Cuttack, the former capital and one of the oldest cities of Orissa is the administrative headquarters of the district. The town is situated at the apex of the delta formed by the rivers Mahanadi in the North and Kathajodi in the South. It serves as a convenient base for touring the various places of interest in the district.
Stone Revetment of Cuttack : The river banks of Cuttack are protected by stone revetment, a great engineering marvel of the 11th century A.D. and a remarkable example of ancient technological skill of Orissa.
MADHUSMRUTI
Madhusmruti, the 'Karma Bhumi' or residence of Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Das, is located at Cuttack. Madhusudan Das lived in this place from 1892 to 1934, till his death. Presently the building is used as the administrative block of the S.B. Women's College.
The building has two floors with a portico on the eastern side. One wooden staircase is found on the left of the verandah abutting the portico leading to the 1st floor. There is a balcony found on the north side supported with iron pillars and iron parapet. There is another wooden staircase found on the western side of the building. There are ten rooms and a big hall found in the ground floor whereas there are eight rooms of varying sizes found on the first floor along with an open terrace, above the big hall found in the ground floor.
Madhusudan Das was born in 1848 at Satyabhamapur village of Cuttack district. He had his early education in the village, Cuttack Zilla School and Calcutta University. He was the first Graduate of Orissa from Calcutta University in 1870. He did his M.A. and Law Degree later and he was a flourishing lawyer in the Patna High Court.
Inside two bigger rooms located on the western side of the 1st floor are found the articles and objects used by Late Madhusudan Das, during his residence at this place. These material objects include photographs, paper manuscripts, earthenware, textiles, wooden objects, clay objects, glass painting and other ethnographic materials. Some of these have been placed inside showcases and the rest are placed on tables, bedsteads, beds and wooden benches.
It is said about Late Madhusudan Das, that he was born as a man but died as an institution.
SWARAJYA ASHRAM- the Freedom Fighters Centre
The Swarajya Ashram is located on the Kathajodi river front. It is an old building and it has historical significance and importance for its association with the Freedom Movement in Orissa and the Congress party and well known leaders of Orissa in the Freedom Movement. The original building is found at the centre, built in two storied during the colonial period. There is another two storied block behind the building. It is a protected monument under the State Archaeology.
BARABATI FORT
The ruins of Barabati Fort with its moat and gate and the excavated palace complex and base of the Ganga period temple lie on the bank of the river Mahanadi as the silent witness of the vicissitudes of Orissan history. This historical fort has been the capital of ancient and medieval Orissa and the famous Ganga kings like Anangabhima III, Narasimha I, Kapilendradeva, Purushottamadeva and Prataparudradeva had ruled their vast empire from this place. It is a protected monument under the Arachaeological Survey of India.
Temple of Cuttack Chandi : Being the shrine of the presiding deity of the city, the temple of Cuttack Chandi is normally visited by every Hindu visitor.
QADAM-I-RASOOL
Cuttack town enjoyed for a pretty long time the honour of being the seat of Political authority of the Muslims in Orissa. During the period numerous Muslim monuments have built at Cuttack. The Qadam-I-Rasool is a monument of beauty built by Shujaddin Khan. At four corners of its high compound wall are four small yet strong towers constructed out of chiselled stone. It is adorned with four flat domes and pucca pavements from all direction of the grave yard to the main octagonal building with magnificent dome in the centre. It contains the foot print of the Prophet engraved in a circular stone. The dome outside is adorned with a golden pinnacle.
SHAHI MOSQUE
The Shahi Mosque is situated inside the Barabati Fort. In structure it is similar to the Ujale Khan Mosque at Mohammadia Bazar. All these Mosque are adorned with beautiful domes on hexagonal base. Stones and tiles are used in construction of the Mosque. It seems that during the British rule of Orissa it was used as a Magazine as it is apparent from the two Mehrabs on the flanks which are closed with bricks.
RAVENSHAW COLLEGE
A small school established in 1841 was raised to the status of a college with Intermediate classes, affiliated to Calcutta University. In 1875, largely through the efforts of Mr. T.E. Ravenshaw, the then Commissioner of Orissa, it became a full fledged first grade college. The Ravenshaw College building is highly impressive and shows the influence Colonial architecture.
NETAJI BIRTH PLACE MUSEUM
The name of Netajee Subhash Chandra Bose fills every Indian with pride and with emotions of patriotism. Everyone acknowledges that he was a great leader, who changed the course of history of India.
In the struggle of India's Independence against the British, his Contribution has been unique. He sacrificed his everything to attain independence and even today is a source of inspiration to the Indian people.
Janakinath Bhawan, the ancestral house of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, is located at Oriya Bazar in Cuttack city of Orissa. Subhas Bose was born in this house on 23.1.1897 and spent his early childhood at Cuttack. He lived in this house with a large family of eight brothers and six sisters. His father Janakinath Bose was a lawyer by profession and a man of repute during his time. Subhas Bose passed Entrance examination from Ravenshaw Collegiate School in 1913 and thereafter went to Calcutta to pursue higher studies.
The house complex consists of an old two storeyed L-shaped building with the main block running from West to East. There is a small temple on the back of the building on east side. Another row of houses is located close to the eastern boundary wall, which was used as the stable. There used to be a garden on the north side of the building with an open courtyard on the south of the main building. Each floor has four living rooms. Each floor had running long verandahs in front of the living rooms with openings on south side. There had been additions and alterations in later times in the complex.
With financial assistance from the Deptt. of Culture, Govt. of India, the Janakinath Bhawan has been now converted into the Netaji Birth Place Museum of National standard with change of the present ambience into that of late 19th and early 20th century. The livings rooms have been converted into galleries displaying the different stages of life and activities of this great personality of our country through photographs. The other important exhibits in the Museum include old furnitures, house hold articles, documents, books and other objects of use found in the house and collected from various sources.
A Library is being organized where books published on Netaji in any language and any place are being gradually collected.
Interesting collections in the Museum include 22 original letters written by Netaji from Geneva, Milan in Italy, Shillong, Mandalay Jail, Rangoon Jail in Myanmar, Presidency Jail, Alipore New Central Jail in Calcutta and Berlin to his parents and family members. The other exhibits of importance are the old household furniture, books on Veda, Upanisad, Epics, Jurisprudence and Law.
There is proposal to have an open air auditorium on the South West side of the courtyard along with laying out a formal garden on the north side of the building so that the place becomes a place of tourist importance and perpetuate the memory of this great son of soil.
Handicrafts of the Region : For shopping and souvenirs, Cuttack is one of the best places in Orissa. The famous silver filigree works with intricate interwoven wires, horn and brass products, tie and dye textiles of Maniabandha and Sambalpur, applique works of Pipli in exquisite cloth designs and the stone works of Puri are preferred most by the tourists.
Fairs and Festivals of the region :
Durga Puja - Cuttack - September - October
Bali Jatra - Cuttack - November - December
Places around Cuttack :
Choudwar(10 km by road,5 km by water)* :
Choudwar, a growing industrial area was once the capital of Somakuli Keshari Kings of Orissa. Eight prominent Siva pithas were established by the Keshari dynasty in the vicinity of Choudwar which is now in ruins. Tradition records that it was the capital of Virat, the brother-in-law of Kichaka. The five Pandava brothers with their consort Draupadi took shelter in Choudwar in their secret exile.
Very nice
ReplyDelete