ODISHA: India's Best Kept Secret

  

  The state Odisha which falls on the eastern side of India is having a unique tagline "India's best kept secret" and I would say it properly defines its tagline. Having Bhubaneswar as its Capital city this state is now triumphing in various sectors. Once upon a time, Odisha used to be known as the second poorest state of India but, it stood up on its own, and now sectors like; Sports, Tourism, Disaster Management, Modernization, and Culture. It is doing commendable development.

1. Sports:

On Feb 12, 2023, an article from "Hindustan Times" stated that, after the spectacular success of the Asian athletics championship in 2017 and the hockey men's world cup in 2018, Odisha is complimented with the title of 'sports capital of India'. Hockey being India's national game it was never so much celebrated in India. But, for the first time in history govt. of Odisha became the official sponsor of the Indian hockey team, both men's and women's. it has also been producing some of the finest athletes who dominate in national and international events. 

2. Tourism: 

Specifically, the heading of our topic comes from Odisha tourism's Tagline, you can explore Temples & Monuments, Buddhist sites, Beaches, Museums, Forest & Wildlife, Lakes & Waterfalls, and Arts and Crafts in Odisha. These sections itself having so much in the example that a single write-down can not define each one of them but still for giving some examples I am going to put one example from each section.

Temples & Monuments: Jagannath Temple-Puri, Lingaraj Temple-Bhubaneswar

Buddhist sites: Dhauli Giri, Bhubaneswar

Beaches: Marine drive-Konark, Gopalpur-Berhampur

Museums: Tribal Museum, Odisha State Museum Bhubaneswar

Forest & Wildlife: Similipal Tiger Sanctuary-Mayurbhanj, Bhitarkanika-Kendrapara

Lakes & Waterfalls: Chilika Lake, Gandahati Waterfall

Arts and Crafts: Sand Art & Tarakasi work, Cuttack

In Odisha, they celebrate tourism for 90 days starting from December 1st Eco Retreat is organized at 7 exotic and natural locations to give exposure to the culture of Odisha and give people a feel of the beauty of nature.

3. Disaster Management:

Odisha is the top state in India when it comes to disaster management. having a long coastal line Almost every year cyclone is hitting Odisha but, the super efficient disaster management team of Odisha "Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force [ODRAF]" tackles it efficiently and rebuilds the beauty of Odisha rapidly.

At the time of the COVID-19 pandemic also Odisha was the largest importer of Oxygen cylinders across India.

4. Modernization:

Odisha is a fast-growing state in the development of its cities as well as building itself financially strong. While declaring the smart city list of India Bhubaneswar the capital of Odisha ranked one and another city Rourkela was also on that list. All the cities here are well-planned. Many top tech giants are now making their presence in Odisha. Recently on the state's foundation day i.e., 1st of April the Chief Minister of Odisha Sri Naveen Patnaik declared to implement of metro in Odisha.

5. Culture:

Odisha is very rich when it comes to the culture and tradition. Every year all the Odias celebrate Rath Yatra very passionately. The reason I mentioned Odia is not only in Odisha, wherever the Odia community is there across the world they celebrate Rath Yatra. As per the recent news a Jagganath Temple is going to be built in London, UK on 15 acres of land.

Odisha also has many cultural places like Samaleswari, Konark, Lingaraj, Mukteswar, Kalijai, and many more. You can find good places for accommodation near temples to stay. My recommendation would be you must visit the temples of Odisha once in a lifetime and be blessed with a devotional environment and positive aura.

The conclusion:

As the tagline describes all that the beauty and charm of Odisha can not be defined of written down, you have to visit there to be enlightened with the charm. I shall be writing more about the tourism and monuments of Odisha so keep following my blogs.

SIBANI BARIK

Sibani's Blog