 copy.jpg)
Monuments and Beyond: Prospects of Architectural Heritage Tourism in Odisha
Someone has rightly said that if Rajasthan boasts of India’s royal heritage, Odisha on the eastern seaboard portrays the country’s rural elegance.
There may not be many splendid forts or palaces as one discovers in Rajasthan, Gujarat or Madhya Pradesh, however, what makes Odisha unique is its sublime Hindu temples and sprawling Buddhist sites, a plethora of caves and little known Jain Temples.
Unfortunately, most of Odisha’s travelers are unaware of its hidden gems that have pan-India or even global significance. The Ratnagiri monastery in Odisha is an example. While there is a lot of information available on Nalanda and Vikramsila in public domain, hardly any information is found on Ratnagiri, which has the largest historical monastery discovered so far in India. Ratnagiri also boasts of the second-largest number of votive stupas after Bodhgaya.
Likewise, Udayagiri, Odisha’s largest Buddhist site, offers a deserted look on any given day and even during the peak tourist season. Udayagiri is also not much talked about in the public domain. Little wonder, few know that Udayagiri was the site where Vajrayana Buddhism originated and from here, Guru Padmasambhava founded the Tibetan Buddhist civilization.
Off The Beaten Track
Lack of tourism in Odisha’s architectural monuments is the same elsewhere. Of late, thanks to social media and photography craze, there is a growing trend among people of Odisha to travel within the state to various offbeat destinations.
Architectural heritage tourism until now was restricted to the golden triangle. Travelers from outside Odisha would identify the state’s tourism destinations with Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark and their surroundings. This needs to be changed and therefore require massive content (both online and offline) in public domain, travel talks, photography tours, etc. on Odisha’s unexplored monuments and heritage sites.
Here are three such sites I am focusing on—Sitabinji in Keonjhar, Bankadagada near Chilika and Nandpur in Koraput.
Sitabinji
Sitabinji is located at a distance of 35 km from Keonjhar town. From Bhubaneswar, it takes around four hours to reach Sitabinji.
Consisting of huge granite monoliths and half-opened umbrella-shaped rock formations, Sitabinji offers a rich connection with aborigine beliefs and tradition apart from its archaeological treasure. Located in the heart of a forested region, Sitabinji, according to local belief and folklore, was the place where the ashram of Valmiki was based.
A tribal village is located beside River Sita amidst dense forests and hills. The entire region is shrouded in mysteries from time immemorial.
This was the place where Sita stayed after her separation from Lord Rama in the mystical past. The rock boulders are named after various events and characters of that episode, such as Bhandara Ghara (the granary), the cave where Sita had delivered her twins, the school of Lava and Kusha and the ashram of Valmiki.
Among archaeological relics, the most prominent is the shelter of Ravanachhaya, a half-opened umbrella-shaped rock formation. On the ceiling of this shelter, there are remains of tempera paintings, dated from the 5th century CE, the only of its kind in entire Eastern and North-eastern India.
The paintings are mostly eroded. However, from the present state of preservation, it is presumed to be depictions of a royal procession. The key attraction is a royal figure sitting on an elephant. A band of footmen leads the procession followed by a horseman and a dancing woman. An inscription found below the character tells the name of the royal figure, Maharaja Shri Disabhanja.
The archaeological treasures of Sitabinji uniquely blend with its rustic landscape. Its rock shelters and boulders appear to be the miniature version of Australia’s aboriginal site Uluru, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and visited by millions of tourists every year.
Sadly, however, one hardly finds any traveler visiting Sitabinji at any given day.
Bankadagada
Surrounded by Asia’s largest teak forest Barbara on one side and Banapur valley and Lake Chilika on the other side, Bankadagada is shrouded in mysteries.
Bankadagada, the remains of a fortress jutting out of a hill, and a Shiva temple built in Pre-Kalinga style of architecture are the major archaeological heritage of the area.
The area was the capital of Sailodvaba in the 7th century CE. Sailodvabas ware the first to introduce temple building activity in Odisha. The ruined Shiva temple is one of the earliest having beautiful carvings of amorous couples and tantric deities on its walls. There are also loose sculptures carved in the formative styles sheltered within the complex.
Some of these sculptures strongly resemble the sculptures in Java and Sumatra (Indonesian Archipelago). One may wonder that around this time of history, the nearby Chilika was a major hub for maritime trade. Ships would sail from ports of Chilika to Southeast Asia for trade and business using wind power. Ideas would be exchanged between these regions and therefore bring exchanges of artistic influences.
According to a local legend, during the reign of Sailodvaba ruler Pulind Sen, the king once saw in his dream that the next ruler of the dynasty, a heavenly personality, was coming from the Mahendragiri region. Pulind Sen followed the instruction and welcomed the young man and coroneted him as his successor.
The temple built in Astayana style (the central temple surrounded by seven smaller temples) was perhaps built by the successor of Pulind Sen.
Bankadagada is surrounded by the timeless rural charm of interior Odisha. Inhabited by Sabara tribes and ethnic Odia communities, one is simply drawn to vast paddy fields that appear as emerald greens as far as the eyes can see.
Sabara is an ancient tribe and were the original worshippers of Lord Jagannath. They speak in Mundari language, a branch of Mon-Khmer group of languages spoken in mainland Southeast Asia. Apart from their adaptation to jungle life, the tribesmen also subsist on farming, fishing, animal rearing and brewing of mahula alcohol. Their houses are made of wattle and daub. Sabaras also revere the Barbara forest and each of its trees as their gods.
Nandpur
If you are touring Puri or Gopalpur-on-Sea, perhaps you are not told about the other side of Odisha, which is higher in elevation than Panchamarhi in Madhya Pradesh or Mt Abu in Rajasthan. Deomali (God of the Mali tribe) on the Odisha-Andhra border is Odisha’s highest point at 1672 m. A solid rock mass, the peak is a vast tableland overlooking the beautiful countryside of Koraput, a utopia far from the maddening crowd.
Close to Deomali is Nandpur, the former capital of Jeypur kingdom and an important centre for Jainism in the medieval period.
Nandpur was an influential center of Jainism in the past. The nearby village of Subaie has a cluster of 10 Jain temples from the 8th century CE. The Tirtha was dedicated to Jain Tirthankar Rsabhanath. Part of the Bastar–Koraput Jain civilization, Subaie has a number of sculptures of Rsabhanath and Mahavir that bear the influence of South India.
It is known from the Jain scriptures that much before the Christian Era, Jain preachers had explored the dense forest tracts of Bastar–Koraput to spread their religion among the hill tribes.
The Mali tribe of Deomali–Nandpur had a deep influence on Jainism. For instance, they are traditionally vegetarians. Even today, Malis worship many of the Jain idols as their Gram Devtas (village deities).
Nandpur is also well-known for its Battish Singhasan (32-step throne). According to folklore, Nandapur was once inhabited by a pastoral tribe, Goudas. One day a young Gouda shepherd came across the plateau where the present-day Battish Singhasan stands. He would sit there playfully and deliver judgments like a scholar or a great king. However, once out of that place, his behavior would change to that of a commoner. One day the king of Nandapur discovered him delivering sound judgments. He decided to build his palace here in the line of the more famous Battish Singhasan of Vikramaditya.