Day 1 - Sunday, 11 Dec 2022

 On Saturday evening (10 Dec 2022) we received a WA message from an unsaved number. The sender introduced herself as Sakshi, the tour manager. The message gave details of the driver who would pick us up from the airport, the itinerary for Sunday and certain general dos & donts.

Our flight to Bhubaneshwar from Mumbai was scheduled for 1030 AM on Sunday 11 Dec 2022. The newspapers on Saturday showed huge lines in airport counters for check in. Playing it safe, we reached airport by 830 AM. To our surprise we had zero waiting time at luggage drop and security check. Our boarding gate was practically next to the security check. Having reached well in time, we roamed around in the airport. Enjoyed a coffee. Boarded the flight and had a long but comfortable journey to Bhubaneshwar.

The chauffeur driven vehicle picked us from the airport & dropped us at the VITS hotel. Google maps showed the distance at around 5.5 kms & the driving time was around 10/12 minutes. Sakshi, our tour manager met us at the hotel reception, welcomed us to the tour & arranged to have our luggage dropped in our room. Sakshi had informed that a WA group of the group members of the Odisha trip would be created. A meet & greet session of the group members was scheduled for 7 PM that evening, followed by dinner.

After a quick lunch we relaxed for some time & decided to visit the Odisha State museum, located about 2 kms from the hotel. A leisurely 20 minute walk brought us to the State museum. After paying a nominal entrance fees we deposited our bag at the security counter & entered a well manicured lawns, through which we had to pass to reach the museum building. Several varieties of plants with colorful flowers were tastefully planted in the lawns.

After spending a few minutes enjoying the lawns, we entered the museum building. It was around 415 PM then. Immediately on entering the museum 2 breathtaking scenes would capture one's attention. A gigantic model (probably made of fiber) of the Kalinga war on one side & Odisha's rich maritime history on the other.  

After such an impressive entrance the interior could only be something one could look forward to. As we entered we encountered a group of around 35/40 school children who must have visited as part of school project work / picnic.

The museum seemed to have been built in a square shape, with two storeyed buildings on the four sides. It had a huge garden in the centre.

This garden was better than the lawns which we had to cross to enter the museum. This garden had many more varieties of plants & flowers, aesthetically laid & maintained pathways, gushing fountains & a huge stage in which public programs could be held. This garden provided several selfie points.

 

By the time we could have a look around the garden it was 5 PM & it had grown dark. We moved into the several rooms & saw a huge collection of artecrafts and antiques from Odisha history. The collection included, but was not limited to, Musical instruments, coins, weapons, statues, manuscripts, paintings, palm-leaf, ivory, archaeological objects, anthropological objects, stuffed animals, art & craft made out of ivory, brass, cane, bamboo, etc.

After spending about an hour we returned to the hotel by 615 PM, tired but very happy that our trip has started out in a very satisfactory manner. We realized that we covered only a fraction of what the museum had to offer and a genuinely interested person can easily spend a full day there with out getting bored.

While we were in the museum we noticed that Sakshi our tour manager had created the WA group. Sakshi had sent a welcome message with instructions to group members to assemble in the hotel lobby by 7 PM. The members assembled in the lobby, had a quick meet and greet session after which we left for dinner at the restaurant. Immediately after the self introduction session the members were given a welcome kit containing few snack items and a canvas hat sporting the 50 plus logo.

Post dinner Sakshi sent a message in the group to apprise the members about the schedule for the next day. I am sure all the members must have gone to sleep with a sense of looking forward to the next day..

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