Bhubaneswar ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. Once the capital of ancient Kalinga, the city has a long history of 3000 years and is today a center of economic and religious importance. Historically Bhubaneswar has been known by different names such as Toshali, Kalinga Nagari, Nagar Kalinga, Ekamra Kanan, Ekamra Khetra and Mandira Malinya Nagari.The modern city of Bhubaneswar was designed by the German architect Otto Königsberger in 1946. It became the political capital of the state of Odisha in 1948, a year after India gained its independence from Britain. Before Bhubaneswar, Cuttack was the capital of Odisha until 1947. Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are together known as the "twin cities" of Odisha. As per a comprehensive development plan prepared by IIT Kharagpur, the metropolitan area formed by both has a 2008 population of 1.9 million. The World gazetteer has the metro area population estimated at 1,666,429. With its large number of Hindu temples, Bhubaneswar is often referred to as a Temple City of India. These temples span the entire history of Kalinga architecture.

Its unique sculptural and architectural heritage, coupled with the sanctity as Ekamrakshetra make this one of the five great religious centers of Odisha since early mediaeval days.

History

The history of the Bhubaneswar-Khurda region goes back 2000 years . The speciality of the culture that grew here lies in its remarkable continuity and the tenacity with which it survived through various vicissitudes. Emperor Kharavela established his capital in Sisupalgarh which is on the outskirts of the city. The Hathigumpha inscriptions at the Udayagiri caves and Khandagiri caves date back to the 2nd century BCE . Modern Bhubaneswar was originally planned by Otto Königsberger to be a well planned city with wide roads and many gardens and parks. Though part of the city has stayed faithful to the plan, it has grown rapidly over the last few decades and has made the planning process unwieldy. Bhubaneswar forms one of the vertices of the Golden Triangle the other two being the cities of Puri and Konark. The area is attractive to tourists for its spiritual significance to Hindus. To the east are the famous Sun temple of Konark and the Jagannath Temple of Puri. The Lingaraj Temple of old Bhubaneswar, built in the 11th century, is another temple noted for its ancient history. The Khandagiri and Udaygiri, situated on the outskirts of the city are home to monuments of the Jain monks since the times of King Kharavela. Another such monument is the Shantistupa, which was built with Japanese aid, as a symbol of peace at the site where the Kalinga War took place between Emperor Ashoka and Kalinga. Bhubaneswar is known for its architecture and ancient temples The imposing spire of the Lingaraj Temple, the quiet beauty of the Vishwa Shanti Stupa and the pink translucence of the Mahavira Jain Temple in nearby Khandagiri.

The State Museum of Bhubaneswar offers an extensive selection of archaeological artifacts, weapons, local arts and crafts as well as insights into Odisha'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.

Geography and Climate

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 Odisha and south-west of the Mahanadi River. The city is subdivided into a number of townships and housings.

The city has a tropical climate; the average temperatures range between a minimum of around 10 °C in the winter to a maximum of 40 °C to 45 °C in summer. Sudden afternoon thunderstorms are common in April and May. The south-east monsoons appear in June. The average annual rainfall is 154 cm, most of which is recorded between June and October.

Economy

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 90s, Bhubaneswar received large investments in the fields of telecommunications, IT and higher education, particularly engineering. The city accounts for almost all of the IT revenue of Odisha and is one of the fastest growing regions in India in this sector . The city is home to around 40 engineering colleges (as of 2009) and the number is growing every year. Around 25,000 engineers graduate with the Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree 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 and Big Bazaar opening outlets in Bhubaneswar. Large corporations like DLF Universal and Reliance Industries have entered the real estate market in the city. DLF Limited is developing an Infopark spread over an area of 54 acres in the city. Despite this rapid growth, a large number of the populace live in slums and are below the poverty line. 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 rich minerals resources of Odisha have been the backbone of the economy dominated by Govt. (SAIL) and private organizations like Jindal, Vedanta and the TATAS.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. Bhubaneswar has emerged as one of the fastest growing IT and semiconductor hubs of India . The Government has fostered growth in this sphere by the development of IT Parks such as Infocity 1 and the new Infocity 2. 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. have been present in Bhubaneswar since 1996-97. Wipro's software development centre in the city is scheduled to be operational by the end of February 2008.The first part of the TCS centre is ready and has a capacity to accommodate nearly 1,200 professionals but the software major has only 250 employees at present.This has earned the state capital in eastern India the unique distinction of having the presence of four major Indian IT companies i.e. Infosys, Satyam, TCS and Wipro. The Finland telecommunication company, Nethawk ([75728]), has its India R&D center at Bhubaneswar. The Canadian giant, Gennum Corporation has its India development center at Bhubaneswar.

Other major IT companies including Hexaware Technologies, Ramtech Systems and several other companies have also finalised plans for starting operations at Bhubaneswar. In addition there are several hundreds of small scale software and hardware companies offering software development outsourcing services. While some of these small companies are owned by NRIs, many are established by native businessmen.

Education

Bhubaneswar is home to several educational and research institutions of state and national importance including the Utkal University [75729], Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar [75730], the Institute of Physics [75731], Indian Institute of Technology [75732] , National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) [75733], Institute of Mathematics and Applications (IMA) [75734], IIIT, a planned world class central university, IT institute by ADAG, Siksha O Anusandhan University(SOA)[75735], IMMT, College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar [75736], Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), C V Raman , KIIT University as well as over 30 other private colleges geared towards engineering, biotechnology and management. There are a number of institutions offering degrees related to information technology. Vedanta University is being established as one of the world's largest comprehensive universities in a location very close to Bhubaneswar city.

Bhubaneswar is emerging as a national education hub, that is also being promoted as an Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) by the government. A total of 40 km² of land has been allocated for the purpose, out of which about 60% will be devoted to research and development. Two institutions of national importance, the IIT and NISER, Bhubaneswar will be located within this investment region.

Demographics

As per the estimate of IIT Kharagpur, which made a comprehensive development plan for the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Urban complex, the metro area of Bhubaneswar has a population of 19,00,000. As per the census,Males constitute 56% of the population and females 44%. In 2001, the city had an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 65.4%. 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Although Odias 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 Odisha.

The main language spoken in the city is Odia, Hindi and to a fair extent English is understood by most people of the city.

Sports

Bhubaneswar's main sporting stadium is the Kalinga Stadium. It has facilities for athletics,football, hockey, basketball, tennis, table tennis and swimming. The newly constructed Railway Cricket Stadium is the biggest in Eastern India with a radius of 81 mtrs. The second phase of construction is on with galleries modeled along stadiums in New Zealand. It hosted its first Ranji Trophy match in November.Barabati Stadium,Cuttack-Odisha's only venue for international cricket matches is located around 25kms away.

Cricket is the most popular sport of Bhubaneswar and there is intense rivalry among the various cricket clubs. Prominent among these being Pragati Sporting, Shaheed Sporting, Rameshwar Sporting, Paramount Sporting and Kishore Sporting. There are also a number of indoor stadia such as the Shaheed Nagar Indoor Stadium and the Unit 1 indoor stadium etc having facilities for badminton and other indoor sports.

The Bhubaneswar Golf Club situated within Infocity is the city’s premier Golf Club with a 9 hole course and a plan to develop into a full-fledged 18 hole golf course in future .

Culture

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. Apart from the ancient temples few other important temples were built in recent times that includes Ram Mandir, 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 Odia culture in the form of Classical Odissi dance, hanicrafts, sand artistry, sculpturing as well as theater and music. Boundary walls and gardens are increasingly being redone to depict the folk art of the region.

The Ekamra Haat is the popular handloom 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.

Khandagiri & Udayagiri (Jain Heritage)

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 BC . 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.

Lingaraj Temple

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.

Dhauli Giri

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 the Great, stand the rock edicts of Dhauli. It was here that Ashoka, full of remorse after the Kalinga War in 261 BC, renounced his blood-thirsty 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 .

The edicts are remarkably well preserved, despite the fact that they date back to the 3rd century BC. A sculpted elephant, the universal symbol of Lord Buddha, tops the rock edicts. The Shanti Stupa or the peace pagoda, built through the Indo-Japanese collaboration, is located on the opposite hill.

Fairs & Festivals

On the day of Ashokashtami in the month of March, the image of Lingaraja (Lord Shiva) and other deities are taken in a procession from Lingaraja Temple to the Rameshwara Temple. Hundreds of devotees participate in pulling the chariot 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 Odisha.

Durga Puja is also an important festival. Various pandals are constructed throughout the city. The largest puja are: the Shahid Nagar Durga Puja, the Nayapalli Durga Puja, and the Rasulgarh Durga Puja. Laxmi Puja at Laxmisagar near Jharapada is also very famous.

Cuisine

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. Rasagolla, chhenapoda, rasabali, chennajhilli and various other sweets that originated in Odisha as well as spicy fast food such as the local Cuttack-chaat and "dahi bara-aloo dum", various kinds of rolls are sold throughout the city. There are a number of restaurants specialising in north Indian, south Indian, Chinese, Continental and Thai cuisines. Traditional Odia food, such as daalma and pakhal are also being attractively marketed for tourists as well as the working professionals. Yet another culinary delight is the "mahaprasad" from the Jagannath Temple in Puri and the Abhada of Lingaraj temple and Ananta Basudeva Temple in Bhubaneswar. Besides that, a lot of temples have now started giving "prasad" for devotees on daily basis and one of them is Shani Temple at Vani Vihar Square.

Politics

Bhubaneswar is divided into three Vidhan Sabha constituencies Bhubaneswar Central, Bhubaneswar North, and Ekamra-bhubaneswar. The MLAs are Bhubaneswar Central- Bijay Mohanty (BJD), Bhubaneswar North- Bhagirathi Badajena (BJD), and Ekamra-Bhubaneswar - Ashok Chandra Panda (BJD). The MP from Bhubaneswar is Prasanna Kumar Patasani (BJD).

Environment

Bhubaneswar enjoys the credit of being one of the cleanest and greenest cities of India. A view from any tall building in the city presents a dense canopy of green which is soothing and refreshing. The Government has undertaken various programmes to make Bhubaneswar a role model for other developing cities of the world.

Recently the boundary walls on roadsides have been artistically painted with the help of local painters depicting the rich and glorious traditions and culture of Odisha. The government has introduced the concept of special vending zones to prevent hawkers from operating on the main streets and at the same time not destroying their source of livelihood. This has drawn high praise from experts who have hailed it as an innovation in urban development.

Cleanliness has also been given a lot of attention and Bhubaneswar is one of the very few cities in India to have dustbins almost every 200 metres along all stretches of roads.However large infrastructure projects which are vital for Bhubaneswar to flourish for eg- flyover over Rajmahal Sqr, road widening initiatives etc have caused certain degree of environmental damage and these need to be compensated with even further stress on tree-plantation. The railway station of Bhubaneswar has been given a much desired facelift.

Moreover large scale tree plantation and beautiful landscaping has been undertaken alongside all major roads to give bhubaneswar a much desired facelift. Massive tree-plantation is undertaken each year during the monsoons and the role of various citizen bodies is also noteworthy for eg a citizen body Prerna holds demonstrations in malls and other public places to sensitise the citizens about the need for environmental protection. Large parks have also been developed which serve not only as green lungs but also as a source of recreation for the denizens. Indira Park, Biju Pattnaik Park, Ekamra Kanan, M.G Park etc located within the heart of the city are some of the larger parks that enhance the beauty of Bhubaneswar manifold.

References

1. Preface of the Comprehensive Development Plan for the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Urban Complex
2. World Gazetteer India: Metropolitan areas
3. R. P. Mohapatra, Archaeology in Orissa, Vol I, Page 47, B. R. Publishing Corporation, Delhi, 1986, ISBN 81-7018-346-4
4. Microsoft Word - Concept Paper-07.doc
5. http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/22/stories/2006072202921800.htm
6. http://cvraman.org/
7. CDP for Bhubaneswar-Cuttack urban complex
8. R. P. Mohapatra, Archaeology in Orissa, Vol I, Page 47-84, B. R. Publishing Corporation, Delhi, 1986, ISBN 81-7018-346-4

External links

• Orissa Discussion Forum
• Bhubaneswar Development Authority
• Official Web Site of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation