Allô Chatrath

                                                          A Thali non-vegetarian meal

  The tastiest dish on planet earth- Indian Yellow Dal (lentil) Tadka (fried). I have travelled to 65 countries and have tasted diverse dishes- nothing comes even remotely close to it. Come visit my India and taste thousands of varieties of dishes.

I visited the 64 Yogini Temple, 9th century AD, Ranipur Jharial, Odisha, India last fortnight. Here I am with two local experts. Last time I had gone to this temple was in 1970 when I was posted as SDO Titilagarh, Sub Division in Odisha where this temple is located. Would share photos and a write up soon. I visited the 64 Yogini Temple, 9th century AD, Ranipur Jharial, Odisha, India last fortnight. Here I am with two local experts. Last time I had gone to this temple was in 1970 when I was posted as SDO Titilagarh, Sub Division in Odisha where this temple is located. Would share photos and a write up soon.

  This is a book about Indian soldiers and non-combatants of the First World War who fought and died in France and lie resting in cold French soil thousands of miles away from the warmth of their homes. Marseilles was the base for Indian troops in France during the 1914-18 war; and throughout the war, the Royal Navy, the Merchant Navy, British troops and Labour units worked in the port or passed through it. This is an effort to present Massia Bibikoff's 100 year old book 'Our Indians At Marseilles'. This effort begins by a brief mention of other books on WW-I by lady authors, before coming to Massia’s book. Massia was a young Russian lady artist who closely saw the Indian soldiers on their arrival in Marseilles in September/ October 1914 when World War-I had just started. She spent 5 days visiting the Indian forces in Marseilles. She went to Marseilles with her mother, who was an avid photographer, in September 1914.  On reading the title itself of Massia’s book, one knows ...

Parsurameswara is one of the earlies intact temples of Bhubaneswar. The temple is lavishly decorated in tiratha plan, having a vimana and a jagamohana. Parsurameswara was originally known as Paraasavara, named after a Lakulisa teacher, Surya musicians and dikpla deities. Dikpāla refers to the “the guardians of the directions”, according to the  Varāhapurāṇa  chapter 76. These are eight deities:  (i) East: Indra, (ii) South-east: Agni, (iii) South: Yama, (iv) South-west: Nirṛti , (v) West: Varuna, (vi) North-West: Vayu, (vii) North: Kubera and (viii) North-East: Isana .   Three episodes of Shiva occur in three different places of the main temple. The first is in the front face, just above the jagamohana shows the scene of Ravana raising Mount Kailash. The second episode is that of Annapurna offering alms to Shiva and the third is of Shiva’s marriage scene.                             ...

  I am sorry to share the sad news of passing away of my batchmate and friend Pratip Mohanty IAS (Retd), Odisha-1967 in Bhubaneswar yesterday.. While visiting Bhubaneswar last week I had wanted to meet him but was informed that he was too ill to receive visitors. He was 'An Officer & A Gentleman'. May his soul rest in eternal peace. 

          Lord Ganesha in Parsurameswara Temple, 7th-8th century AD, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Coming soon a coffee table book with my photos of Lord Ganesha's stone statues from different parts of India....  Would you like to contribute a photo taken by you? Photos selected for inclusion would be gratefully acknowledged with name of the photographer in the book though no payment would be made.

  Mukteswara Temple is one of the most beautiful temples of Bhubaneswar showcasing an elegantly ornate façade which marks the transition between the earlier and mature temples of Odisha. Hence it is famous as ‘Gem of Kalinga architecture’. The exquisite torana the only one of its kind in Odisha, is one of the notable features of this temple. As one steps in, one can find the architectural plan engraved on the temple floor. One out of the six shrines in the front of khakra order. Siddheswara temple is situated ion the north-west edge of the complex consisting of both vimana and pyramidal jagamohan . It was constructed in the 10 th century AD.                        Please do not miss the stone chain chiselled a thousand years back.  Compare it with Mona Lisa's smile. It is much more difficult to show a subtle smile in a stone carving than in an oil painting.  And this chiselling was done 500 years before Mo...