Dasarathji stopped half-way up the broad flight of steps and pointed left to what looked like a non-descript two-storied long building each with a row of windows. “There you have 752 ovens,” he said and grinned at me. I got more attentive to the building and to what the panda (priest) had been saying about the famous Jagannath Temple of Puri in Orissa. “We have 400 cooks and 200 helpers and four to five lakhs of earthen handis of prasadam are cooked every day, consisting of ghee-rice, khichdi, different vegetable preparations and a host of sweetmeats,” he added. We were still at the stepped courtyard that leads to the Pidha deul (outer sanctum) of the temple.

There seemed to be a preoccupation with food, I thought. And Dasarathji soon explained why. “Lord Vishnu wakes up in Dwarka in the west, meditates in Badrinath in the north and then takes his bath at Rameswaram in the south,” he said. I now understood the bathing ritual at Rameswaram I had witnessed there some years ago. Dasarathji continued, “Then the Lord comes here, to Puri, to have His food.”

Ah! That explains Puri’s fetish with food. Jagannath, the form of Vishnu in Puri, is a feed-all God, and no one goes hungry in His land.

We entered the sanctum where the large idol of Jagannath, His sister Subhadra and His brother Balaram (Balabhadra) loom from the raised platform. The sanctum is sans electricity and is illuminated by oil lamps that produce an eclectic atmosphere. It exudes a sense of personal relationship with the Lord. He is one to care for, to cajole, to demand to, to make merry with. He is the benevolent King of the land, the Father figure.

The arty
My search for Vishnupada, saw me driving out of Puri to Raghurajpur just fourteen km to the north. I found him in his room which, technically speaking, is his studio. Vishnupada is in the lineage of generations of artists dedicated to the art form of Pattachitra.

In this form, the first step is intricate line drawings on board, canvas, fabric or wood panel. Then the drawing is filled up with block colours of vegetable dye. Lord Jagannatha and the exploits of Lord Krishna dominate the subject.

The real mastery, however, comes from visualising the larger concept, then creating the individual parts which by themselves can be stand-alone picture stories, and integrating them all into one whole. “Even an advanced apprentice can fill up the block colours as directed, but only a master artist can design the entire canvas,” said Vishnupada.

He then showed me some ancient scriptures on narrow taal-patra (palm-leaves) which have been in the possession of his family for generations. As for me, Vishnupada hand-picked a composite piece of the ten avataras of Vishnu drawn on taal-patras stitched together. “I see only five avataras,” I wondered. “Where are the rest?”

Vishnupada smiled showing most of his paan-stained teeth. He flipped the first Krishna avatara. At the flip, another leaf appeared from behind, almost magically, to reveal the Kurma avatara. By the time I left Vishnupada, I was in complete awe. My hunt for Sambalpuri tie-dying technique and design in garments, the exquisite appliqué work of Pipli, and the sand-stone sculptures, were no less exhilarating. Orissa is a haven of extraordinary art forms and handiwork. 

‘Rolling crackers’
The sea beach of Puri is not among the most happening beaches of India. It certainly does not have the sexy tag of those in Goa or Kerala. But when it comes to the waves, boy! Puri beats them all.

It is not for nothing that those giant unrelenting waves that lash at the shore are called the ‘rolling crackers’. Their deep resonating crackles can be heard from afar.

For bathing in the sea it is recommended to accompany a nulia - the fishermen who double up as unofficial life-guards.

My favourite past time was to move up the secluded north-eastern part of the beach and slump on the sand from sundown till darkness engulfed the sea with only the flickering of lights from a few far-away trawlers.

Tuned to the roaring of the waves, Bikash Sahu would give me head and foot massage for just Rs 30 for as many minutes, all the while telling stories of his family back in his village, stories from the legends of Lord Jagannatha, and on how Puri remained unchanged even after the advent of cell phones, dish TV and internet cafes.

Personal touch
It is the personal touch of the people of Orissa that will always linger in my mind, and I guess in the mind of all those who traverse through it. “Try our prawn malai curry, you will love it,” said Mohan, the waiter at the up-market Wild Grass restaurant. It was divine and I went back the next day to have more of it. At the roadside eatery of Jagatmata Bhojanalaya, Divakar, a waiter again, totted me with more fried puris. “Take one more.” And I couldn’t resist.

The simple folks of Puri, well, that of much of Orissa, have managed to remain simple amid all the pacing technology. They speak straight from the heart, enquire about my well being and affably exchange life-stories. The men and women at the bazaar, on the road, they treated me as their younger or elder brother, depending on the relative age.

And for me, used to the invented world of tourist circuits, it took a full twenty four hours to realise that their genial demeanour was not after my money. They were just being what they truly are.

FACTFILE
*How to Reach Puri, in Orissa, is by the Bay of Bengal. The nearest airport is at Bhubaneswar (60 km) with direct flights from Bangalore. Though Puri has a railhead, Bhubaneswar is the rail junction for travelers from South India. Regular buses and private vehicles ply between Bhubaneswar and Puri.

*Where to stay:
There are several options to stay. My own preference lies for the hotels on the secluded north-eastern beach-front. Hotel Mayfair is classy. For outstanding view of the sea, the 3rd floor suites of Hotel Vijoy International.
If visiting during major festivals like Rath Yatra (June-July) or the Konarak Festival (December), ensure your accommodation. Helpful website: www.orissatourism.gov.in

*What to see:
The Jagannath Temple and the beach are the main attractions.
The Sun Temple at Konarak, 35 km drive along the Marine Drive is a must-see.
A half or full day’s trip to Chilka (160 km) - Asia’s largest brackish water lake
A day’s trip to Bhubaneswar, the ruins of Udaygiri and Khandagiri and Shani-Stupa at Dhauligiri.