Editor’s Letter: Odisha, Where Temples Meet the Sea

Dear reader,

There is a moment, early in the morning on the Odisha coast, when the light comes up over the Bay of Bengal and touches the top of a temple tower before it touches anything else. The fishermen are already pushing their boats into the surf. Pilgrims are already walking towards the sea with their offerings. The air smells of salt, incense and woodsmoke. If we had to choose one image for this issue, it would be that one: the sea and the sacred, side by side, as they have been on this coast for many centuries.

Why Odisha

Odisha, which many of our older readers will still know as Orissa (the state’s name was officially changed in 2011), does not always get the attention it deserves on India’s travel map. Yet it holds some of the country’s most remarkable monuments, a living temple culture of enormous depth, long and often uncrowded beaches, rich crafts, fine food and a warm, unhurried way of life. It is a state that rewards the curious traveller, and one we have wanted to give a full issue to for a long time.

April is a transitional month here. The coast begins to warm up, and by the afternoons it can be hot and humid, so plan outdoor sightseeing for the early mornings and late afternoons. The reward is that the main sites are generally quieter than in the peak winter months. If you are planning a trip around the great Rath Yatra in Puri, remember that it usually falls in June or July and draws enormous crowds; check the dates for your year well in advance.

What is in this issue

We begin in the capital with Bhubaneswar, The Temple City of India. Bhubaneswar is famous for the sheer number of its old temples, and the Lingaraja temple and the small, exquisite Mukteshwar temple are only the start. Our piece shows how to spend time in the old town, where temple towers rise above the lanes and the sacred Bindu Sagar tank.

From there we head to the coast. Explore Puri, the Resting Place of Lord Vishnu! is about one of the four great pilgrimage centres of Hindu India, home to the Jagannath temple. Konark, The City of Sun Temple! takes you to the thirteenth-century Sun Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, designed as a giant stone chariot for the Sun god, with carved wheels and horses. Orissa is Fun! is our lighter introduction to the state as a whole.

We have also travelled beyond the famous triangle. Cuttack, The Millennium City, looks at the old city on the Mahanadi, known for its silver filigree work and its Durga Puja celebrations. Rourkela, The Engineering Heartland, tells the story of one of India’s best-known steel towns. Visit Sambalpur! takes you west, to the land of the famous Sambalpuri ikat textiles.

And then there are three new features. Puri Beyond the Temple Queue: A Beach Morning and the Old Lanes suggests ways to experience Puri more slowly, from dawn on the beach to the sand art and the old streets. A Night Train to Puri, and Sunrise at Konark celebrates the old pleasure of travelling overnight by rail and waking up near the coast. Pipili, Raghurajpur and Nuapatna: Odisha’s Craft Villages takes you to the villages where appliqué, pattachitra painting and ikat weaving are still made by hand.

How to use this issue

If you have only a few days, the classic route is a loop from Bhubaneswar to Puri and Konark and back. Many travellers do it as day trips from one base, but we recommend at least one night on the coast, so that you can see the sea at dawn and in the evening, when the heat has gone and the beaches fill with families. If you have a week, add Cuttack and a craft village or two, and consider the lagoon of Chilika, Asia’s largest brackish-water lagoon, known for its migratory birds in winter and, if you are lucky, glimpses of Irrawaddy dolphins. If you have longer still, travel west to Sambalpur and the hills, where the landscape, food and textiles change again. However long you stay, leave room for slow afternoons. Odisha is not a state to rush.

Travelling with respect

Odisha’s temples are living places of worship, and some have their own rules. Several of the most important temples, including the Jagannath temple in Puri, have entry restrictions for non-Hindus; please read the signs and respect them. Leave leather items and cameras where you are asked to, and be wary of anyone who offers a quick “special entry” for a fee. Use official counters and registered guides where they exist.

On the beaches, swim only where it is safe and where lifeguards are present, as the sea on parts of this coast can be rough. Some stretches are nesting grounds for Olive Ridley sea turtles in season, so stay away from marked areas and never disturb nests or hatchlings.

And when you buy crafts, buy them directly from artisans or from reliable cooperatives whenever you can. Your purchase is part of what keeps these traditions alive.

The Odisha we hope you find

We hope this issue helps you see Odisha not as a list of monuments but as a place where history is still part of everyday life. It is the priest carrying offerings through the lanes before sunrise, the painter grinding colours from stone and shell, the weaver counting threads, the grandmother frying a plate of pithas, the fisherman mending nets in the afternoon shade. It is chhena poda, the caramelised cottage cheese sweet, eaten warm. It is the sound of temple bells drifting over a quiet tank in Bhubaneswar.

We would love to hear from you if you travel with this issue. Tell us which lane you got lost in, which painter you met, which sunrise you will remember. Some of the best stories in these pages have started with readers who wandered a little further than they planned.

Thank you for reading Travel Viewpoint, and for travelling with an open heart.

With warm wishes,

Khushi Anand, Editor