Travelling rejuvenates one’s body and soul. I’ve inherited this travel enthusiasm from my parents. For a true traveller, even a less known, rustic small village can be of immense interest; exploring an old, dilapidated temple, or walking through the green rice fields feeling the verdant mellowness beneath, can bring enormous joy. Far from the maddening cacophony and, crowd of the city, small towns or suburbs always attract me. The essence of these places is easy to identify and, often they surprise us with their natural beauty.
My uncle is an engineer and, throughout his service life, has worked with reputed steel industries of the country. Once, when he was posted in Rourkela, we visited the Ispat Nagari or the Steel City of Odisha. It is a beautiful city surrounded by a range of hills and a number of rivers. The word ‘Rourkela’ literally means, ‘Our Village’. the city is divided into two sections: The Steel Township and the Civil Township. As the name suggests, The Steel Township is the residential colony of the employees of the steel plant.
Places to Visit in Rourkela
Biju Patnaik Hockey Stadium: The legendary hockey players Dilip Tirkey and Lazarus Barla have started their career from this stadium. The stadium has all the modern equipment and Rourkela has produced many talented hockey players.
Mandira Dam: This dam was specially built on river Sankh, a tributary of Brahmani river, for supplying water to the Rourkela Steel Plant situated about 24 km downstream. We visited it quite a couple of times and even stayed for a day at the guest house entirely maintained by the Water Supply Department of Rourkela. A picturesque garden has enhanced the beauty of the dam.
Vedavyasa Temple: It is said, three rivers, Sankh, Koel and Saraswati together gave rise to the Brahmani river. The place Vedavyasa is named after the Great Sage Vedavyas, who, according to mythology, used to live in a cave that existed in the riverside hill while writing the epic Mahabharata. The place now has a number of temples dedicated to different Gods and is visited by thousands of pilgrims.
Darjing: Darjing is a beautiful picnic spot and is well connected with Rourkela with regular bus service. We started early in the morning and spent the whole day there. It is situated on the banks of the Brahmani river. There is also a gorge named Deodhar gorge and is only a 10 minutes journey from Darjing.
Hanuman Batika: Hanuman Batika or the Garden of Hanuman has one of the tallest statues of Hanuman. It’s a beautiful place to spend time.Ghanteswari
Besides, there is a couple of other dams like Pitamahal dam and Ghoghor dam.
We enjoyed our stay in the quaint town of Rourkela. Though known as the industrial capital of Odisha, the city is exceptionally clean and well-maintained. The hills and rivers have added flavour to its beauty.
Another similarly beautiful small town I’ve visited, taking advantage of my uncle’s posting, is the town of Sambalpur. It is situated in the north-west part of Odisha, beside the river Mahanadi. The river actually has separated Sambalpur and Hirakud from Burla.
Though a small town, but Sambalpur has a cosmopolitan flavour. It enjoys the co-existence of a variety of temples as well as mosques and churches. The presiding deity of the town, Shree Samaleswari, the mother goddess, is worshipped with great devotion and is regarded as the Mother of the World or Jagatjanani. We visited the Samaleswari temple and also some other temples like Liakhai, Ghanteswari, Madanmohan, and Satyabadi.
The most interesting temple of Sambalpur is situated in a village about 25 km from the town. It is called the Huma, a leaning temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple will remind you of the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa!
Sambalpur also boasts of the Hirakud dam, the world’s longest dam across the Mahanadi river. There is minaret called Gandi Minar atop which one can enjoy the vast expanse of Hirakud dam with the calm, serene nature all around. It provides a wonderful view and, you can feel oneness with the nature.
Both the cities, Rourkela and Sambalpur have retained their natural aura in spite of being industrial towns. You can experience a perfect symbiosis of nature and industry here.
Another similarly prosperous town I had a chance visit on the occasion of one of my friends wedding is, Raigarh in the state of Chattisgarh. But, in this case, lack of proper planning and crowd of heterogeneous industries have considerably destroyed the beauty of the town itself. There are narrow winding alleys and not-so-wide roads and, a congested traffic system.
Culturally, Raigarh has a rich heritage and is considered the cultural capital of Chattisgarh. I was quite astonished to see that almost every household considers learning the dance form Kathak as a part of the education. The town also arranges a cultural festival on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh-Chaturthi.
Raigarh is also famous for Kosa silk, a fine silk made from silkworms feeding on mulberry leaves) and a typical bell metal traditional art, dokra. I bought a piece of dokra jewellery too.
We have an abundance of such small towns and cities in our country. These places are developing fast with a well-knit economy. Large and small scale industries, tourism, handicrafts are the backbone of such towns. As you know, the ING Vysya Bank is now Kotak Mahindra Bank. With this move, Kotak is making its home in such small towns across India, helping them to avail a better banking. It’s quite aptly said, now there is #KonaKonaKotak.
The last but one picture has been taken from the official website of the district.
My God Mani ! just like the small version of your name, you have truly brought gems out of this huge chest called India ! 🙂
I knew Rourkela for the steel plant only and thought Rajgarh as a fictional town for Byomkesh Babu 🙂 Sabmbhalpur is also a new knowledge and JagatJanani was Anushka in PK !!
Well these jokes (albeit real ones) apart .. a real informative post and very interesting too. the leaning temple,the dokra piece and the mullberry silk … must travel the KonaKona of India I say 🙂
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Hehehe…. I should have add these these bits to my post… I mean, I could have start in this way, “Do you think Anushka is the only famous Jagatjanani you know of?” 😛 😀
Jokes apart, we’ve such gems scattered in kona kona of our country…so many people, so many towns and village….. 🙂
Thanks a lot soul-sis…your comment made my morning sweeter…. ❤
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Nicely summarized… learnt many things 🙂
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Thank you… 🙂 You’ve travelled much through my blog…. 😀
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Yap… that’s what a backpacker does 😉
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🙂
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I have not been to any of these cities but I wish to. I love exploring such small towns.
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Same here Saru..small towns and villages attract me a lot … 🙂
Thanks for dropping by dear…
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Great tips Mani! Thank you so much for wonderful insights..love the word Kona Kona Kotak 🙂 I am curious on Vedavyasa Temple, from your description, it must be a beautiful one!
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Yes, it’s beautiful but one finds it difficult to enjoy the beauty as the place is over-crowded most of the times….
Thanks Indah for dropping by and commenting…. 🙂
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Thanks to you… I got 2 new beautiful places as reference – now I want to visit Rourkela and Sambalpur! Lovely post as usual, Mani 🙂
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Thanks a lot dear,. Don’t forget to check out the Sambalpuri silk sarees….. 😀
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Rourkela…first time am reading about it, all i knew was about the steel plant. and the jewelry piece is so unique…would love to have one 🙂 Nice informative post.
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Thanks dear. Your comment always made me happy happy 😀
there are so many samll towns and villages in our country. I think it’s almost impossible to explore them in one’s lifetime. And, each is unique in its own way… 🙂
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Serene small towns and their divine yet earthy beauty!
Ahh! and the jewellery …dil agaya 😀
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😀 thanks Namrota…happy to see you in action again in the field of blogging. Similar pieces are now available in Kolkata also…. in Gariahat shops… 🙂
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Your jewellery looks so beautiful! Put a picture of you wearing it with a Haiku?
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yeah..not a bad idea Mridula… 😀 will try… 😛
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I love traveling via the minds of others as they tell their stories, when I can’t get there myself. Thanks!
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True, internet has opened up the way of virtual travelling …I love it, too….. 🙂
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It’s so nice to read about the charm of the smaller villages and lesser known cities. I’ve always travelled only to places that are known to all. Though I’m tempted to explore the not so famous landmarks, being a fuss traveler It’s very difficult for me. Perhaps, someday 🙂
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Our busy schedule often prevents us from visiting small places. But, trust me, such places are great resources of unknown happiness and small wonders. 🙂 Thanks so much Ashwini for dropping by… 🙂
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I LOVED that first paragraph about travelling to small places. It’s all so true – in the smaller places, away from the maddening crowds, there’s so much that deserves appreciation. And it’s thanks to posts like these that one gets to hear about little-known gems in small places: for instance, I had no clue about that leaning temple of Sambalpur! Oh, and that’s an absolutely gorgeous piece of jewellery you bought there! ❤ Thanks for this great post.
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Our small town Indian villages and towns have various such gems. I think we need to explore them on a larger scale… 🙂 I’ve visited a tribal village once and felt their warm hospitality towards strangers.
Thanks so much Ami, I love dokra jewellery….have some more in my collection… 😀
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quaint little towns have a charm of their own….nice post….
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Thanks a lot…welcome to my blog…. 🙂
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So true about the small towns, so much of flavor in these places. I often try to look out for these places. Great post Maniparna.
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Thanks Indrani…compliments from an avid traveller like you- means a lot… 🙂
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well written with too much details 🙂
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Thanks.. 🙂
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Amazingly detailed itinerary for visiting the places in and around Rourkela. I love small towns too – there’s something very refreshing about them.
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I agree…they have a characteristic of their own…. 🙂
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Lovely description Maniparna. I love dokra, have a lot of that jewellery 🙂
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Thanks Archana…. I love dokra jewellery too…have some more in my collection… 😀
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Nice 🙂 I am going to provide you with a special Kerala list in return 😀 😀
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That will be great…. small towns of Kerala look so picturesque with churches here and there…. 🙂
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You have known a lot of them from many sources, I guess 🙂
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Yes, and also during my visit to Kerala as we travelled from one place to another, we came to see a lot of them…small towns… 🙂
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I nominate you for the versatile blogger award
Link to the post:
🙂
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Oh!..thanks a ton dear..I’m so obliged…. love you XO
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Great tour of the city.
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Thanks a lot… 🙂
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Small towns are a great place to visit…that is definitely where the essence is…Great post Maniparna! Love that jewellery 🙂
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Thanks, Deepa… yes dokra jewellery really looks nice..I’ve some more in my collection… 😀
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Very nicely done. Marvelous photos. I want a piece of that jewelry!!! Really. What is your piece made of…is that your piece in the photo?
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Thanks a lot…
Yes, that’s my piece..’dokra’ jewellery and artifacts are usually made from bell metal or brass…you can buy those things online from here….they also ship almost everywhere outside India…
http://www.craftsvilla.com/searchresults?searchby=product&q=dokra
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There wasn’t anything like yours on that site. Yours is very nice.
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😦 Actually I bought it from the place where they actually made these things…. and that, too, years ago…
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guess I have to go to India (in a time machine)
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Haha…. 😀
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Interesting and informative.
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Thank you… 🙂
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Nice description of Rourkela in and out…. The Steel Township forever has its own unique Culture and human Values! Thanks for sharing….
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Thanks Sir, nice to know you liked the details of such small towns…. 🙂
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The temple looks really interesting with a slant top.. There’s definitely something about small villages, the character and so much of richness to a place.. Nice to see such a lovely post Maniparna 🙂
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Thanks, Vinay… true, small villages and towns have an essence of their own. All big cities more or less look the same, but that is not the case with small towns…. 🙂
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What a great write-up Maniparna – there is something very unexpected and exhilarating about travel if the traveler is open to new opportunities.
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Exactly….travelling opens us so many new windows for us. Thanks for your beautiful comment… 🙂
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So much culture, history and beautiful art, Thank you for the introduction 🙂
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Thanks..nice to know you liked it. 🙂
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Absolutely 🙂
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Great that you got to travel… 🙂 we all need it… to take a break for awhile… 🙂
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Right…it comes as a refreshing break… 🙂 Thanks dear…have a happy weekend… ❤
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Small towns have a charm of their own. Loved reading about Rourkela, Raigarh & Sambalput. The mention of kosa silk also reminded me of Sambalpuri silk sarees. 🙂 Good to see KMB reaching out to people in kona kona of the country.
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Yeah..literally kona kona… 😀 Though I rarely wear a saree but I love to collect them… I’ve Sambalpuri silk in my collection… 😀
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Same here Maniparna. Wear sarees only occasionally but yes Sambalpuri is in my collection. 🙂
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Pingback: Travelling In Small Indian Towns #KonaKonaKotak·
I haven’t travelled in ages but would love to go see new things and meet fascinating new people. You have whetted my appetite to go seek out new places thanks to your wonderful post.
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Thank you… 🙂 Travelling is so refreshing…. glad you liked the post … 🙂
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Travelling is all about seeing and experiencing new things, places and culture be it a small town or a well-known place. A true traveller should be unbiased. Read about Rourkela because of the steel plant and industry there but never imagined it like this. Loved the post, Maniparna.
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Thanks Moon. You are so right about a ‘true traveller’…I even enjoy more roaming lazily around an unknown tribal village… 🙂
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me too 🙂
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🙂 …
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Beautiful description. I can relate to your feelings.
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Thanks..:-) travelling to such small towns can be quite enjoyable… 🙂
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