Swaagata Odisha (Orissa)..

Odisha is a unique combination of beautiful locations, exotic cultures and warm & friendly people located on the eastern coast of India. Filled with exquisite temples and extraordinary monuments, home to many thousands of prolific artists and craftsmen; and possessing beaches, wildlife sanctuaries, and natural landscape of often-enchanting beauty,Odisha  is a unique and fascinating land that is, nevertheless, still largely undiscovered by tourists.


Capital: Bhubaneshwar


Major cities: Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Brahmapur, Puri


Location of Odisha in India:



Map of Odisha:

Bidae Nicchhi West Bengal....

Vibrant state, new horizon, colourful people with their rapidly changing lifestyle, The land of West Bengal has in it intricately woven stories of many civilisations and settlements which left their footprint here. With the memory of that rich history West Bengal boasts of different ethnicity, culture, religion and languages and most importantly the diverse landscape -flanked by the Himalayas as the top, decorated by the natural beaches and a unique biosphere and the Sunderbans in the south. Inhale the essence of ultimate peace on the land of Tagore.

A promise to walk through the heritage of West Bengal again....

Day 148 - Shantiniketan

Shantiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum District of West Bengal. It is famous due to Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a University town - Visva-Bharati University. Shantiniketan was earlier called Bhubandanga (named after Bhuban Dakat, a local Dacoit), and was owned by the Tagore family. In 1862, Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, the poet’s father, while on a boat journey to Raipur, came across a landscape with red soil and lush green paddy fields. He decided to plant more saplings and built a small house. He called his home Shantiniketan. He founded an ashram here in 1863 and became the initiator of the Brahmo Samaj. Kala Bhavana, the art college of Shantiniketan, is still considered one of the best art colleges in the world.Santiniketan is also famous for its fairs and festivals like Poush Mela (December), Joydev Mela (January), Basanta Utsav (March) and the famous Mystic Baul Singers.


How to reach here:

By Air: The nearest airport is Calcutta approx. 212 km.

By Rail: The nearest railhead is Bolpur, 2 km away.


Best time to visit: February to November.


Places you must visit:

Visva Bharati University is the world's first every open-air university founded by Nobel Laureate
Rabindranath Tagore.  It consists of several buildings such as Udayana, Konark, Shyamali, Punscha and Udichi where each displays a distinctive feature in Indian art and culture.Some places not to be missed are Chhatimtala (a tree under which the idea of having such a place blossomed), Shantiniketan Griha (where Tagore spent his childhood), Upasana griha (an eye catching prayer hall), Amro Kunjo (open -air classrooms with students dressed in canary yellow garbs) and the Chaiti ( an incredible mud house structure that attracts tourists in hordes), apart from many others.









Kankalitala is a sacred Hindu Shrine, located on the banks of the Kopai river,  is one of the Shakti Peethas where the waist (kankal in Bengali) of Parvati had fallen.

Amar Kutir, once a place of refuge for independence movement activists has been turned into a cooperative society for the promotion of arts and crafts. It is located on the banks of the Kopai River, about 15 kilometres from Santiniketan in Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It produces leather goods, kantha stitched saris, bamboo crafts and batik at a reasonable price. Its leather-craft unit employs mostly women. It has one batik, a needlecraft unit and shola and lac crafts units

Tagore’s Ashram is founded by Maharshi Debendra tagore, father of Rabindranath Tagore, in 1863 located in Shanti Niketan ashram dedicated for the spreading of the concept Brahmo Dharma. The ashram presently engaged in activities for the upliftment of socio and economically poor sections of the society.

Cheena Bhavan is the study center for China, mainly aimed at fostering India - China relation and is located at Santiniketan. This promotes the liaison between India and China. The main aim of this study center is the development of Indo-Sino relations and the cultural relations. This Bhavana offers many research facilities and studies on Chinese culture and societal relations. This place was regularly visited by Chinese scholars to offer their knowledge base to the students in Visva Bharathi.

Chhatimtala was the place where Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, father of famous poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, meditated daily and devoted himself to world peace. This is famous tourist spot situated at Shantiniketan. Chhatimtala is closely related to Vishva Bharati University as the students who are graduated from here are honored with a branch of Saptaparni tree seen in Chhatimtala. There is a prayer hall of Maharshi Devendranath Tagore.

Uttarayan Complex is the prestigious place in Santiniketan blessed by the life of Rabindranath Tagore, It is here the great poet lived for his lifetime. This complex contains several buildings in distinct architectural styles. There is a Prayer Hall, built in 1863 by Maharshi Debendranath Tagore where Brahmo prayers used to be held. The art gallery and museum in this complex is credited with the Nobel Prize medal, a bangle and a watch of the poet. Murals are displayed exceptionally in the gallery of the complex. The Uttarayan Complex consists of five houses of the Tagore- Udayana, Shamali, Konarka, Udichi and Punassha.

Day 147 - Digha

Digha is West Bengal's most popular sea destination for families looking forward to spend a pleasurable weekend. The scenic beauty of this place is charming and alluring. The entire stretch of the Digha Beach is lined with casuarina trees that makes the whole area extremely scenic.The sea at Digha is calm and shallow for about a mile from the beach making it quite safe for swimming. Digha, originally known as Beerkul during Warren Hastings's time was discovered in the late 18th century by the British. It is mentioned as the ‘Brighton of the East' in one of Hastings' letters (1780 AD) to his wife.Digha is also famous for the awesome handicrafts, made from shells.


How to reach here:

By Air: The closest airport is situated in the city of Kolkata.

By Rail: The town of Digha has a railway station that is directly connected to the city of Howrah.


Best time to visit: October to March.


Languages spoken: Bengali, Hindi.


Famous Restaurants: Elgin, Bay Cuffe Restaurant.


Places you must visit:

The Marine Aquarium and Research Centre (MARC) was established in the year 1989 during the Seventh Five Year Plan. The major objective of the Centre is to display the marine biodiversity of the region and impart its values to the common people and to carry out the research activities. MARC has largest inbuilt marine aquarium in the country and equipped with sea water circulation system and advanced filtration unit. The aquarium has eight fresh water tanks and twenty-four big marine tanks which come with regulated supply of inflow and outflow of water, compressed air supply and light.

Chandaneswar is home to the century old Temple of Lord Shiva which is situated 8 kms away from Digha.Nearly half million people & pilgrims visit the temple at Maha Vishuva Sankranti or Gajan Mela.







Shankarpur  is a twin beach of Digha, popularly known as the virgin beach. An unspoilt beach, casuarina groves by the side of a gentle sea and a good climate throughout the year. One can enjoy the pleasure and bliss of a private beach with casuarina plantations in this serene and calm haven.







Digha Science Center is established by the National Council of Science Museums. A skeleton company during bicycle racing, a planetarium resembling an Eskimo's Igloo are some amusing mechanisms of the Science Center.

Talasari is one of the less exploited Orissa beaches. The estuary of the river Subarnarekha River can be seen in the distance. The character of the beach is like a typical idyllic beach and fishermen village around with no big hotels or tourists.

Digha beach is the most commercial beach of the area.

Mandarmani is a seaside resort village near Digha and is argued to be one of the longest drivable beaches in India.

Day 146 - Bishnupur

Bishnupur is located in the Bankura district of the state of West Bengal.Bishnupur is incredibly famous for the magnificent Terracotta temples and the beautiful Baluchari saris. The town has a glorious past that is reflected in its rich architecture, music and handicrafts such as pottery and weaving. It prospered in the 17th and early 18th Centuries. Ruled by a line of Hindu Rajas of the Malla dynasty, Bishnupur developed a unique form of architecture and has perhaps the most brilliant and detailed terracotta work in Eastern India that has withstood the ravages of time.The history of Bishnupur can be dated back to 694 AD, when King Raghunath I established Malla dynasty. But the place got its name as Bishnupur much later in 994 AD. It is derived from the name of the Hindu God “Vishnu”.The Mallas solemnized their love for Lord Krishna by building these beautiful temples.


How to reach here:

By Air: The nearest airport is at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Intl Airport, Kolkata (CCU), around 145 km, and is well connected to various national as well as international cities.

By Rail: Bishnupur has a railway station which is connected to the major parts of the city.


Best time to visit: October to March.


Languages spoken: Bengali, Hindi.


Places you must visit:

Rasmancha is the oldest brick temple in Bishnupur. Built by Malla King Bir Hambir in 1600 CE, the temple has only one chamber, the sanctum sanctorum, with an elongated tower encircled by turrets which are of hut shapes. It is enclosed by a passageway and there are some big cannons which date back to Malla period. It has a unique structure and is the only temple of its kind  in India.The Rasmancha was built in a way to accommodate the deities that people brought during the festivals. This structure is showcased nowadays by illuminating  at night.

The Jorebangla temple in brick was built by the Malla King Raghunath Singh in 1655.The structure was erected on one metre high platform using laterite bricks. The entire outer surface is decorated with terracotta plaques displaying various aspects of human life and culture, gods and goddesses, animals, floral and geometrical designs.Some of the carved designs of the Royal lifestyles, stories depicting the epics, historical scenes from the battles, etc are   found  on the walls and on the roof of the temple.









The beautiful terracotta Panch Ratna temple was constructed by King Raghunath Singha  in 1643 AD. Shyam Rai Temple has the most intricate sculptural details amongst all the Bishnupur temples.

The temple of Madan Mohan was built outside the fort compound by King Durjana Singh Dev, in 1694 AD for his family deities of Lord Krishna and Radha. There are impressive scenes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas carved on the temple walls. The temple is the best example in brick of Ratha or chariot style architecture with a single sikhara(tower) and a curve Bengali chala type roof.









This laterite Lalji Temple was built in 1658 by Bir Singha II of Malla dynasty.The deity worshipped here are Sri Krishna and Radhika. The temple is constructed on a square raised plinth, which consists of ornamental stucco decorations on low relief carvings.

The Acharya Jogesh Chandra Purakriti Bhawan in Bishnupur is a museum that relate to art and archeology.In this archeological gallery there are tools from Mesolithic and Paleolithic era, metal ornaments, terracotta sculptures, etc. This Museum accounts for the coins and artifacts from the very ancient days of rulers in Bishnupur, starting from the gupta kings to the pal kingdom.There are contemporary art and paintings, manuscripts and rare photographs. A section of the Purakriti Bhawan is dedicated to the musical culture of Bishnupur Gharana and has many instruments and photographs displayed.







The Sridhara temple was built in the 19th century and is known for the nine spires, known as the navaratna.Beautiful carvings adorn the walls of the temple. Lord Shiva in a dancing pose present at the entrance of the temple shows the heritage of  Bengal and the importance given to the architecture by  the kings of Bishnupur.





The cannon named as Dal Madol was built by the Malla kings to fight the Maratha invasion.  This Cannon is near Chinnamasta temple and is significant for the people of Bishnupur as well as Bengal. The cannon measures about 3.8 m in length and has a barrel of 28.5 cms.  It was built in the year 1742 under Raja Gopal Singh to protect Bishnupur  from Marathas. The Cannon is built with iron materials and doesn’t have any rust, though it is exposed to rain and sun since 18th century.