Photography prohibited!! Pic taken at Konark Temple, Orissa.
Trip Report Continuation....
I came outside Bhubaneshwar station immediately without wasting time and managed to get a cab to Puri for "threes taka"(Rs.30). The distance between Bhubaneshwar and Puri is 65km, but the taxi cost only Rs.30. Guess why? The call-taxi driver had already dropped a customer at BBS and he was returning to Puri empty. He wanted to make some extra money. So he simply charged the bus fee equivalent of Rs.30/-. The bus ticket to Puri costs Rs.30/-. I found that this was money-saving and more comfortable. The taxi started at 1300hrs and I reached Puri at 1415hrs.
Konark temple was covered with mists and fogs in the morning. I waited patiently to take a better photo.
With cab-driver's help, I found an accomodation in Hotel Subhadra near the temple in Puri. He scratched his head a bit and smiled at me. I understood what he expected. I gave him "kudi taka"(Rs.20). He gladly accepted it. If it was Chennai, things would have been different as expectations are more there. The A/C room cost me Rs.650 per day. It was a double bed, single room with TV. After taking rest for a few minutes, I came out and entered into the hotel next to my lodge. I had 4 rotis with sabji and pickles. The experience was fantastic. The taste was very good. I enjoyed the food.
Without wasting time, I immediately proceeded towards the temple. The temple was 500 meters away from my hotel. After nearing the temple complex, I found out that mobile phones were not allowed. Few people weren't bothered and many were carrying their mobiles, but I didn't want to take a risk especially in a new place. I walked back to my room and kept my mobile in my room and came back to the temple. I lost some good amount of time here.
One of the pundits or pundas tried to make some money out of me and tried various techniques by holding my hands and promising me to do pooja. He caught my hands a bit strong and he thought that I would be afraid. I gave a dirty look and reduced his guts to ashes. I looked at him even more firmly and removed even the last bit of his courage. There were lot of visitors from Andhra Pradesh. The darshan was suspended for nearly 45 minutes in the evening for some special pooja and I spent some time roaming around the compex.
Pic taken near Cuttack. Onboard 2821 Dhauli Express to BBS.
After 45 minutes, the crowd became less all of a sudden and I entered the complex quite comfortably. At a distance I saw Goddess Subhadra flanked by her two brothers Balram and Jagannath. It was a glorious sight. After darshan, I purchased a few small dolls as momento and returned back to my room. I slept for two hours. At around 2030hrs, I went down to have my dinner. I had rotis with sabji again.
I was listening to news in TV for sometime in my room and I went to bed at 2200hrs and got up at 0400hrs the next day. I got ready in 30 minutes and I checked out. I took a rickshaw from my hotel to Puri bus stand. It was a straight road, but the bus stand was a bit far. It cost me Rs.15/-. The guy was an old man and a kind person. He asked me for few rupees extra. I gave him "dosh taka"( Rs.10) extra. He was happy and he even helped me to find a bus to Konark. Konark was 37km from Puri. The private bus was to start at 0600hrs, but the driver took his own sweet time and waited till the bus was filled with passengers. We started only at 0637hrs.
I really enjoyed this bus-ride. Orissa was very beautiful. It gives me great pleasure and honor to write about Orissa and it's uniqueness and there could be no higher honor for me. My bus went through small scenic villages. Even the bus stops looked beautful. The entire area had a lot of greenery and there were lots of trees. Everything had a charm of its own. I saw a single-line electrified track accompanying our bus for sometime and later it went out of focus as my bus deviated towards Konark. I assumed that the track connected Puri and Bhubaneshwar. My bus went through small villages, primarly dealing with occupations like handicrafts, pottery, agriculture, livestock and farming. Great people with great thoughts, living a simple lifestyle. They may have worries, but those are genuine ones due to toughness of life.
Orissa was very unique and scenic. It was a bit dusty too.
When the whole world was worried about recession, thousands of ordinary Indians living in these small villages of Orissa, Jharkhand enjoyed their life by their simple lifestyle. Compared to these people, I have graduated nothing in my life. I need to learn a lot from them. These people know a lot of things. Those things aren't taught even in leading business schools or MNC's, corporates.
I reached Konark at 0745hrs. I met an old gentlemen named Sanjeev Rao from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. He worked for Income Tax deparment and currently posted Vizianagaram. He has come to Konark and Puri was sight-seeing. He knew better Hindi and we both helped each other. The entry ticket to see the Konark Sun Temple cost Rs.10/- and I bought a permit for Rs.25/- to take photos. The structure was very huge and I was amazed at the talents of Indian artistes who had so much of skills even in 10th century A.D-an era where there was no machines, advanced tools nor vehicles. If people are good at heart, they can deliver a lot of things. Technology is not a solution to everything.
-To be continued.
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