ORISSA
Travel Attraction : Golden Triangles ( Bhubaneshwar, Puri, Konark )
Language Spoken : Oriya
Perpetually washed by the blue waters of the Bay of Bengal,
Orissa lies on the east coast of India with a 482-km-long coastal stretch.
It is bounded by West
Bengal and Bihar
on the north, Andhra
Pradesh on the south, the Bay of Bengal on the east and
Madhya
Pradesh on the west . The state's history is divisible into the same
four periods in which Indian history is usually analysed, i.e., the Hindu
period, the Muslim period, the British period and the post-Independence
period.
Orissa's
main attractions are the temples of the capital
Bhubaneswar,
- the long sandy beach at
Puri, the
Sun
Temple at Konark
and
Simlipal
and
Nandankanan
sanctuaries of
Cuttack.
The renowned
Jagannatha
temple dominate the landscape at Puri as does the
Lingaraja
temple of Bhubaneswar.
10 kms west of Bhubaneshwar are the
Udayagiri Caves,
which were occupied by the Buddhist monks as early as the 2nd century BC.
History of Orissa
It's hazy past is linked to the fortunes of Kalinga of which it was once a
part. Ashoka's carnage of Kalinga made the emperor foreswore war and till
2nd century AD,
Buddhism
and
Jainism
alternately held sway in
Orissa. Fast
forward to 1514: the time of the European arrival here. After the British
conquest in 1804, Orissa was divided into three districts:
Cuttack,
Puri and
Balasore.
After independence, Orissa became a state of India in 1950.
Capital of Orissa
Bhubaneswar,
the capital of Orissa, famous as a temple town and a handicraft centre,
has, over the last decade, become an upcoming business centre. While the
city itself boats of no giant industrial plants, showcased in its main
bazaars are craftwork, such as the traditional tie and dye technique of
ikat, that date back over several thousand years.
Handicrafts of Orissa
Shopping in Orissa
is a joy. You don't look there for what the modern industry can give you,
but for unique and exquisite handicrafts, made by those fingers whose
forerunners had with such dexterity and skill created the magnificient
Orissa
temples. The handicrafts of Orissa include
silver
filigree,
horn
work,
folk
paintings (Pattachitra),
metalware,
applique
work,
stoneware,
silk and cotton handloom etc. 
Culture in Orissa
Another expression of Oriyan culture is
Odissi,
one of the finest forms of Indian classical dance. Evolved out of
spiritual consciousness, it formed an essential part of the ritualistic
services in the important shrines of
Orissa.
Devotional in spirit, it is marked for its elaborate grace and lyrical
charm, revealed through rounded movements. Orissa also has a rich body of
literature with Sitakant Mahapatra being one of the major voices in
contemporary Oriya poetry
Festivals of Orissa
Makar Sankranti in January; Magha Mela and
Konark
Dance Festival in Febraury; Maha Shivratri and
Holi
in March; Basant Panchami in Febraury / March;
Chaitra
Parba or
Chhow
Festival in April;
Rath
Yatra or the Car Festival of
Puri and Raja
Sankranti in June / July;
Durga
Puja in September / October;
Kartika
and Kumar Purnima in October-November;
Lakshmi
Puja in December -January.
CLIMATE OF ORISSA 
Temperature
(deg C): Summer - Max.38, Min.27.1
Winter - Max.28.2, Min.15.2.
Rainfall : Mid June-September 60 inches (152 cms).
Best season : October to March
Population in Orissa: 35 million
Tourism Offices in Orissa:
Tourist office, Barkul - Dist. Khurda, Puri, Orissa - 752030,
Tourist office, Berhampur - New Bus stand (1st floor), Puri,
Orissa - 760004
Tourist Counter - Railway station, Puri, Orissa - 760004.
Tourist Office - VIP chhak, station road, Puri, Orissa - 752002.
Tourist Office, Government of Orissa, 55 Lenin Sarani (Beside
Wellington Square), Calcutta.
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