A Trip to Jirang - The Tibet of Odisha
Ever since I was at home, I have been inching to explore different parts of Odisha. I have never enjoyed visiting places like a typical tourist; time-bound and always in a hurry not to miss any important landmarks. I like my vacations slow-paced and leisurely, and what better way to do so than a road-trip in my own new car!
I had heard of this place called Jirang and was very interested to visit it. Its a small town nestled in the hills of Chandragiri, located in the Gajapati district of Odisha about 270 kms from the capital Bhubaneswar. Its one of the settlements of the Tibetan refugees in India. The Tibetans call this place Phuntsokling ("Land of Happiness and Plenty"). South Asia's largest Buddhist monastery is situated here - the Padma Sambhava Maha Vihara monastery. On the same route is the Chilika lake. So I and my wife decided to have an extended weekend getaway in Jirang and Rambha.
This is what I wanted to see!
Google Maps to the rescue!
There are not much options of accomodation at Jirang. There is a Tibetan guest-house, but we weren't sure of that. So we booked our room at OTDC Panthanivas at Taptapani, which is about 40kms from Jirang. For Chilika lake, bookings were done at OTDC Panthanivas at Rambha.
Chapter 1 - Taptapani
“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to” - Bilbo Baggins, Lord of the Rings
We started our journey from Bhubaneswar early morning on Friday. I looking at the road ahead near the hills of Khorda, while we were having breakfast.
This was supposed to be a monsoon trip, but the skies were clear and beautiful!
Post lunch we went exploring nearby. There was a deer park right next to the panthanivas. The deers are accustomed to be fed by the visitors and so quite a few came near us. But unfortunately we didn't have any food for them.
Taptapani means "hot water" in Odiya. This place has a small hot water spring where tourists bathe, but we didn't.
Chapter 2 - Jirang
Next morning on Saturday, we left Taptapani panthanivas for Jirang, which was 40 kms away
We knew we were getting closer when we started seeing the Buddhist prayer flags on the road and in private residences.
Beautiful roads, lush green fields on either side, mountains in the distance.
Reached the Padma Sambhava Maha Vihara monastery.
Prayer flags fluttering in the wind. These flags are traditionally used to promote peace, wisdom, compassion, and strength. Tibetans believe the wind will blow the prayers and mantras in to the surroundings, spreading goodwill and compassion. The colors on the flags represents the 5 elements - Blue for sky or space, White for air or clouds, Red for fire or sun, Green for water or nature and Yellow for earth.
Standing 70ft high, the monastery was designed by architects from Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. It was built by the local masons over 6 years, at a cost of Rs. 8 crore.
Spread over an area of 10 acres and constructed in Atanpuri style of architecture of Nalanda, the monastery houses around 200 monks.
