Odisha Odyssey

We, my colleague and me had a day or two to kill before starting our next schedule at the KIIT Campus. Till then what we had seen was a miniscule part of the city of Bhubhaneshwar, the capital of Odisha - the crowded markets, the grimy city roads, the flyovers and the Mayfair. I remember spending an entire day at the Mayfair (dumb as it may sound) as we didn't have much to do. We were sipping tea after tea, relishing the confectionaries and the Oriya mithai before getting back to the guesthouse to be back again for the Mayfair nightlife. Monotonous!

Once the gang left, it was just M and me. Gladly, he was a travel zealot. Like me he didn't mind the gruelling heat or the arduous early morning travel for the sake of seeing new places. So there was a plan, a plan to leave our rooms at three in the morning to catch the sunrise at the Chandrabhaga Beach and the Sun Temple at Konark after that. We reached well before time. The sun was yet to say happy morning. It was dark and quiet with just a few people around a tea-stall. Perfect timing for us too. We called for two cups of tea along with a few cookies to munch on. The silhouettes of the fishermen and their families around their boats made for some great pictures. I was enjoying the sand under my feet waiting for the golden sun to rise.

The soft murmurs from a few tourists had grown now to loud banter from the fisher-folks readying their boats to tame the powerful sea. I had never seen anything like this before. There was a man, an aged patriarch who guided the fishermen with a long bamboo stick. The moment a big wave rolled to the shore, the men would thrust their boat on top of it giving it momentum for the rest of the journey. What amazed me was the number of locals who had gathered to witness all this action. Like us they too watched with wonder. There were fathers who had come with their little children, old men and women, couples - all looking in the same direction, the direction of the horizon from where came the rolling, gigantic waves ready to lead the men and their boats to earn their livelihood. Splendid!

The sun too had started making its appearance giving the beach a golden carpet look, a carpet that stretched all the way to infinity and beyond.

The Chandrabhaga, one of the sought after destinations in Odisha is a nice stopover before heading towards the Sun Temple. The pristine beach with its unassuming locals is a delight to the traveller's heart. After a good two hours we resumed our onward journey to the Sun Temple.

Juhu Beach - A Kaleidoscope

A visit to Bombay is incomplete without a trip to the famous Juhu Beach. The silver sand, the crystal clear blue water of the sea, the cool breeze, the dimly-lit skyline, the coconut palms' silhouette - dream on. You won't find any of these on the famous Juhu Beach.

Oh, hell! Then why does it find a place on your itinerary?

Well, here's the reason. You find all the above-mentioned on any beach in the world. But, Juhu Beach is DIFFERENT.

It's actually a famously infamous beach. Famous for its bhelpuris and chaats and infamous for its dirt, grime and crowd.

If you are a traveller looking for a pristine beach, far from the hustle and bustle of the city, stay away from Juhu Beach. This is definitely not the place for you. This beach is for the insanely normal people.  For people who are interested in vivid colors and complex patterns. For people who enjoy being normal in an absolute state of madness. For people who love watching people. For people who love crowds. 
 
And the best time to be here is when the sun goes down. That's the time when the foodstalls open their shutters to give out the aroma of steaming hot pao bhajis and mouthwatering chaats. As the night gets younger the place starts attracting more people, giving the beach a look like some kind of a Mass Exodus is waiting to happen.

The beach is a also an unavoidable part of one's travel itinerary because it is a feast for your senses. 

Amidst the cacophony of persistent hawkers, traffic horns, computerized horoscope machines and roaring waves, from somewhere in the distance, one hears the distinctive sound of a flute. And while your auditory sense indulges in the pleasure of the melody, your olfactory senses are participating in a tug of war - aroma of hot pao bhaji and tava pulao v/s fragrance of fresh jasmine.

And the food outlets...a visual treat!

They resemble a psychedelic painting, with the now-here-now-gone potato patties, the mountains of sev and peanuts peeping through the display cabinets, the bottled color syrup, the neatly-folded paan platter with a generous coating of silver paper and the colorful little umbrellas perching merrily on the floods, amongst other things. 

This is the one and only beach in the world where people come, not to enjoy the sun, sand and water, but the food :)