State of India - Orissa

Area: ,55,707 sq km

Population: 3,16,59,736

Capital Of City: Bhubaneswar

Languages: Oriya

Crops:

How You Know: In the 3rd century BC, the Mauryan emperor Ashoka fought a terrible war with the state of Kalinga. More than 100,000 people died in the war. The death and destruction left Ashoka so affected that he decided to give up war for good. In ancient days, devotees would throw themselves in front of the wheels of the Jagannath Chariot in the belief that this great display of devotion would send them straight to heaven.

History: Orissa, meaning 'The land of the Oriyas' is a state where you can find tradition mixing with modern culture. The state has a well documented past and was known as Kalinga in the ancient days. Today the remains form Orissa's historical past, especially the grand temples, which are major tourist attractions. Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa is popularly known as the "Temple City of India" and has around 600 temples. The Lingaraj Temple at Bhubaneswar, the Jagannath Temple at Puri and the Sun Temple at Konark are among the most famous temples in Orissa. The Jagannath temple at Puri is the best-known temple of Lord Jagannath (whose temples are spread all over the State). Here a wooden the image of Jagannath is enshrined. The wooden images are replaced with new ones periodically. Odissi is the most famous dance form of Orissa. Counted among one of India's classical dances, this dance with 'sculpture like' movements started in ancient temples as performances for Gods. Chauu, a martial folk dance is another famous dance of Orissa. Orissa has a lot of wildlife. The state has 13 sanctuaries. Nandan Kanan ('garden of pleasure') is is a combination of zoo and sanctuary. It has a good collection of rare white tigers, black panthers, the Asiatic Lion and Sanghai besides hundreds of birds, reptiles, and fish. You can even go for a lion safari while you are in Kanan Park. In 1967, a wild female tiger climbed up a wall and entered the tiger enclosure at the Nandan Kanan Park, thus becoming the first wild animal which preferred the zoo. Festival: The most important festival of the state, the Rath Yatra or the Chariot festival is connected to Lord Jagannath. The Rath Yatra symbolizes Krishna's departure to Mathura from Gokul. The spectacular festival involves the procession of three giant chariots bearing the images of Jagannath, Balarama and Subhadra through the streets of Puri. Although the journey barely covers a mile it takes almost a whole day to cover it. Thousands of people pull the Chariot through the streets of Orissa. At the termination of the Yatra, the cars are broken up into pieces and religious icons are made from them. The English word 'Juggernaut' which means the march of something which is unstoppable has been derived from this festival. Orissa is also the site where one of the worst cyclone disasters happened on 29th October 1999. Winds blew at an unbelievable velocity of 250-260 km per hour and the sea waves rose up to 5-8 meters high sweeping hundreds of houses out of existence. Around 20,000 people died and millions were left homeless. India's largest inland lake, the Chilka Lake, spread over 1,100 sq. km is located in Orissa.