Day 2 - Monday, 12 Dec 2022

This was the message Sakshi had sent the previous night. This set the pace for the day.

Welcome to Temple City - Bhubaneswar with 50+ Voyagers Travel and Adventure Club.
Tomorrow we shall drive towards ancient Buddhist Trail of Ratnagiri and Lalitagiri which are ruined mahavihara, once the major Buddhist monastery in modern Odisha during 5th – 6th century.

Here is plan for 12 Dec.

7:15 AM Onwards – Have breakfast at hotel.
8:30 AM : Assemble at the hotel Lobby and proceed to local sightseeing.
Appx 3 hour journey (95 KM. Subject to traffic).
Reach Ratnagiri.
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM – Ratnagiri and Lalitagiri Tour
Approx 1:30 to 2:30 PM : Packed Lunch Break

Post Lunch continue sightseeing .
7:00 PM : Return to Hotel .
8:00 PM onwards : Dinner at Hotel.
9:30 PM : Good Night and Sweet Dreams.
Meals Included: - Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner
* Time and schedule of above plan is for reference. Sightseeing order and exact timing may change due to road and weather condition and rush.
* Please carry original ID Card. Wear good shoe and take water bottle ,umbrella/hat if you need.

In the next few days till the completion of the tour, on all the days, we were able to adhere to the schedule posted by the tour manager, albeit with marginal modifications.

As per the schedule sent by the tour manager - Sakshi, the members started arriving at the restaurant for breakfast from 7.15 AM onwards. In a group WA message earlier, the list of tourists participating in the Odisha tour was mentioned. To a certain extent, the names of some of our co travelers registered in my mind. (Of course, by the time the tour got over everyone knew everyone, and hence when I am writing this at a later point of time all names and faces are clear!!) The group included Jayalakshmi & Srinivasan, Vardhini & Ramesh, Sheela & Mukund, Lakshmi & Nandakumar, Prema, Poornima, Lakshmi, Rekha Mahendra, Rekha Rane, Kalpana, Preethi, Badrinath, Narayanmurthi, Geetha & myself - all 50 years +, along with Sakshi the tour manager.

Majority of group members were from Bengaluru, Narayanmurthi was from Coimbatore, Rekha Rane & Kalpana from the Gulf, Geetha & myself from Mumbai.

Transportation would be by AC bus. 50+ admin had arranged for a tour guide who joined us in the bus. Since we would be traveling full day, packed lunch was provided. I had informed Sakshi for Jain food (without onion and garlic). She informed that one other person in the group also preferred Jain food. Arrangement was made for Jain food for 2 people.

Ratnagiri is the site of a ruined mahavihara, once the major Buddhist monastery in modern Odisha, India. It is located on a hill in between the Brahmani and Birupa rivers in Jajpur district. It is close to other Buddhist sites in the area, including Lalitagiri and Udayagiri, and 100 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar and 70km from the former state capital Cuttack. This Buddhist monastic establishment dates back to 5th century to 13th century AD. Ratnagiri is famous for finest relic of Buddhist art and sculptures which were abandoned for 1000 year and recently excavated. Five hundred monks were resident here.

 

 

 

Entering the temple complex we went straight for the larger monastery through an intricately curved door frame, leading to an open courtyard. On the far end of the courtyard is the inner sanctum housing a giant statue of Buddha, in Bhumisparsha posture, flanked on either side by statues of Padmapani and Vajrapani. Entire courtyard is decorated with artifacts collected from the excavation. They include several Buddha heads of different size, several statues and floral and geometrical motifs.
 

Since breakfast today morning & through the first phase of the bus journey the group members started mixing up amongst themselves. The ruins gave ample scope for photography and everyone was making the most of it.

Lalitgiri lies between the valley of two rivers Birupa and Chitrotpala. Lalitgiri is the oldest of the Buddhist Diamond Triangle (Ratnagiri, Lalitgiri & Udaygiri) . The monastery built in the 1st Century AD is the oldest known Buddhist monastery in the state.

Though the site was discovered in 1905, it was excavated as late as 1985-1991.

The museum located inside the monastery complex houses artefacts recovered during the excavation of the site. On display are spellbinding statues of Buddha, Boddhisattva and statues of Tara, Jambhala amongst others.

Though it was not part of the day's routine, we also covered Udaygiri on our way back to the hotel.

After enjoying the amazing visual treat, we returned to VITS hotel in time for a sumptuous dinner. Tired after a long drive, but with our heart (& stomach) full,  all of us retired to a nice sleep.

Post dinner Sakshi sent a message in the group to apprise the members about the schedule for the next day. 

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