Durga Puja - Sahid-Nagar, Bhubaneswar

Odisha celebrates Durga Puja in grand style.

Its Pandals are enough proof. There are hundreds of Pandals and super celebration!

Odisha's present capital city- Bhubaneswar & its erstwhile capital city- Cuttack had amazing Pandals this year too.

Here are some pics from the Pandal of Sahid-Nagar, a posh locality of Bhubaneswar.

Durga Puja - Unit 1, Bhubaneswar

Odisha has celebrated Durga Puja for centuries.

Bhubaneswar & Cuttack, the twin-cities, have hundreds of Pandals.

Here are a few Pandals of Odisha we got to visit this year:


Durga Puja - Old Station Square, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Khan Nagar, Cuttack

Durga Puja - Jharpada, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Sahid Nagar, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Rasulgarh, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Bomikhal, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Ashok Nagar, Bhubaneswar


When we crossed the Unit-1 area, where there's a big haat (market), we found an attractive brick-coloured building that looked like a temple.
Of course, it was a Durga Puja Pandal!

Durga Puja - Bomikhal, Bhubaneswar

Not many know that the Durga Puja is an important festival of Odisha, India.

There are lots of Pandals in every village, town and city of Odisha.

Here are some pics from Bomikhal, an area of the capital-city of Odisha, Bhubaneswar.

Got to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Bhubaneswar!

Cyclone Phailin

Last week, we visited one of the most important ShaktiPeeths of India,  the Maa Tara Tarini Temple in Berhampur, Odisha. As our visit was after a couple of years, we were happy to see the developments there but sad to see the absence of the erstwhile greenery. Some parts of the once green hill now look barren & as if all the plants & trees have been cleanly shaven off... just like a clean-shaven head without any hair...

From this newspaper article, we realized that it's the result of last year's Phailin Cyclone attack where Gopalpur and its surrounding areas in Odisha, including the Temple-City, Bhubaneswar & the Silk-City, Berhampur, were badly hit.

Cyclone Phailin, a Category 5 Cyclone,  made its presence felt last year from October 4th to 14th, 2013.

The landfall  was near Gopalpur, Odisha with the highest wind being 260 km/h.
In Odisha, 11.5 Lakh people were evacuated, while in Andhra 1.3 Lakh people were evacuated.

In contrast, the recent Cyclone HudHud is a Category 4 Cyclone that has emerged from October 7th 2014 onwards with winds about 175  km/h.                                                    
In Odisha, 1.6 Lakh people have been evacuated, while in Andhra 5 Lakh people have been evacuated.

Last year's memories are still fresh in my mind.
Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha, was also ravaged by the strong winds and the heavy rains.

Here are some pics taken last year in Bhubaneswar by my sister from our home's terrace:

Notice the fallen branches of trees.

Diwali With Family

Diwali is an important festival of India, our nation.
Diwali is called the "Festival of Lights"as there's illumination.

 

During celebrations it is sad to be away from one's family.
Festivals are for get-together & to enjoy together happily!

Wishing over phone or through emails or SMS is not as much fun...
Everyone dreams of real meetings & being a part of the celebration.

A Diwali Meeting is much better than an SMS Greeting-
One is real & face-to-face; while the other is in digital space! :)

Cyclone HudHud

I get very disturbed when there are natural calamities. Who doesn't get affected?

The memories of Cyclone Phailin, in Odisha on October 12th, exactly a year ago, are still fresh in my mind.

The effects of any natural calamity like a cyclone is devastating. It incurs a lot of pressure on our administrative machinery and takes a toll on general public & development...
We lose a lot of time and resources...

When I first heard the name of the latest cyclone- HudHud, being the HUGE Hindi Movies Fan that I am, I remembered the title song from the Salman Khan starrer- Dabangg.
In Hindi, the word Dabangg means fearless.

No doubting the power of Cyclone HudHud Dabangg.

It had started making its presence felt much before its arrival.

"Coming Soon to Odisha & AP. Nature's Production & Direction-From the makers of Phailin." 

Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

I love the words, ideas and speeches of our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.

Today, on October 11th, 2014 his speech is notable & inspirational, as usual.

The occasion is Shri Jaiprakash Narayan's 112th birth-anniversary when Shri Modi has launched a new village development scheme named - 'Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana'.

Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana means- Parliamentary Model Village Scheme.


Some key points-

- All basic facilities with 100% access to education and health should be available in villages.

- MPs should adopt a village and work towards its development; Create a model that can be replicated by others.

- The PM himself plans to adopt a village in Varanasi and work for its development.

- India's development model has been supply-driven. We want to change it by making it demand-driven.

- Let us create an atmosphere where every person takes pride in his or her village.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan!

Dear Mr. Amitabh Bachchan,

We watched the 1stDay1stShow of your movies.

When U won all those Awards, we said Cheese! 

180 Films in 45 years with 39 Filmfare Nominations-

Not only the pride of India, but U r a global inspiration. 

On The Beach

Happiness on the beach for Mr.Bakshi!
He ogled at a pretty lady in a bikini sexy!

Photo-Prompt- The Moving Quill

Mrs.Bakshi, who was wet, was wild seeing this.
Hubby staring at another woman is no bliss...

Borderless

Photo by Tom Chambers ; Used with permission from  Magpie Tales

They created artificial boundaries & conspired to take her hostage & monstrously imprison.

She never lost her spirit, her confidence or the sight of her dream to reach for the horizon.

This world may be filled with hatred, but as long as there are believers, there's light & hope.

She dedicated herself completely to her music & expressed herself & her desires to cope...