Odisha, India

Having traveled to different parts of India during my childhood, somehow Odisha was missing in my list. Thanks to my dad who taught me the art of traveling to various places due to his association with Indian Railways. I recently visited this beautiful state of Odisha, India’s best kept secret. I must say the domestic flight transportation in India has improved a lot in the last decade. There is a direct flight from Chennai to Bhubaneshwar, the capital city of Odisha. Bhubaneswar is an ancient city in India’s eastern state of Odisha, formerly Orissa. Some of the notable places to visit in Bhubaneswar are Lingaraj Temple, RajaRani Temple, Kedaragouri Temple, Mukteswara-Siddheswar Temple, ISKCON temple.

Puri is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, 60 kilometres south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. The great Jagannath temple in Puri is a must visit. Had a great time on the beaches of Puri which are quite similar to the Chennai beaches. The Eco treat in Odisha is giving a lot of fun activities on the beach like big motor bikes, speed boat and parasailing. I had a chance to do Parasailing for the first time in my life and it was a great experience.

Chilika Lake is the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia and second largest coastal lagoon in the world, spread over the Puri, Khordha and Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over 1,100 square kilometres. Had a good boating ride in Chilika lake for about 3 hours.

I was really amazed by the popularity of Naveen Patnaik, the son of Biju Patnaik who have been ruling the state of Odisha for the past three decades. I could see lot of development activities which has happened in this state because of him. Most importantly, Odisha has been the main sponsor for Indian Hockey team and they have built wonderful stadiums in Bhubaneshwar and Rourkela. I certainly loved the warmth of Odisha people and it was a trip to remember in my life.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S