I had intended to start from Bhubaneswar early in the morning – maybe around six – so that I could avoid the heat, and because photographs look better in the slanting light. I had ambitious plans of reaching Konark around 9 a.m.Unfortunately I overslept and ignored the alarm, which almost never happens. Then I boarded a bus whose driver told me he was going to Konark, and then proceeded to do a sort of extended and very bumpy tour of rural Orissa. We went at an agonizingly slow pace, covering 40 km in two and a half hours. I should also mention that the bus picked up half the population of rural Orissa on the way. To cap it all, they told me to get down at a place 25 km from Konark and catch another bus. When I got on, this second bus already had a huge crowd, including the statutory live chickens, screaming babies and holy men. Good fun!
The upshot of all this was that I reached three hours behind schedule. But what the heck. Twelve noon is after all a strangely appropriate time for visiting a Sun Temple. 55 days later, and it would have been even more perfect!
5 comments:
My parents tell me that I too have been to Konark. The only memory i have of that place is the small stone replica of the temple which we bought there and had till a short while ago. :)
are those construction grills (or whatever they're called) on the left side of the temple in the first picture? they were there when i went too, which was, i dunno, when i was nine or something.
strange.
@IP: At what age? I went there when I was four. My only memento from that trip is a scar on my knee. I was running in the temple compound, I'm told.
@Priyanka: Scaffolding, I believe, is the word you are groping for. Maybe there will come a time when the scaffolding will be of as much historical interest as the temple itself.
But no, I've seen google images of the Konark temple without any scaffolding. Then again, maybe they were photoshopped.
@No-one-in-particular: Hmm, looks like when I get fewer comments, I give longer and more well-considered replies.
Haha,we'll have to stop commenting, then :D
wv:ylingi. ki funny!
I have been there so many time that you can measure my growth, or lack thereof, by seeing how tall I am in comparison to those huge wheels.
Post a Comment