A couple of years ago, we had been on a fun trip to Satpada, the meeting point of the Bay of Bengal and Chilika. This is also known as Dolphin Bay and a half-hour boat ride takes you to the point where, if you are lucky, the cute Irrawaddy Dolphins will show themselves, vanish, bob up again,give you a glimpse of their cute smiling faces and..sorry folks showtime is over!
This post however is not about the dolphins. On the way to Satpada, in Brahmagiri, there is the Alarnath Temple. Legend has it that for the 15 days after Snana Purnima(loosely translated as bathing purnima!) when the Lord Jagannath in Puri is cofined to the sick-room(anasarpindi) after His marathon bath with 108 pitchers of aromatic herbal water drawn from a special well within the temple,devotees wishing to see Him must do so at Alarnath. It is believed that Sri ChaitanyaDev visited the temple in 1610AD after a Divine Call exhorted him to do so. He was so elated that he danced in pure joy and prostrated himself before the Lord. Such was his devotion that the hard stone melted at the points of contact with his body!To this day the imprint remains for us lesser mortals to see,wonder and marvel....
Sometime last week J's friend said that his son was home for a few days prior to his departure for higher studies and that he wanted to show him something different in Orissa. J has long been an ardent Jagannath devotee and he told his friend about Alarnath.It was decided that early on Sunday we would set out for Alarnath.
So J and I were up with the birds(a rare occurence for me!) and on the dot at 5.15 our friends arrived. An uneventful one hour later we were at the Y-junction after Atharanala.Our friend wanted to show his son the chariots which are being readied for the Lord's Rath Yatra on 24 June. So we took the left fork and drove along the Grand Road. There stood those 3 magnificent chariots....artisans were already at work giving the final touches. The largest called Nandighosa has 16 wheels with a height of 45 feet and will be covered in red and yellow cloth...it will carry Jagannath. Jagannath's older brother Balabhadra will be carried on Taladhwaja which is 44 feet in height and has 14 wheels and will be draped in red and green. Little sister Subhadra will travel on the Darpadalana which has 12 wheels, is 43 feet high and will be covered in red and black...
At 6.15 we were on the right fork to Alarnath. The temple gates had just opened at 6.40 when we reached. We were among the first to enter the sanctum sanctorum. The priest showed us the thumb of the Lord which was reportedly scalded when He was eating hot kheer in a hurry!Then we saw the stone slab which bears the impression of Sri Chaitanya's body...the head, the torso, the hands and feet....it was awe-inspiring.
It was only 15 minutes past 7 in the morning. I mentioned that the first catch of the day would be available at the Satpada tourist bungalow.J's friend agreed that it would be a pity giving that a miss! At the tourist bungalow one of the attendants remembered me from our last visit(are we the only ones who look for the first catch?!)...and told us that he could offer prawns tossed in butter garnished with fried onion rings fresh-ground pepper and slit green chillies.Being frail mortals we could not, simply NOT,say no!! Over some hot alu paratha and dahi,AFTER the prawns were devoured, we planned our day.
The Chilika Lake has several islands, some of the more famous ones being NalabanaKalijai,Parikud,Somolo and Dumkudi,Breakfast Island,Honeymoon Island(this has the ruins of a bungalow which was used by an erstwhile ruler for his honeymoon.But it also is known for the limbless lizards..eeks).There is also a Birds Island which has huge white hanging rocks(white because of the bird-droppings!)....We boarded a ferry (along came our SUV too) to an island called Janhikud.This ride took about half-an-hour and we saw schools of small fish and some crabs.I had heard that you could also occasionally spot some water snakes! Thankfully there were none to be seen.At Janhikud we resumed our journey by road and went to the famous Parikud Palace.The caretaker probably mistook us for "authorised visitors"...without our asking, he took us on a tour of the grounds, showed us the huge pond which yeilds an annual catch of 4 quintals of fish, opened the door of the durbar(its musty smell was overpowering)and also introduced us to the resident ram which loves munching on brinjals!(nice knowing you Ram!and I didn't know your breed was so lazy that you almost fell off while trying to bite the brinjal in a supine position....ovine intelligence demonstrated)
Our drive took us through several villages and narrow roads with occasional glimpses of the Chilika. Our driver informed us that a few years ago it wouldn't have been possible to drive through like this. You had to use boats. On the way I noticed the white and black Indian Pied Kingfisher(which we do not see in our urban areas now) and also an impressive golden brown Brahminy Kite. We decided to go to Rambha for lunch and maybe a speed-boat ride to Kalijai Island. The Orissa Tourism facility at Rambha has had a face-lift and the room we rented for a few hours was very comfortable. Lunch was simple. Prawns, grilled fish, dal, vegetables and rice.The manager informed us that the boat was ready but warned us that late afternoons the weather is unpredictable. It might suddenly turn stormy. I recalled a childhood incident....an amateur astrologer had predicted that I would drown. Even before the others could vote, I suggested a trip to Potagarh in nearby Ganja District. Diversionary tactic paid off.
Potagarh is situated on the banks of the Rushikulya river. Almost a stone's throw from the Jayshree Chemical Factory, a side road leads you to it. We drive through the gates of the fort over what-was-once the drawbridge and what-was-once a moat. The fort is in ruins but the wall remains. Standing guard. And the armoury, the barracks, the place for horses etc. Even a tunnel! And the dungeons! Potagarh was a French port but some historians feel that it may have been built by the fourth sultan Ibrahim Qutubshah.The East India Company occupied it in 1768.We climb on to the wall and peer over the edge. The Rushikulya river, serene in the pre-monsoon, looks picturesque. In the distance some buffalows are wading across in a neat row. We note the harbour below.As I idly glanced skyward,hoping to note the first signs of the elusive monsoon I saw something which I will treasure always. The Pallas' Fishing Eagle, a magnificent bird with a wide wingspan(about 5 feet) resplendent in a white underbelly, was coasting. I believe it saw me staring, mouth agape. And I think it winked!.......A young lad, definitely a local, scrambles up and offers his services as a guide. Despite our distinctly cold reaction he proceeds to tell us of the cemetery nearby where the graves of some of the people who lived in the settlement were. About 8 years ago I had visited the cemetery with YBhai and Sdi(my all-time favourite people, but more about them later). J's friend was also aware of such a place. So we decided to go there.The approach road(if it can be called one) is a dirt track lined on either side by thick Kia(kewra) bushes. Our vehicle hit a huge pile of sand and ground to a halt. The party descended and wanted to walk. I joined in, reluctantly.K ia, especially when it is beginning to bloom(as in now) is known to play host to snakes; and it was nearing sundown. My apprehsions were brushed away by my companions. We started our walk. Suddenly, a jackal appeared, looked quizzically at us and darted into the undergrowth.Then a couple of young boys appeared with a knife at the end of a pole. The men in our group had walked beyond sight. As manfully as I could, I asked them what they were up to.They must have thought we were part of some "official" group. Very respectfully, and ready to run, they told us that they were collecting the Kia flower to sell in the nearby village market. And showed us their harvest.It smelled so good. A delicate whiff of kewra. They allowed us to take two.Now we hurried to catch up with the men. The kai forest ended in a large expanse of green. Beyond that were fields of ripening chillies. And across from there we spotted the gravestones.The headstones on the graves there(around 25 of them) told a story. The youngest person to be buried was a 5 year old girl in 1756. The earliest grave was that of a person who died in 1706. Two little children, felled by malaria, lie buried next to each other.The chief of the settlement also lies here.
The jackals now appeared in multiples and looked in no mood to tolerate flesh and blood in this place of spirits! We made our way back. Boarded the vehicle and headed back. Our mandatory halt at the Chilika Dhaba for dinner. Crab Masala, prawns and roti. This is such a bustling place. Sarangi, the boy serving us, has featured in the NDTV good food show. He tells us that every day, 400 crabs,70kgs of prawns,100kgs of fish,100kgs of chicken are cooked apart from rice dal roti and vegetables......Food for thought.
Home at ten-thirty. Good day,what? Good night.And yes the Kia flower looks elegant in an imitation crystal vase and the room is suffused with its aroma.