| Bhubanēswar | |
| Temple City of India (City Of Temples) | |
| — capital — | |
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| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | Orissa (officially Odisha) |
| District(s) | Khordha |
| Mayor | Shri. Anant Narayan Jena |
| Population |
837,737[1] (22) (2011[update]) • 4,900 /km2 (12,691 /sq mi) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area |
419 square kilometres (162 sq mi) • 45 metres (148 ft) |
| Website | www.bmc.gov.in/ |
Bhubaneswar, also spelled as Bhubaneshwar (Oriya: ଭୁବନେଶ୍ଵର Bhubanēsbara ), is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially Odisha. The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chhedi dynasty (around 2nd century BCE) who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital. Historically Bhubaneswar has been known by different names such as Toshali, Kalinga Nagari, Nagar Kalinga, Ekamra Kanan, Ekamra Kshetra and Mandira Malini Nagari "City Of Temples" otherwise known as the "Temple City Of India".
The largest city of Orissa, Bhubaneswar today is a center of economic and religious importance in the region.
Bhubaneswar's proud possession of magnificent sculptures and architectural heritage, coupled with the sanctity as Ekamrakshetra make this one of the great religious centres of Orissa since early medieval days.[3] With its large number of Hindu temples (over 600 in number), which span the entire spectrum of Kalinga architecture, Bhubaneswar is often referred to as a "Temple City" of India. Together with Puri and Konark and, Bhubaneswar forms the Swarna Tribhuja "Golden Triangle", one of the most visited destinations in East India.
The modern city of Bhubaneswar was designed by the German architect Otto Königsberger in 1946. Like Jamshedpur, Chandigarh, it is one of the first planned cities of modern India. With the Chandaka reserve forest on the fringes, the city, with an abundance of in-city greenery and an efficient civic body (the BMC), has become one of the cleanest and greenest cities of India.
Bhubaneswar replaced Cuttack as the political capital of the state of Orissa in 1948, a year after India gained its independence from Britain. Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are often commonly together known as the "twin cities" of Orissa. The metropolitan area formed by the twin cities has a 2011 population of 1.4 million[4][5] Bhubaneswar is categorized as a tier 2 city. An emerging IT hub, the boom in the metals and metal processing industries have made Bhubaneswar one of the fastest developing cities of India in recent years.
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The history of Bhubaneswar may be viewed as two phases: ancient Bhubaneswar and modern Bhubaneswar. While the ancient city has a history that goes back more than 2000 years, the modern city came into existence in 1948.[6]
The first mention of Bhubaneswar in Indian history is in the infamous Kalinga War which was held near Dhauli (presently located in south Bhubaneswar) in the 3rd Century BCE. The later Emperor Kharavela established his capital in Sisupalgarh which is on the outskirts of the city. The Hathigumpha inscriptions at the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves by Kharavela give a good account of that period which is estimated as 1st-2nd century BCE. Later, innumerable temples built throughout ancient and medieval history in tune with its status as Temple City give a chronicle of the city's history until Indian independence in 1947.It was the ancient capital of the Kalinga Empire and the architectural legacy of the period is its greatest attraction. There are many sites in the city that testify the importance of the region during the 7th to 11th century A.D when the Kalinga kings ruled Orissa and the regions beyond it. The Ananta Vasudeva Temple and Vindusagar tank in the only temple of Vishnu in the city of Shiva. The temples in Bhubaneswar are thus regarded as having been built from the 8th to 12th century of Shaiva influence.[7]
The Jain and Buddhist shrines give a clear picture about the settlements around Bhubaneswar in the first two centuries B.C, and one of the most complete edicts of the Mauryan emperor, Ashoka, dating between 272-236 B.C, remains carved in rock just 5 miles to the southwest of the modern city.[8]
In 1936, Orissa became a separate province in British India with Cuttack as its capital. Notably, Cuttack was Orissa's capital since 12th century. When India got independence in 1947, Orissa became one of the states of the Indian union. But for some reasons, most visibly Cuttack's vulnerability to floods and space constraints, the capital was changed to Bhubaneswar which was built into a modern city. The city planning of Bhubaneswar was given by German Architect Otto Königsberger. Bhubaneswar was formally inaugurated in 13 April 1948 as the capital of the Indian state of Orissa.
Modern Bhubaneswar was originally planned by Königsberger to be a well planned city with wide roads and many gardens and parks.[9] Though part of the city has stayed faithful to the plan,[10] it has grown rapidly over the last few decades and has made the planning process unwieldy.
The State Museum of Bhubaneswar offers an extensive selection of archaeological artefacts, weapons, local arts and crafts as well as insights into Orissa's natural and tribal history. The Tribal Research Institute Museum with its authentic tribal dwellings, created by the tribal craftsmen offers a bird's eye view of the State's tribal heritage.
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Bhubaneswar is situated between 21° 15' North Latitude 85° 15' Longitude and at an altitude of 45 meters above sea level. Geographically, Bhubaneswar is situated in the eastern coastal plains of Orissa and south-west of the Mahanadi River. The city is subdivided into a number of townships and housings.
The city has a tropical climate, specifically a tropical savanna climate. The average temperatures range between a minimum of around 12 °C (54 °F) in the winter to a maximum of 45 °C (113 °F) in summer. Sudden afternoon thunderstorms are common in April and May. The south-west monsoons appear in June. The average annual rainfall is 154 cm, most of which is recorded between June and October.
Bhubaneswar was meant to house the state's machinery and hence was designed to be a largely residential city with outlying industrial areas. The city's economy had few major players till the 1990s and was dominated by Public Sector Units, retail and small scale manufacturing.
With the economic liberalisation policy adopted by the Government of India in the 90's, Bhubaneswar received large investments in the fields of telecommunications, IT and higher education, particularly engineering. The city is home to around 105 engineering colleges (as of 2011)[11] and the number is growing every year. The city is also home to many tutorials and coaching institutes who prepare students for various entrance exams.
Retail and Real Estate have also emerged as big players. Recent times have seen large scale retail chains such as Reliance, Vishal MegaMart, Big Bazaar, Pantaloon, Pal Heights, Indulge, New Leaf, Habib's, having outlets in Bhubaneswar. Large corporates like DLF Universal and Reliance Industries have also entered the real estate market in the city. DLF Limited is developing an Infopark spread over an area of 54 acres (220,000 m2) in the city. The city has about 8 malls. The rich minerals resources of Orissa have been the backbone of the economy dominated by Government. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and private Organizations like Essar Group, Indian Oil Corporation, Bhushan Steel, NALCO, StarLite, Jindal, Vedanta and TATA Group. Despite this rapid growth, an ample number of the populace live in slums. Migration from rural areas, especially from the northern districts of Andhra Pradesh, has led to the growth of slums which are a major challenge to the city's growth. The slum dwellers work as auto rickshaw drivers or small vendors but this is not true for everyone. A lot of them are unemployed and are being drawn into crime.The main problem of the city is transport, as the quality and length of roads have not increased with respect to the rise in number of vehicles. Purchasing power of people of this city is quite high and has led to a boom of shopping establishments in recent times.
The Government has fostered growth in this sphere by the development of IT Parks such as Infocity 1, the new Infocity 2, STPI Bhubaneswar and JSS STP. The Info City was conceived as a five star park, under the Export Promotion Industrial Parks (EPIP) Scheme to create high quality infrastructure facilities for setting up Information Technology related industries. Infosys and Satyam Computer Services Ltd. (currently known as Mahindra Satyam) have been present in Bhubaneswar since 1996. Other software companies includes, TCS, Mindfire Solutions, Wipro, IBM, Genpact, Firstsource, Mindtree, etc. Apart from the big multinational IT/ITES companies, there are about 300 small and mid-sized IT companies and business start ups which have set up their offices in Bhubaneswar. The abundant availability of local talent, the quality of life in the city and the pro-active local administration are the primary forces towards IT investments into the city. The The Ind-US Entrepreneurs (TiE) helps in creating a platform to connect the Orissa businesses and entrepreneurs worldwide.
The headquarters of the Orissa State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) are located in Bhubaneswar. The Bhubaneswar Bus Station is situated at Barmunda, 8 km from the city centre and OSRTC operates a regular fleet of buses connecting Bhubaneswar to various cities in Orissa like Cuttack, Jajpur, Jajpur Road, Bhawanipatna, Sambalpur, Berhampur, Balasore, Jeypore, Rourkela and also connects it with the neighboring states of Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. Bhubaneswar is connected to the rest of the country by National Highways-NH 5 and NH 203. Bhubaneswar has its City Public Transport run by Bhubaneswar-Puri Transport Service Limited (BPTSL) and Dream Team Sahara (DTS). A fleet of 100 buses for Bhubaneswar has transformed the city's traffic and tourism. The city buses are marked green and route information is displayed on LED Display Boards for commuters. The fares are inexpensive and the routes cover all major destinations across the city. In addition to this, the launch of radio taxis in Bhubaneswar is planned.
The East Coast Railway has its headquarters in Bhubaneswar. Bhubaneswar Railway Station (BBS) is one of the main stations in India. It is located in the city center and is connected to major cities of the country such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi, Jamshedpur, Raipur, Ranchi, Guwahati, Siliguri, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram, Jodhpur, Bokaro etc., by daily express and passenger trains. Bhubaneswar is also one of the major Indian cities to get a world-class railway station soon. It has five railway stations within its city limits, namely (from North to South) Patia Halt, Mancheswar, Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar station (near Master Canteen) and Lingaraj Temple Road.
Biju Patnaik Airport also known as Bhubaneswar Airport is currently the only major domestic airport in Orissa. It is situated 3 km south of the city. There are regular flights to many destinations across India from this airport like New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, Raipur, Goa, Srinagar, Chennai, Bagdogra and Port Blair. It has been learnt from the recent visit of the Honourable Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel that the Biju Patnaik Airport would soon be upgraded to an international one, with all the benefits of an international airport, heightening the glory of the state and the country.
As per the estimate of IIT Kharagpur, which made a comprehensive development plan for the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Urban complex,[12] the metro area of Bhubaneswar has a population of 1,900,000. As per the census,[13] Males constitute 56% of the population and females 44%. In 2001, the city had an average literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 65.4%. 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Although Oriyas comprise the vast majority, there are large groups of Marwaris, Punjabis, Bengalis and Telugus. A good majority are followers of the Jagannath cult as is the case throughout the state of Orissa.Due to the boom in the education sector, the city has seen a huge influx of student from outside the city and state. Most of the students are from the neighbouring states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam, West Bengal and Chattisgarh. The main language spoken in the city is Oriya, however, Hindi and English are understood by most people of the city.
Bhubaneswar at one point in time is supposed to have had over a thousand temples. Although a large number of temples have given way for urban infrastructure, Bhubaneswar still abounds in temples of various deities. This has earned it the tag of the Temple City. The most famous ones are Lingaraj Temple, Lakshmanesvara group of temples, Parasuramesvara Temple, Svarnajalesvra Temple, Muktesvara Temple, Rajarani Temple, Vaital Temple, Brhamesvara temple, Meghesvara temple, Vaskaresvara Temple, Ananta Vasudeva Temple, Sari Temple, Kapilesvara Temple, Markandesvara temple, Yamesvara temple, Chitrakarini temple, Sisiresvara Temple.[14] Apart from the ancient temples few other important temples were built in recent times that includes Ram Mandir, Maa Kanakdurga Pitha, ISKON etc. The Lingaraj Temple towers above the cityscape and is visible from far. Careful conservation has helped save many of these symbols of Oriya culture.
There has been a recent awareness towards preserving the ethos of Oriya culture in the form of Classical Odissi dance, handicrafts, sand artistry, sculpturing as well as theatre and music. Boundary walls and gardens are increasingly being redone to depict the folk art of the region.[15]
The Ekamra Haat is the popular hand-loom and handicrafts market that was constructed recently to popularise them. Similarly SRJAN, the Odissi dance academy founded by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra the legendary Odissi dancer is located here. The Rabindra Mandap in central Bhubaneswar plays host to a number of cultural engagements and it also has a modern amphitheatre to host theatre and private functions.
At Ratnagiri, Lalitgiri and Udaygiri (on the way to Paradip) Buddhist sites of great historical significance have been excavated. The site at Ratnagiri is the most extensive and the carvings and sculpture are highly regarded for their proficiency and artistic merit.
The twin hills of Khandagiri & Udayagiri, 8 km from Bhubaneswar, served as the site of an ancient Jain monastery which was carved into cave-like chambers in the face of the hill. These caves, with artistic carvings, date back to the 2nd century BCE. Of particular note of their artistic carvings are the Rani Gumpha (Queen's Cave) and the Hati Gumpha (Elephant Cave). The Hati Gumpha has carved chronicles of King Kharavela's reign.
The 10th- or 11th-century Lingaraja temple of Bhubaneswar has been described as "the truest fusion of dream and reality." It is dedicated to Shiva. The Lingaraja temple has been rated one of the finest examples of Hindu temples in India by Ferguson, the noted art critic and historian. The surface of the 55 m-high Lingaraja temple is covered with carvings. Tradition among Hindus exist to visit the Lingaraj Temple before visiting the Jagannath temple at Puri.
Just 8 km away from Bhubaneswar looking down on the plains that bore witness to the gruesome war waged on Kalinga by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka stand the rock edicts of Dhauli. It was here that Ashoka, full of remorse after the Kalinga War in 261 BCE, renounced his bloodthirsty campaign and turned to Buddhism. Ashoka erected two main edicts in Kalinga, one in Dhauli and the other in Jayagarh. The principles of Ashoka which reflect his compassion were inscribed on all the other edicts in his empire except Kalinga. In the Kalinga edicts, he warned the people of Kalinga not to revolt and that he would take appropriate action if they did. This is in sharp contrast to all of his other edicts and proof of his political acumen.[16]
The edicts are remarkably well preserved, despite the fact that they date back to the 3rd century BCE. A sculpted elephant, the symbol of Gautama Buddha, tops the rock edicts. The Shanti Stupa or "peace pagoda", built through Indo-Japanese collaboration, is located on the opposite hill.
On the day of Ashokashtami in the month of March, the image of Lingaraja (Shiva) and other deities are taken in a procession from Lingaraja Temple to the Rameshwara Temple. Hundreds of devotees participate in pulling the temple car that carries the deities. The deities remain in the Rameshwara Temple for four days.
At the end of January comes Adivasi Mela, a fair that displays the art, artifacts, tradition, culture, and music of the tribal inhabitants of Orissa.
Durga Puja is also an important festival. Various pandals are constructed throughout the city. The largest pujas are the Shahid Nagar Durga Puja, the Nayapalli Durga Puja, and the Rasulgarh Durga Puja. Lakshmi Puja at Laxmisagar near Jharapada is also very famous.
Ratha-Yatra "Temple car Festival" is the most important festival in Orissa and the pride of Orissa. This festival is held to commemorate Jagannath, who is said to have been the incarnation of India's revered deities, Vishnu and Krishna. Held for nine days, the colorful Jagannath Yatra attracts tourists not only from all over India, but also from abroad. On the first day of this Yatra, statues of Jagannath - whose temple car's name is Nandighosh - Jagannath's brother Balarama and his sister Subhadra are taken in a procession to the Gundicha Temple, which is two kilometers away from the Jagannath Temple. On the ninth day, the statues are brought back with due ceremony. All these deities are worshipped by the lakhs of devotees that throng the city during these nine days.
Bhubaneswar is a gastronomic delight, famous for its seafood and sweets.
Fresh Lobsters and crabs brought in from the Chilika Lake nearby are sold each morning at the local Haats (Markets) along with various kinds of fish, meat, fruits and vegetables of every possible hue. The Haat is a special feature of Bhubaneswar which initially evolved as weekly markets, but now are open throughout the week and can be safely considered the lifeline of Bhubaneswar. Rasgulla, Chhena Poda, Rasabali, Chennajhilli and various other sweets that originated in Orissa as well as spicy fast food such as the local Cuttack-chaat and "dahi bara-aloo dum", various kinds of rolls are sold all over the city. There are a number of restaurants specialising in North Indian, South Indian, Chinese, Continental and Thai cuisines. Traditional Oriya food such as Dahi-Pakhal are also being marketed for tourists as well as the working professionals. Yet another culinary delight is the "Mahaprasad" from the Jagannath Temple, Puri and the Abadha of Lingaraj Temple and Ananta Vasudeva Temple in Bhubaneswar. Besides that, a lot of temples have now started giving "prasad" for devotees on daily basis and some of them are ISKON Temple, Shani Temple at Vani Vihar Square and Kali temple at Baramunda. Bhubaneswar is also famous for its famous `Khhaii' which are made up of paddy, jaggery and coconut pieces. Also famous are the various peethas like Chakuli Pitha, Ariselu, Enduri Pitha and kakara pitha.
Bhubaneswar is home to several educational and research institutions of national and international importance including the IIT Bhubaneswar, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, Institute of Physics, Institute of Mathematics and Applications, Utkal University, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, IIIT Bhubaneswar, Biju Patnaik University of Technology, the affiliating university to most of the engineering and other professional courses in Orissa. Great Lakes Institute of Management is planning to open a campus in the city very soon. Some other institutes of importance includes Siksha O Anusandhan University, KIIT University, College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, International Management Institute, Bhubaneswar, Orissa Engineering College, C. V. Raman College of Engineering, Bhubaneshwar, Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, an autonomous institute of Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar, National Institute of Fashion Technology, National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research, KIIT Law School, Institute of Management & Information Science, Rama Devi Women's College, BJB College as well as over 100 other private colleges geared towards engineering, biotechnology and management. Bhubaneswar also hosts hundreds of private vocational Training Centers for Computer Software & Hardware Training like Lakshya, Java Point, ISDAC, Interface, etc. Bhubaneshwar is home to many schools and junior colleges. The regional office of CBSE board is also located in Bhubaneswar.
Bhubaneswar has numerous newspaper publications, television and radio stations. Oriya dailies enjoy the maximum readership share in the city & the top Oriya language newspapers are Samaja, Sambad, Dharitri, Anupam Bharat, Khabar, Pragatibadi, Orissa Bhaskara and Samaya. Popular Oriya language magazines are Saptahik Samaya, Saptahik Samaja' etc. Popular English language newspapers published and sold in Bhubaneswar include the Times of India, The Telegraph, The Pioneer, Orissa Post and The New Indian Express. The Hindu (Orissa edition) is published in Visakhapatnam.Newspapers are also printed in other Indian languages.
Numerous Indian and international television channels can be watched in Bhubaneswar through one of the Pay TV companies or the local cable television provider. The national television broadcaster, Doordarshan, provides two free terrestrial channels.
The wide range of Oriya cable channels available includes OrissaTV, Tarang TV, ETV Oriya,KAMYAB TV, Kanak TV, Naxatra News, DD Oriya,Ollywood TV,Tarang Music, Prathana, STv Samachar, Mbc TV, Ekamra. The key web portals (news) based in Bhubaneswar include Breaking News Online, The Broken Scooter, Orissa Diary, Orissa News Today and Tathya News Agency.
There are many radio stations in Bhubaneswar, with stations like Radio Chocholate, Red FM, Big FM and FM Rainbow broadcasting on the FM band, and All India Radio stations broadcasting on the AM band.
Ollywood, the Oriya film industry based in Bhubaneswar, produces around 30 films every year.
Industrial and infrastructural development has boosted the healthcare market in Bhubaneswar, attracting corporates to set up base in the temple city.The city's first corporate hospital, Kalinga Hospital, now offers kidney transplantation, LV Prasad Eye Institute has taken the lead in dealing with complicated ophthalmic cases, while high risk cardiac cases are dealt with by Aditya CARE Hospital, Kalinga Hospital and Apollo Hospital with Aditya CARE Hospital is the largest and the only hospital which offers only super specialized cardiac facilities in the state. With Hemalata Cancer Hospital now providing all three branches of oncology treatment, especially linear accelerator with IMRT and CT stimulation, the high cancer burden of the state has been taken care of.
In the current scenario, while existing hospitals are introducing cutting edge technology, scaling up and even planning larger hospitals, corporates are rushing in to grab a pie of the market. Diagnostic giants like Dr Lalpathlabs, Ranbaxy and Piramal Diagnostics have set-ups there. Even stem cell banking, a relatively new concept, is picking up here. Cryobanks International India, which deals in umbilical cord blood stem cell banking, has opened a collection centre in Bhubaneswar. As many as three private medical colleges (Hi-Tech Medical College, Sum Medical College and Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences) have come up in Bhubaneswar in the last few years. Kalinga hospital is the first and the oldest corporate hospital of Orissa which offers multi-speciality treatment but when it comes to service Aditya CARE hospital is the best care provider for heart patients even with the space constraints. Aditya CARE has become a major player in cardiac surgery under the auspices of Dr. M P Tripathy, Director and chief cardiologist, Dr, K V Raj Shekhar Rao as the chief cardiac surgeon and Dr. Vivek Chowdhary as the chief cardiac anesthesiologist.
On March 2010 Apollo Hospitals opened its 49th hospital in Bhubaneswar near the sainik school. Apollo Hospitals, Bhubaneswar, is a 350-bedded tertiary care hospital with state-of-the-art technology, spread over a campus area of about7.5 acres (30,000 m2) with a built-up area of approximately 206,158 sq ft (19,152.7 m2), inaugurated on the 5th of March, 2010. AIIMS Bhubneshwar is also coming up in Bhubaneshwar and is set to open in 2012.
Bhubaneswar's major sporting arena is the Kalinga Stadium. It has facilities for Athletics, Football, Hockey, Basketball, Tennis, Table tennis and Swimming. The second phase construction of Railway Stadium is in progress which includes galleries modeled along stadiums in New Zealand. It hosted its first Ranji Trophy match in November'10. Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, Orissa's only venue for international cricket matches, is located around 25 km away. With the completion of 2nd phase of the Railway Stadium, Bhubaneswar will have an international standard Cricket stadium. OPL (Odisha Premier League) has started from 2010. The league started with 10 teams from different places in Orissa. The champion for the 1st year league was Western Samurais (Rourkela).The next year OPL 2012, the number of teams is going to be 12.
The Elite Football League of India (EFLI) - an American football league slated for a Fall 2012 kickoff - has announced that the Bhubaneswar Warhawks will be a member-franchise. The team's first season will be played in Pune, and it will be Bhubaneswar's first professional American football franchise.[17][18]
16. ^http://www.mindfiresolutions.com/news.htm#July11 17. ^http://education.in.msn.com/news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4691242&page=3 18. http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/18046-orissa-becomes-odisha-oriya-changes-into-odia.html
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