Laxmisagar
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Laxmisagar or Laxmi Sagar is a famous place in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. Etymologically the name is derived from the words "Laxmi", meaning the Hindu Goddess of Wealth, and "Sagar", which in Sanskrit means the sea or ocean. But according to local legend, the name has its roots in the tragic love story of a young girl called Laxmi and her boyfriend Sagar who lived in that locality centuries ago. Laxmisagar is famous for the Central Jail, which is one of the biggest jails in Orissa. Many big names including well-known political prisoners and notorious criminals have spent time in the Central Jail at Laxmi Sagar. The open space in front of the jail has been a place for film shooting, where many famous imprisonment and jail-break scenes have been videographed in a great number of Oriya films.
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[edit] Major landmarks
Apart from the central jail, the other major landmarks of Laxmisagar are the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) - Eastern Chapter (popularly known as the Eastern Regional Language Centre) and the Gram Sevika (anganwadi) Taalim Kendra (Lady Village Workers' Training Centre), both of which are located in peaceful idyllistic sylvan surrounding. The Language Centre imparts training in translation and comparative linguistics in various eastern Indian languages such as Oriya, Bengali, Assamese and Santali and local dialects of Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar and the North-eastern states of India. It is a place of scholastic research where eminent translators and linguists from all over India commingle to share their knowledge.
The Gram Sevika Taalim Kendra at Laxmisagar is the largest of its kind in Orissa. It provides residential accommodation and training facility to hundreds of rural women, including tribal ladies, at a time.
The Gokulananda Maharathi Law College (affiliated under Utkal University) has also a campus inside the Laxmisagar Municipal Highschool compound. The Regional Traffic Training Institute is also situated in Laxmiagar, where the head quarters of the Seventh Battalion of Orissa Armed Forces was located.
[edit] Places of interest
Laxmisagar is situated on the Cuttack-Puri main road between Rasulgarh square and Kalpana square. It is well known for its meat market and abattoir, people from all over Bhubaneswar come here to purchase good quality mutton. The famous temples in and around Laxmisagar are the Maa Dalakhai temple, Hanuman temple, Sriram temple and Buddheswari temple. The Bhubaneswar Stock Exchange is also situated in Laxmisagar near Cuttack Road.
[edit] Famous personalities
Laxmisagar is infamous for the feudal gang war between the Jena and the Mangaraj families. Scores of members of either family have been killed in violent clashes arising from historical antagonism. The famous Oriya film stars Bijay Mohanty and Jayaraj (Jayee) have resided here. The younger brother and family of the famous Orissa-born dalit Swedish artist Mr P K Mahanandia also lived here. The eminent writer and compiler of Gyanamandal (the famous Oriya encyclopaedia), Mr Vinod Kanungo compiled his magnum opus at the Eastern Regional Language Centre in Laxmisagar. The noted poet and writer, and Kendriya Sahitya Akademi Indian Literature Golden Jubilee 2007 Poetry award winner Dr Tapan Kumar Pradhan resides here in Stage-1, Laxmisagar. The famous industrialist and film producer Mr Ratikant Kanungo also spent the major part of his life in Laxmisagar. Mr Sudarshan Pradhan, Orissa's liquor baron, was once the head master of Laxmisagar Municipal Highschool.
