societies. There are attempts to build schools, parks, recreation centres and flower nurseries by the BMC (Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation) at several places throughout the locality. However, there is one basic feature lacking in the region — civic amenities. The by-lanes are mostly half-built, dotted with potholes and ditches, and  left in complete darkness without streetlights.  I understand the necessity of saving electricity, but do not comprehend the idea that roads and lanes should go without streetlamps. I still do not understand which logic is more essential — security of human lives or saving electricity? especially, when there are highways in Bhubaneswar which are lit up day and night with beautiful wrought-iron lamps. These lanes are infested with goons and petty thieves, who take advantage of the darkness and loot ladies wearing gold chains or earrings and snatch purses from people returning from office at late hours. Moreover, these by-lanes are so ill-maintained that most of the times the potholes are filled with mud and dirty water during rainy season,  or else the water pipes which are supposed to water the  saplings planted in the newly built parks, actually end up watering the roads and lanes,  difficult to even swim through to the main highway .

Conserving electricity is a great idea but then the need to conserve water ?  What about hydro-power? Well…what we conserve and how much we conserve also depends on our priorities and our insight into things and requirements great and small. These days in the name of conservation we waste more than saving.

State of a Bylane in Bhubaneswar

A closer snapshot of this gorgeous puddle in the locality would perhaps benefit us a little more. So here are some more pictures of the same spectacle. Instead of parks, the lanes are being generously watered.

Water, water, everywhere...

A Closer Snapshot

Let us move to some other  trivial aspects of my traveler’s diary;  to some aspects of my personal-professional life . I started my career as a Lecturer in a small technical college 180 kms away from Bhubaneswar. I had just completed my Post-graduation and was doing my M.Phil when this job came my way. I considered myself lucky because in those days technical colleges were not very common in Odisha and  that place gave me my first exposure to teaching and also to Internet. I learnt browsing useful articles and educational sites. However, now the scenario has changed — entire landscape of Odisha is flagged with technical colleges. A new college comes up each morning. There are at least 100 engineering colleges in Odisha (while writing this post). You will be surprised to know that more than 9000 seats are vacant at this moment (till Oct, 2009) in these colleges. And the quality of the so called engineering students and facilities in colleges — you should visit once to know better. Now the question arises – how much they deliver….??? People tend to question your credentials if you happen to teach or be associated with any of these colleges at any point of time. I have been questioned by interviewers time and again about the validity of teaching or working in  these places while documenting it in my CV . I make it a point to retain that aspect as my first job experience out of a kind of defiance.

College Buses

On one hand these colleges promise a degree in technical excellence and give a B.Tech or a B.E. degree to the students who opt for it. A degree is fine, but technical excellence is doubtful. Students go out and get some job in corporates and software sector but how far they rise and make a mark for themselves in the long run is an unsolved mystery. Coming to teaching, well there are many good students in Odisha who have either not opted to go out of the state or have neither the means nor the financial support to pursue higher education.  Yes, there is a business and a clear-cut business motive, when the management can employ ten faculties for a cheaper pay packet why would they prefer one ‘academically better’ faculty who would cost them a fortune? What difference does this faculty make? The system is such that whomever and whatsoever the management hires, delivers ultimately in equal measure. I have reasoned about teaching in a ‘mediocre’ (that’s what the puritans call them) technical institution with one reply — “who is to be blamed for the mediocrity of any place? Faculty? Students? Management? Society?” Everyone — collectively.  IITs or Central Universities, if they are to be considered as ‘hallmarks’ of ‘better’ education, are sustained by a collective will of all the above members of a society. Moreover, it is the “R” factor or the “Research” factor which puts them in a class apart. There are many such “technocrats” from the mushrooming technical institutions who may not even know that Linux is an Operating System or that MATLAB can be used to derive the diagrammatic projection of a set of data entered.  But, that is not their fault (not 100%). The same students if they have the passion or the zeal to learn go ahead in life and opt for higher studies and return better equipped. As someone who taught, I confess that I did not myself do my homework as well as I was supposed to have done. The question regarding  why other places in India are not at par in education, is almost like the last instance given in this post regarding the beautification of highways while leaving the by-lanes and the gullies to rot. We are in love with shortcuts and easier paths. How much we put at stake and what we want to achieve is something that the students, the faculties, parents and the government have to decide for themselves. For the time being however there is a mushrooming of engineering colleges which either promise to deliver or deliver in newspapers.

However, it is not the mushrooming of technical institutions or the ‘quality’ of education that affects me. I feel disheartened because of the lesser sympathy or let’s say apathy of the students and the society towards liberal arts, literature, humanities studies and cultural studies. I am not sure how are we going to sustain the superstructure of a megalithic educational setup, without sustaining interest in liberal arts and humanities? In Odisha the trend that seems disturbing is the general tendency to interpret humanities, especially language, literature and aesthetics as no more than Personality Development and Communication Skills or else Call Centre support system. I wish we realize and respect the immense potential concealed in roads lesser trodden, that is our own culture, and the government and centres for higher education consider these subjects with equal seriousness.

I have been taking you through the alleys of higher education and civic amenities. But, now we will venture a little deeper into the smaller towns, villages and the State Highway of Odisha. As we move from Bhubaneswar towards Berhampur (business capital of Southern Odisha, closer to Andhra Pradesh border), there is a diversion from the National Highway that takes you on a State Road towards a smaller district called Nayagarh. If you are a party lover and shopping freak, such destinations may not be your cuppa tea.

NH-5

This too is a part of me

If you are an ardent nature lover, or if you are person on the lookout for adventure, then these are the right destinations or let’s say milestones for a traveler. However, be prepared to spend nights in Dawk-Bungalows or in smaller motels with mosquitoes and lizards. The roads are jerky, and you can find nothing but paddy fields extending as far as your eyes can take you or else small farming villages flanked by large banyan trees, dilapidated shops or else a freshly whitewashed primary school building.

A School Complex

The Primary Schools or Higher Secondary Schools are particularly interesting. Modestly built with limestone or red bricks, these schools are immaculately clean.  The outer courtyard of the schools are neither cemented nor concrete. However, the earth and mud finish of the courtyards are swept and mopped with such perfection that one gets a romantic longing to return back to school days and study in these schools. Especially as townsfolk who have the ‘privilege’ of studying in Public or Convent schools, and who think that there is no education ‘alternative’ or matching our kind of education, these schools invite rethinking. In fact, some of the top educationists, civil servants, IITians, literary figures and doctors, actually come from these ‘humble’ educational set-ups and even ‘humbler’ homes.

Home

Across The Green Fields

There are a lot of things which are undergoing transformation for either good or worse. This time when I traveled to Odisha, I realized that there are still many things that haven’t changed like the evenings, the hamlets lit with one small lantern or the people who spend time gossiping about ‘bigger’ things like politics and terrorism with the local newspapers at their favourite tea and samosa stall.

There are also many things that have changed like the infiltration of liquor and goonda raj on a grander scale or the setting up of international schools charging a whopping 2-3 lakhs per anum from children of well-to-do families, and so on. This article does not aim to elucidate on either.  You might investigate and find that out yourself. The purpose of this write-up was to take you across into a state that remains a mystery for many. From huge multi-star  luxury hotels to the humblest dwellings, you can find all if you have the zeal or the curiosity to look deeper than the obvious.

Odisha is not to be understood as a state whose places are relative to the center or Bhubaneswar. There are many beautiful landscapes which do not come close to the perimeter of the capital.  One has to look beyond the “golden triangle” of Puri, Konark and Bhubaneswar, in order to explore the  essence of the land. I have not been able to capture those landscapes and their life and style for my readers.  Maybe in some other post I might be able to write about those places….

Till then…bon voyage!

A Slice of Odisha: Through my Lenses

A very happy festive season to all of you….

My readers must have been wondering about my whereabouts,  Iris has been going article-less for more than a month. Let me assure you that Iris is alive and in search of quality stories (a reader searched for the blog under the search term “Iris, Anne de Plume the girl who died” ).  I was on a travel spree for the past one month — went to Odisha, visited Puri, Nayagarh, Dhenkanal and of course Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. During the entire trip I had only one thought — to capture  some moments of my trip through my camera lenses, just for Iris and its readers.

In this article, I present a story in pictures of Odisha — an enigma to most, a “poor” state to some and a place “rich” in natural resources to many. Though I am not a photographer by profession, through these pictures I am “sketching” the Odisha, which I witnessed in my last visit.  It is not a travel guide — of what places to visit and see, rather in this article I share with you the Odisha as I observe it through my lenses. Let us begin with the new face of Odisha.

Fortune towers

A glimpse of a  corporate complex called “Fortune Towers” in Bhubaneswar. It houses some of the leading corporate houses of the state. Odisha has recently started to witness a corporate boom and corporates too are monitoring the state closely.

The neon-lit roads

A view of the roads of Bhubaneswar at night. The white building appearing as a hazy pagoda is the new Eastern Railways office in Bhubaneswar.

People often ask  about the cuisine of Odisha. Usually people ask that “there is something called “South-Indian” food, “Bengali” cuisine or “Punjabi” cuisine, we have never heard of “Odia” cuisine. What is special in Odisha in terms of food?”  It is difficult to define Odia cuisine per say because Odisha lives in its “everydays”  and according to the rhythms of Jagannath culture and the many festivities associated with this culture. There is a saying in Odia: “barah masa terah jata (12 months and thirteen festivities)”. The special dishes like “Kanika” (sweet-flavoured rices), “Pithas” (a range of homemade snacks sometimes salted and sometimes sweet), and certain curries like “Ghantaa” are just a few of the names that come to my mind. These dishes are  associated with celebrations and festivals listed in the Odia calendar.

Food served at homes

However, what appeals to my sensibility is the food that is served as a part of our daily lives in Odia homes. The platter above has steaming hot rice with a dollop of ghee, bitter-gourd cooked in a spices and fried such that it doesn’t remain bitter , cauliflower blanched and fried, Green Saag cooked with onion and garlic, a bowl of kadhi with coriander leaves, pickle and “Santula” ,which can be of two types: Bhaja santula in which vegetables are fried with onion and turmeric and is dry, or Sijha Santula where vegetables are boiled first and then added to a chhonk of mustard seeds and garlic and a drop or two of oil. My personal favourite is the Sijha Santula.

Santula

Try a hot Sijha Santula cooked by grandmoms or moms or aunts when you have a bout of cough and cold. Believe me, it is heaven incarnated as food . This Santula is somewhat closer in taste to the Clear Soup.

Let us now move to the roads and first drive towards Puri. However, before we enter the wilderness, there is something interesting these days about the walls and roads of Bhubaneswar. The BMC (Bhubaneswar Muncipal Corporation) has developed an innovative way to enhance tourism and travel.  Walls of Bhubaneswar have been painted with murals, applique works, pattachitras, Odisha handloom patterns and so on. Here is a glimpse of the roads.

Walls painted along the roads in traditional mode

Painted with mythological stories

A traditional Odia saree pattern designed on an over-bridge

The above picture is  of an over-bridge near Jayadev Vihar square in Bhubaneswar. The  bridge and also the drive way underneath have been decorated with patterns and paintings.

A huge billboard written in Odia

The photograph  shows a huge hoarding carrying an ad of a multinational food corporation. It is being given finishing touches by people who  may not even know what the product might taste or look  like.

When you move out of Bhubaneswar towards Puri/Konark, the wide roads start snaking into  serene greenery, glades and large fields dotted with hamlets, chai shanties, handicraft shops, smaller  temples  from times immemorial whose names might also not be known.

Drive towards Puri: last rays of a setting sun

When you drive towards Puri, very close to the Dhaulagiri, you might see a serene “canal” like river, calmly flowing since yore. The river — Daya, famous or rather infamous in history for the Kalinga wars fought in 2nd century B.C.,  has been a witness to one of the bloodiest wars of history. However, when you look at it from the narrow iron bridge, it appears to laugh back at you with a mock innocence. A calm nothingness envelops when you  keep gazing at the river from the iron bars of the bridge.

A silhouette of Dhaulagiri on the hill at a distance

Daya river by the sunset

Bhubaneswar is called the “temple city” with huge structures like the Lingaraj temple or the Raja-Rani temple. However, if you look at some of these old, sometimes abandoned temples as you drive through towards Puri or for that matter any other place, you might get a feeling that time still stands motionless in some of the places of a 21st century India — said to be young and dangerously dynamic.  There are Buddhist monuments like the Dhaulagiri and Khandagiri, Udayagiri and Ratnagiri which are unparalleled in their beauty. Yet, there is something mystical and mysterious about these smaller, unknown temples that you might encounter anywhere in Odisha.

'Pan' shot of a temple on Puri highway

A typical village temple complex

On your way towards Puri,  hamlets, green fields and coconut trees abound. If you are driving then make sure to stop by and look at the applique works (Chandua) of Pipli or taste the special malpua-dalma at Chandanpur. I have always felt that the most extraordinary things of life are concealed in what appears ordinary. Odisha has famous monuments, structures and tourist destinations. Yet, the beauty of that state is concealed in what appears ordinary when you drive past or walk past these places.

At the end of a long day

A Chai Shanty

Cluster of hamlets shot from a distance

Pipli chanduas on display

There are other attractions/distractions as well. Cool clean fresh coconut water from the freshly plucked green-coconut of the coconut trees, is a must if you are an avid nature lover. There are many such coconut-water (paida-pani) selling joints on the way. If you have time and 8-10 rupees, you will be richly rewarded not only with sweet fresh water but also with the fresh malai as a refreshing and healthy snack.

Freshly plucked coconut selling joint

On our way

Puri is an experience that might be unique for each person in their own ways. For some it offers religion, for some spiritualism, for some it is a honeymoon destination, for some it is a research point on a culture which still baffles in its uniqueness and for some Puri is a family holiday destination that has something to offer to each member of the family. Puri is an enigma not because of its religious or sacred significations but because of its geographical and historical positioning in the map of India. It’s a lands end city, strongly holding on to one major human attribute — faith. I leave the concept of Puri to be explicated by the historians, pilgrims, the artists and tourists. For me, Puri is an experience which is ever-new, an experience which is a part of an inheritance as well as an intense perception of my own collective identity.

The golden sands

The grand road of Puri

Shreemandira through my lenses

(To be continued in Part-2 of “Through My Lenses”)

The Tale of Dawk-Bungalows

In India Government servants must be  well acquainted with terms like Dawk bungalow, Inspection bungalows and Circuit Houses. Varying on the basis of  the department they were maintained by — especially P.W.D and Forest departments, these bungalows were basically built prior to independence to cater to the traveling needs of the government  officers. However, they are also often rented to travelers if vacant and not commissioned. The name of dawk bungalows and Inspection bungalows (I.B.) arouse a sense of old-world charm when the bade babus or  officers came in their rickety jeeps and were received by the cook and mali of these bungalows. For the traveler,  dawk bungalows were not only places of comfort and rest but also full of  “adventurous possibilities”.

Thinking of  Dawk bungalows and I.B.s remind me of a Kipling/ Corbett world. These bungalows were built in the European fashion — mostly situated outside the small districts/ towns, single-storied with only one or two suites having high ceiling   roofs, large round-bellied fans making a scary noise with every turn, creaking beds , large black dinning table  with a huge glass jug-full of water, a small-closet library with books of Hardley Chase or books having themes like “Botanical research” and “Colonial legacy”, these places could well be amazing settings for Alfred Hitchcock movies.  Situated in lonely landscapes, far away from the “madding crowd”, they have a distinct charm of their own. Ah yes! The bathrooms — most of the bathrooms in such bungalows have either malfunctioning taps or huge broken bath-tubs or a single leaking tin-bucket with which you have to adjust. Usually, a bearer carried water balancing two buckets on his shoulder tied to a long bamboo pole, and once they fill up the tubs or the buckets, the guests are ready to take a bath.  However, the bungalows are accessible only if you travel by road.  Being situated in the “interiors”, they remain hidden from busy public communication systems especially railways. Circuit Houses as far as I remember are more towards the center of the town or the district, but Forest I.Bs and dawk-bungalows are lonely and situated  far away from the town.

These bungalows had huge spaces, acres of land dotted with mango trees, jack-fruit trees, papaya trees, wild flower bushes, rose shrubs and some berry bushes. The compound walls were distant from the main bungalow and one had to walk or drive almost half a mile in order to reach the main gates.  The main entrance had  large wooden gates hidden from public view by creepers.   Sometimes, the gates had sign boards like : “NO THOROUGHFARE” or “TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED”, written in bold letters. Basically, privacy and seclusion were the content of these bungalows. There were some out-houses little away from the main building but within the compound, famously called “servant-quarters” where the watchman-cum-cook-cum- mali usually lived with his family.The bungalow opened into a wide portico and a veranda facing the main entrance and there would be relaxing-armchairs kept on the veranda, waiting for a lazy languorous evening.

Having traveled extensively with my grandparents, I remember the thrill of staying in some of the most unusual I.B.s and dawk-bungalows. Especially, during the vacations grandpa drove us  to these bungalows away from the humdrum of the city life.  The dawk bungalows and I.B.s  had their own kitchen and the watchman/cook/mali used to be also a government servant, who lived all his life in a particular bungalow serving the guests. The moment a  guest  settled in a suite, the watchman would take his cycle and drive to the town to get  provisions and rations for the kitchen. Usually, in Odisha and Bengal the dawk bungalows have a supply of eggs, fresh water fish, rice and potato. These are the places where you cannot expect to get biryani or chicken tikka or palak paneer. The culinary skills of the cook/watchman is limited to humble homemade rice, pulses and curry.  In some coastal places of Odisha like the bungalows closer to Behrampore or Balasore or Bhitarkanika,  serve prawn and crabs for its guests.

Personally, I loved the dawk-bungalows in the hilly regions of Odisha like the Koraput dawk-bungalow.  The beauty of these bungalows were their exclusivity and seclusion.  Nights were especially happening in these bungalows. The croaking of frogs, tuk-tuk of the woodpecker in the large trees closer to the bungalow, crickets creaking — suddenly the nights get alive with unknown and undecipherable noises. I remember as a child I had exclaimed at the huge troop of glowworms that invaded the trees in the Rairakhol I.B. and created an illusion of thousands of small light bulbs lighting up all the trees near the bungalow.

The Gothic architecture of these buildings also add to their scary nature.  I remember a story of the dawk-bungalow near Hirakud dam which my grandma had narrated to me on one of our trips. Apparently, the bungalow was haunted by the ghost of the daughter of one of the watchmen who lived prior to independence. The girl had died in the bungalow after a futile love affair with a saheb. Since that time the bungalow had been haunted and lay unused. Grandma said any officer who ever tried to stay there on their inspection trips after nightfall, would be served good food and water by the same mali and his daughter. Once grandpa’s senior colleague had to stop there and stay in the bungalow because it was late at night and the headlight of his jeep had started giving trouble. He was apparently welcomed by the mali and his daughter, who cleaned his suite, brought water for his bathroom and fed him sumptuously with rice and potato curry. Next morning the officer realized from the unkempt garden, veranda, empty outhouse and the overgrown bushes that the bungalow was not in use and there is no human presence in it.  He drove to the nearby town and inquired from people and got the complete version of the story.  Later he caught a fever and had to be hospitalized for many days because of his shocking experience. Whether these were merely grandma’s stories or whether there was truth in it, I can’t say because the locale and the “mood” of these bungalows were such that one cannot deny any strange eventful “event” happening with you.

There were many such stories Grandma used to narrate with either dead officers very attached to a particular bungalow revisiting them after death or dead malis tending unsuspecting guests.  These bungalows had their share of ugliness — as oral tales speak — the sahebs and their Indian counterparts often indulged in physically exploiting the wives or daughters of the poor watchmen who guarded the place or ladies of the village in these lonely bungalows.  Many deaths also occurred due to loot and murder of the travelers who took shelter for a night or so.

Remember movies like Bees Saal Baad or Madhumati or Khamoshi shot in such locales? Today when I see movies shot in lavish places and shot abroad, I have a passing thought what if instead of spending huge money on lavish abroad shoots, with advanced technology they could use  these locations for movies. Some of my memorable destinations in I.Bs and dawk bungalows have been places like Chhatrapur, Bologarh, Koraput, Purunakot, Rairakhol in Odisha.  Purunakot I.B. especially was an interesting experience. The place is a remote corner of Odisha, almost 100 kms from Angul the nearest district to Purunakot. It had a strange haunted aura, surrounded by hills and devoid of  pukka roads. In Bihar, I especially remember the Ghatsila and Motihari bungalows. We had to take shelter in Ghatsila bungalow as it was getting dark and unsafe. We spent the night with the rains lashing at our faces through the broken glass shutter, without electricity. Next morning it appeared that the bungalow was abandoned and not in use. Motihari bungalow was no less than a palace, very well maintained by the sugar factory close to it. It had apparently been renovated and beautifully decorated with the antique pieces that must have been a part of its legacy. In Andhra Pradesh, I especially remember the Ankapalli dak bungalow , surrounded by huge mango trees and close to the National Highway.

In Bihar, Odisha and Bengal, dawk-bungalows and I.Bs are still in use, though some of them have been converted into tourist resorts and villas. Somehow, I still love the Kiplingsque atmosphere of those bungalows. I am not sure how they are being maintained or used in the present century, but some of my fond memories are associated with these bungalows, the food and the hot sweet tea with thick-milk from the bungalow’s own cow-pen served in old thermo-flasks. Ahh! romantic retreat at its best.

Today when I see the roadside retreats, amusement parks and motels, I still think of those dawk bungalows which were different kind of entertainment even in their austerity and scarcity of provisions and luxury. But “the times they are changing” croons  Bob Dylan….

Further Reading: “Financial Times” <http://www.financialexpress.com/news/the-bungalow-bill-in-global-languages/112272/0>