Puri is undoubtedly one of the most sacred places for Hindus. The Utkal monarchs in the 12th and 13th centuries had tried to prevent rapid spread of Buddhism across the region. Not many monarchs across the Indian subcontinent came forward to revive the glory of Hinduism, which had degenerated into a culture of multi-idol worship and superstitious practices on caste lines. The caste-based practices and several such other inhuman rituals had driven many to revolt and break away from the otherwise most scientifically-guided Hinduism. Thus, Buddhism was espoused by the saner ones as it had become the most acceptable faith by that time.
The Utkal monarchs chose the location now called ‘Jagannath Puri’ because the exact stretch of land was believed to be immune to natural disasters. They believed the sea would never flow in and cyclones and earthquakes would only come and go without causing the least damage. Modern-day structures have been swept away by furious winds and floods, but the Jagannath Temple has been standing majestically. The severe cyclone ‘Fani' literally blew away countless homes and trees, twisted steel poles like kids do thin wires and changed land contours at many places, but the Lord’s abode stood firm and robust as ever.
Despite having one of the most saline climates, the corrosion effect has so far been negligible.
The temple-founding monarchs did chronicle the incorporation of rights and duties of functionaries with only a bit of relevant historical events but not much about dated events of human interest. Surprisingly, the ‘Record of Rituals' (ROR) has been erroneously interpreted as ‘Record of Rights' which some of the greedy, uneducated, wicked servitors refer only to assert an irrevocable right to remain in service on the basis of birth in a clan. The monarchs, with a view to promoting the most ancient Hindu religion, had brought in place such facilities as would entice devotees to pay at least one visit to the amazing temple.
This is the only temple on the planet which makes popular the divine fact that ‘all humans are one'. That is why the deities at the temple cannot be said to have been carved out after any living creature. Some of the priestly advisors, invariably Brahmins, to monarchs in the middle ages had messed up the tenets of Hinduism for the sake of thwarting the rapid spread of Buddhism. They had brought in 330 million gods and goddesses apart from countless meaningless rituals impossible to practise.
They had promoted a discriminatory cast system which drove many staunch Hindus away from the fold. This priestly class buried all basic principles of the Jagannath culture that inspired a universal society. The monarchs had put up 752 mutts and monasteries to accommodate pilgrims from far and wide and ensured free food for them. It is believed that Guru Nanak picked this devotee-friendly culture during his Puri visit and made the ‘Langar' service an integral part of the Gurudwara culture. No wonder, Sikhs worship Lord Jagannath with utmost reverence as Guru Nanak established a mutt in Puri which is in a shambles today.
Naveen Patnaik, with his deep understanding of religion and culture realised that the Jagannath culture is what most Hindus identify with. Lord Jagannath has popularised Hinduism all over the world like no other missionaries have ever achieved in spreading their religions, all free of cost as the Car Festival today is the most popular religious festival the world over. Patnaik decided to bring back the lost glory of the temple town with a missionary zeal. He has embarked on the courageous venture of turning Puri into a true heritage city with a slew of reshape and beautification schemes under the umbrella of one big project.
The sea attracts non-Hindu tourists too. So, Puri has just begun undergoing a massive makeover exercise. Five projects worth Rs 265.5 crore under the ‘Augmentation of Basic Amenities and Development of Heritage and Architecture' (ABADHA) would first create huge pilgrim-enticing infrastructures around the temple. An additional Rs 500 crore for peripheral beautification and face-lifting has also been announced to make the town brighten up.
The Puri district administration units, collectively to be called ‘Lok Seva Bhavan', is to be put up at a 10-acre plot on sea. The Bhavan will cost Rs 66 crore to house all Government offices in one multi-storied structure. The mid-city land created will be developed as public spaces, thereby reducing all kinds of congestion to zero. The Bhavan will have a parking space of 55,000 square feet.
A multi-level car parking at the Jail Road will come up at a cost Rs 68 crore to accommodate big living and business facilities with space for 400 cars. There will be 350 vending spaces around there. Similarly, Jatrika will have 400 vending spaces and a big 400-car parking facility at a cost of Rs 92 crore.
The crumbling municipal market would be pulled down to make room for a 1.2-acre modern market complex at a cost of Rs 37.5 crore to accommodate 500 vendors and 400 parked cars. Acharya Harihar Square would be beautified by relocating the DRDA office, the adjoining shop rooms, the Sadbhavana Griha and the DSWO office. The idea is to have wide roads and public plazas alongside.
Unlike any other region, Odisha Hindu widows come to Puri for a month-long penance in the sacred month of Kartik. Therefore, the Government is putting up a Rs 39-crore seven-floor ‘Habishali Home' along with six top grade access roads costing Rs 44 crore. What is most amazing about the Puri facelift project is the Malatipatapur-Jagannthballabh road would be called ‘Shri Setu'. This magnificent Rs 190-crore Setu will simply fly over to the land just near Jagannath Ballabh.
Musa Nadi is the most revered living river at the entrance of the temple town. The principal custodian Goddess Maa Alamchandi has Her abode on the banks of this beautiful river which unfortunately is heavily silted, encroached, dirtied with effluents and wholly dry in summer. The age-old statue immersion points have been discarded since long.
The Naveen administration is investing a whopping Rs 85 crore only to bring the Musa Nadi back to life. Ironically, an outstation private family temple of Baata Mangala established only a few decades ago, attracts huge numbers of devotees who cough out money to be pocketed by the family members.
This temple is in no way connected with the Jagannath Temple. But some ignorant lyricist of recent times wrote a song which made Baata Mangala famous and obliterated the ancient Maa Alamchandi, without whose approval and endorsements, some of the Lord’s festivals cannot even happen.
The mutts are being repaired and beautified; all the large temple-linked ponds are being de-silted and beautified with embankment parks and lighting. The most joyful of all structures is a real big Rs 130-core, 28-acre lake being constructed quite within the city limits to amuse residents as well as visitors alike. More is being done to make the Swargadwar a must-visit place with gardens, a big sitting gallery and restrooms with critical provisions in place.
The best news is that the encroached surrounding of the Jagannath Temple boundary is getting cleaned up to facilitate construction of a 75-metre wide pathway all around. This indicates the astounding courage of the BJD regime headed by Naveen Patnaik. With a whopping initial investment of Rs 765 crore, Puri is all poised to become the most desirable of all tourist-pilgrim destinations in the country.