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Published: March 13th 2017
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Ashort trip which would be offering to tourists a scenic highway, picturesque lush green forest, tantalisingly cool breeze, ravishing golden coloured glittering sand, mesmerizing frothy serene bluesea, daring water sports activities, aromantic flora, fascinating canopy along the roadside, adorable butterflies, exotic operatic warbling birds, eye-catching cultivated lands, calm and pleasant weather, ancient culture, art, heritage folklore, and much much more....then it is not a wonder that the tourists will grab the chance to take it. I was quite excited when I got to experience all of those during my short trip to Raghurajpur from Konark which was indeed beyond my expectations.
I started my journey from Konark before sunrise because I wanted to experience the sunrise at the divine Chandrabhaga sea beach which is very attractive. My best friend Ajodhya and one of his uncles were accompanying me. Every day, hundreds of tourists and devotees throng the Chandrabhaga beach to witness the sunrise because it is believed to be very sacred and heavenly. Before watching the sunrise at Chandrabhaga I have been to that place a number of times, but this time when I saw Sun coming out of the sea from the horizon, I was enchanted by witnessing that
spectacular and amazingly beautiful view. I could never ever find that place so beautiful before. I was urged to freeze that moment for some time. Just like another perishable moment, that divine moment also passed over. After spending some time, we continued our journey towards Raghurajpur which is around 38 kms from Chandrabhaga via the marine drive. In an early winter morning it was an amazing experience when sparkling sun rays were touching us and we were passing through picturesque lush green forest on the one side and elegant playful sea on the other. The mighty roaring sound of sea waves was not allowing me to sleep. The fragrant cool breeze, the chirp of birds, half blossomed flowers, and the scenic beauty was making me poetic as well as exotic. All of a sudden, we found a herd of deers drinking water inside the jungle from a pond. We just stopped there to experience the activities of stunning golden colour deers. I was praying in my mind that there should not be any noise so they would not run away. I was about to capture them in my photos, but my ill luck, a bus just passed by making a
loud noisy horn that all deers ran away deep inside the forest. I felt so bad that I couldn’t capture the most beautiful spark of that moment. After a few minutes, we discovered some water sports activities, but it being early morning the staff hadn’t started their programme and so without wasting time we moved on to Ramachandi temple, which is a very popular temple of mythological importance. Goddess Ramchandi is being worshiped by the local people in this temple from the era of Ramayana. At the back of the temple, one can find the meeting point of Ramachandi river and the Bay-of-Bengal. The views at this meeting point and nearby places are amazingly beautiful and breathtaking. On the banks of the river, one can find sailors with their boats to make people experience the boat rides from the banks of the river to the meeting point with Bay-of-Bengal. Inside the temple, one can find centuries old fossil of a giant wheel. After the morning arati of Goddess Ramachandi we travelled some distance and found a series of fascinating roadside trees were there to welcome us with a spectacular view. Above our head, the branches of trees were meeting together
which was looking as if they were shaking their hands to welcome the travellers. The formations made by those trees were very dramatic and seems like they have thousands of stories to tell. We came out of our cab and took as many photos as we could to store in our memory lifelong. The majestic view of roadside trees made our journey even more pleasurable. The farm lands on either side of the roads were looking magical and peaceful. It seemed like they were attracting me to spend some time with them, so that we could share each other’s feelings. I came out of the cab and walked up to the cultivated land and was astonished at the combination of activities of farmers on one side and the activities of small birds and butterflies on the other. In the course of my journey, I looked with awe and wonder at the beautiful rivers, attractive coconut trees, giant ponds, fearless birds and a lot more. In between, just 20 kms away from Raghurajpur we changed our root to the newly constructed highway during Nabakalebara time, which was really very beautiful and attractive. By this route Raghurajpur was nearer from Konark. We
crossed Malatipatapur bus stand and railway station, which were also newly constructed during Nabakalebara time. The architecture and the paintings in both the places were marvellous. Those paintings were depicting few stories from ancient history of Odisha and also few were related to life style of tribal people. Those were truly showcasing the Patachitra and the Odissian tribal art. Malatipatapur is just 7 kilometres away from Raghurajpur. A few minutes after Malatipatapur we reached our ultimate destination Raghurajpur.
I was absolutely thrilled when I came tete-a-tete with this incredible village for the first time. This is a small rustic idealistic village consisting of 120 families and in all families one can find artists doing Patachitra, Palm leaf engraving, and few other traditional and folk art. Further, one can find a lot of artists performing Gotipua dance, traditional mask dance and few other performing arts and also some of the finest pieces of arts and handicrafts one can find in this quaint little village. The art forms of Raghurajpur are part of ancient traditions which are still practiced by the local community. It would be really exciting for a visitor when he/she would be watching so much of traditional handworks
and performing art forms that are happening right in front of him/her. I spend good time with the villagers and came to know that their ancestors were settled here in the12
th century and they have a close link with the Lord Jagannath temple. They help in all rituals of the Jagannath temple, especially during RathaYatra and Nabakalebara. They are still practicing an ancient traditional game called “Ganjappa”. Ganjappa which is actually a game of cards was once a pass time of royal families and ranked higher than chess and dice. The villagers are still practicing their ancient traditions even though they are facing a lot of odds and difficulties to sustain and keep alive all these art forms, performing arts and traditional games. While roaming inside the village I came to see the home of Padma Vibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra the proponent of Odisha Classical Dance. Before leaving this phenomenal village, I wanted to see Gotipua dance. Upon our request the artists were ready to perform for a few minutes. When all the boys came as dancers donning their traditional costumes and get-up, they were looking so elegant and adorable. The dance steps, their formations, and the music were enthralling.
In Raghurajpur one can find the best Gotipua dance groups. After spending an exciting and exotic day, finally we left Raghurajpur in the afternoon by taking thousands of priceless and unforgettable memories.
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