History of Odisha
Odisha was named after King Od of the Bhagirath dynasty. King Od had established two kingdoms in his name. The name of a kingdom was Naveen Od-vansh. The name of the other state was Odra State, this Odra itself is the ancient name of Odisha.
In ancient times, Orissa was known by many other names in which Kalinga, Utkal, Utkarat, Odra, Dakshin Kosala, Kangod, Odra and Mats etc. are prominent. Odisha was known as ‘Orissa’ in medieval times. But on 4 November 2011, its name was officially changed to Odisha.
If we look at the history of Odisha, earlier Odisha was known as Kalinga. This is where Emperor Ashoka climbed and conquered. But he had a change of mind. Enraged in the rituals, he renounced the war and became a follower of the Buddha. Many people have ruled this state from time to time. Here the British also established their authority.
The state of Odisha was established on 1 April 1936. This is the reason why 1st April is celebrated as Utkal Divas i.e. Odisha Day. Actually Odisha is also known as Utkal. Utkal’s name is also used in our national anthem.
Geographical Location of Odisha
The state of Odisha is located on the eastern coast of India. Its capital is Bhubaneswar. The area of the state is 1,55,707 square kilometres. And the boundaries of this state meet by going through Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. To the east of odisa is the Bay of Bengal. To its north lies the Chota Nagpur plateau and to the south is a fertile plain of rivers Mahanadi, Salandi and Baitarani. Odisha is the 9th state of India in terms of area while it is the 11th largest state of India in terms of population.
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Language of odisha
Odia language, spoken in Odisha. It is also known as Odia or Oriya. Odia language is also the official language here. Odia is a language belonging to the Aryan family and is very similar to Nepali, Bangla, Maithili and Assamese languages. The script of Odia language has evolved from the Brahmi script. According to the linguistic survey of Odisha, 93.33% of the people of the state speak Odia language.
Districts of Odisha
The total number of districts in Odisha is 30. The district with highest literacy is Khordha, its literacy rate is 86.88%. The name of the most populous district of Odisha is Ganjam. It has a population of 35,29031 according to the 2011 census. Mayurbhanj is the largest district of Odisha in terms of area. Its area is 10,418 km. Apart from this, if we talk about the villages of Odisha, then the total number of villages here is 51,583.
The 30 districts of Odisha are as follows:-
- Balangir
- Balasore
- Buddhist
- Bhadrak
- Bargarh
- Deogarh
- Gajapati
- Dhenkanal
- Ganjam
- Jajpur
- Jagatsinghpur
- Kalahandi
- Jharsuguda
- Kandhamal
- Khordha
- Kendrapara
- Kendujhar
- Koraput
- Mayurbhanj
- Malkan Giri
- Nabarangpur
- Nayagarh
- Nuapada
- Puri
- Sambalpur
- Rayagada
- Sundergarh
- Subarnapur
Famous People of Odisha
- Nandita Das (Actress)
- Mira Nair (film producer)
- VV Giri (4th President)
- Sudarshan Pattnaik (Sand Artist)
Major tourist places of Odisha
Bhitarkanika National Park
The Bhitarkanika National Park of Odisha is located in the Kendrapara district of Odisha. Which is spread over an extensive area of 145 square kilometres. The special feature of this national park is that it is situated at the mouth of three rivers Brahmani, Baitarni and Ghamra.
Many species of animals are found in this national park. The white crocodile is found in the salt water here, which is quite rare. This is the reason why this park is also known among common people as White Crocodile Park.
Hirakud Dam
Hirakud Dam of Odisha is said to be the largest man-made dam. It is in Sambalpur district of Odisha. The length of this dam, built in 1956, is 56 kilometers. You will also get to see many wildlife in this dam. Some old temples were also found during construction when this dam was being constructed. Tourists who come to see the Hirakud Dam, go through the Hirakud Reservoir to see these temples as well.
Tribal Museum
There is a Tribal Museum in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. This museum was established in the year 1953. Today this museum is a center of attraction for tourists because here you will be able to get information about the life of the tribal people. Artifacts made by the tribal group have been preserved here.
If you want to spend some time here after visiting the tourist places of Odisha, then you can easily find hotels here for this. At the same time, you can use any means of train, bus or flight to reach here.
Festivals of Odisha
Like the whole of India, all festivals are celebrated in Odisha too. But some specific festivals are also celebrated by the people of this state which include Kalinga Festival Durga Puja, Chandan Yatra, Konark Dance Festival, Jagannath Yatra.
Apart from this, the festival celebrated here Boita Bandana is also very important because in this festival all boats are worshipped. It is celebrated from October to November. This festival is celebrated with pomp for 5 days. During this festival, people gather on the banks of the river and make small boats in the memory of their ancestors and float them in the water.
Dance and Music of Orissa
Odissi is the main dance form of Odisha. This dance is a form of ancient classical dance of India. This dance actually shows the love of Lord Krishna and Radha.
Is. Apart from this, many other folk dances are popular here. These include Ghumura dance, Paya, Daskatiya, Dalkhai, Chhau, Karma, Bagha, Kesabadi, Dhap dance and Goti Pua.
Food of odisha
The cuisine of Odisha is also very famous. The tourists who come here also find it very tasty. Dahi Bada, Aloo Dum are very famous among the delicious dishes here. Apart from this, the main dishes here are Sel Poori, Chungdi Malai, Macha Ghant, Dalma, Pakhla Bhata, Gupchap, Chhena Poda, Kanika, Pulaf, Santula, Chatu Rai and Rasgulla.
Costumes of the people of Odisha
The dress is a symbol of the tradition and culture of the people of Odisha. The women of Orissa mainly wear Katki and Sambalpuri sarees. These sarees are worn by the women here in everyday life or on the occasion of weddings and festivals.
The traditional attire of the men of Odisha is the dhoti kurta which they wear during the wedding ceremonies as well as on normal days. Along with the dhoti kurta, he also carries a gamchha on his shoulder. But gradually as the time is changing, so is the dress of the people of Odisha. Today, most of the people here wear western clothes instead of their traditional attire.