This is a contribution post by Karthik Murali

When I received an ‘out of the blue’ invite to a special Mahotsav in a place called Jajpur , I had to lookup twice to confirm if I was actually reading the name right. A city and a district, 100 kms from Bhubaneswar in Odisha, Jajpur was incidentally known for its various Steel plants and industries including Tata Steel, Jindal Steel industries etc. However, the city had something entirely different to offer which was the biggest surprise: A culture, arts and heritage that dates back to several centuries.

As we entered Jajpur after a 2 hours drive, we were greeted with a large banner of Jajpur’s annual Mahotsav of 2023, featuring India’s top singers including Shreya Goshal, Javed Ali, Amit Trivedi, Ayushman Khurana , Sunidhi Chauhan among others. 5 days of 5 rocking concerts by these super singers brought the whole city to groove to their msuci, with more than 2 lakh flooding the gates trying to get a glimpse of the music idols.

But beyond the entertainment of the Grand Mahotsav , Jajpur is quietly gearing up for acquiring a HACT tag , namely Heritage Arts Culture and Tourism . Our 3 day tour , on special invite by the Jajpur District Administration was incidentally based on these three themes.

Day 1: Culture

Jajpur attracts a significant crowd thanks to its cultural and religious tourism. It houses one of India’s Shakti Peeth – The Biraja temple. A temple built in the 13^th century , and has Devi Durga and Lord Shiva as the primary deities, it’s one of the most revered Hindu temples and also featured in the Skanda Puranam. The city also has other popular temples of Vishnu and Lord Jagannath by the river Baitrani.

Day 2: Heritage

Dating back to the 6^th Century BC, archaeologists discovered the sites of Udhayagiri and Ratnagiri in Jajpur district, both of them being important Buddhist Monastery, caves and ruins. Located in the eastern part of India and with its serene calm atmosphere, Ratnagiri was made to be the centre for Buddhist establishments and showed rapid developments in arts, education and culture.

From Brick monasteries to Stupas, Stepwell and many rock sculptures , Udhayagiri needs almost 3 hours exploring all the sites. The vast complex is split into two parts, Udhayagiri 1 and Udhayagiri 2 and considered the largest Buddhist complex in the entire state of Odisha

Rathnagiri is another famous Buddhist complex , currently maintained by the ASI. Ratnagiri stands for Hill of Jewels and located on a hill between the Brahmani and Birupa rivers in Jajpur district.

Day 3: Arts & Handicrafts

Jajpur is no less lacking on its crafts or arts. From textiles, handicrafts, pottery and even metalwork, the district is home to thousands of artisans practicing the age-old arts.

Some key products out of these art items include:

Tussar Silks
Golden Grass Baskets, Wall hangings and Coasters
Bamboo Crafts
Handlooms

Even better, most of these crafts are done by women self help groups , that employ and train thousands of women and give them a decent living making these beautiful items. And next time you wander into one of these art clusters, don’t forget to pick up a Tussar silk saree for a family member at an unbeatable price 😊

Jajpur is pronounced as Jaaj Pur and roughly a 2-hour drive from Bhubaneshwar or Cuttack

Jajpur is a fine example of how sustainable, rural tourism can flourish and can provide a solid living to people across many local communities.

No wonder they call Odisha as India’s Best Kept secret.

Karthik Murali, from Chennai has been a professional travel blogger for the last 12 years. He has covered 16 countries and loves to promote responsible tourism and is also recognized by the Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India.

He blogs at www.anasiantraveller.comand his Instagram page is instagram.com/hkmurali