ROOTED IN ODISHA. OPEN TO THE WORLD.ଉତ୍କଳ · ଓଡ଼ିଶା
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The collection · preview edition

Where will curiosity
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A shore, a story, a taste of somewhere. Choose a subject and an area, then follow what draws you in.

79 entries in this preview

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Peacock figures and floral patterns across a red Sambalpuri sari pallu

Living culture · Across Odisha

Woven in Odisha

A pattern planned in yarn. A poem woven into silk. A colour drawn from roots. Follow Odisha’s textile stories into the materials, places and people behind the cloth.

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Release poster for Kotpad Weaving, with a red and cream textile detail and filmmaker credits

Living culture · Koraput

Kotpad · a colour with roots

Before a colour reaches the loom, there is another story to tell. In Kotpad, following the red leads towards roots, dyeing knowledge and the people who keep it alive.

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Red, yellow and purple appliqué objects arranged in a Pipili display.

Living culture · Puri / Cuttack

Made by hand in Odisha

A cut piece of cloth. A brush held close. A silver thread bent into a pattern. Follow three crafts into the decisions—and the people—behind them.

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Red, yellow and purple appliqué objects arranged in a Pipili display.

Living culture · Puri / Konark & Puri

Pipili appliqué

Colour catches your eye. A seam holds it there. Look closely at the cut cloth, the stitched edge and the person who brings the pattern together.

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A bowl of combined roasted eggplant and tomato mash with onion and herbs.

Food · Across Odisha

Odisha cooks with fire

A blistered vegetable, an opened leaf parcel, a browned edge. Follow the heat into three food stories—and leave room for the cook’s own version.

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White arches and a courtyard at Netaji Birth Place Museum in Cuttack.

People · Cuttack

Subhas Chandra Bose

Before a name fills a history book, it belongs to a child. Meet Subhas through the home, classrooms and teacher he remembered from Cuttack.

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An orange sun reflected in the wet sand at Chandipur.

Places · Balasore

Balasore

Begin with Chandipur’s tidal landscape, then follow Balasore’s connection to Fakir Mohan Senapati.

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Barehipani waterfall dropping through a wooded rock face.

Places · Mayurbhanj

Mayurbhanj

Explore Similipal alongside Mayurbhanj’s Chhau tradition, Santali connections and Baripada’s food.

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Carved stone temple towers at Mukteswar, Bhubaneswar, against a blue sky.

Places · Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar

Look closely at Mukteswar, make time for an Odia meal and discover the city’s painted memories.

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People walking on wet sand beside the sea at Puri beach.

Places · Puri

Puri

Begin with Puri’s coast, Jagannath traditions and Raghurajpur’s craft, then choose the pace that suits you.

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The surviving stone gateway at Barabati Fort in Cuttack.

Places · Cuttack

Cuttack

Connect Barabati’s remains, silver filigree and a characteristic street-food stop.

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A narrow covered boat with people aboard on a still channel between green wetland vegetation.

Experiences · Chilika

Watch the wetlands at Mangalajodi

Make birds the centre of the visit. A local birding guide can help you notice what would otherwise pass as a distant shape on the water. Winter is the season to plan around for migratory birds.

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The blue Kalijai temple beside a palm tree, with its courtyard in the foreground.

Experiences · Chilika

Take the boat to Kalijai

Combine a lagoon crossing with a visit to the island shrine. Barkul is a starting point to investigate; agree on the route before leaving the shore.

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An orange sun reflected in the wet sand at Chandipur.

Places · Balasore

Chandipur

A beach that asks you to notice time. Watch the water, then let the day open around it.

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The white Shanti Stupa above a flight of steps at Dhauli.

Places · Bhubaneswar

Dhauli

A white stupa, a river landscape, and a question that has outlived an empire: what should power be for?

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An artisan holding a work of art in the doorway of a painted house in Raghurajpur.

Places · Puri

Raghurajpur

A finished painting is only the beginning. Make time for the hand, the story and the patience behind it.

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A carved stone arch at Mukteswar, with the temple behind it and a visitor passing beneath.

Places · Bhubaneswar

Mukteswar

A doorway can be a destination. Stand before the arch, and let a small detail hold your attention.

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A blue passenger boat crosses grey water, with birds flying above and the distant shore on the horizon.

Places · Chilika

Chilika

A beginning for understanding the coast through water, wildlife and local knowledge.

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An Odia palm-leaf manuscript beside a metal writing stylus.

Languages · Across Odisha

Odia

A language can be a page, a poem, a conversation—or the familiar sound that makes a distant place feel like home.

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The name Ol Chiki written in Ol Chiki script.

Languages · Mayurbhanj

Santali

A script takes shape. Writers keep it moving. Follow the words into everyday life.

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Languages · Kandhamal

Kui

A classroom, a short story, a language of home. Follow the words into everyday life.

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Languages · Rayagada

Kuvi

Follow the words beyond a familiar-looking name. Follow the words into everyday life.

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An Odia palm-leaf manuscript beside a metal writing stylus.

People · Across Odisha

Sarala Das

What happens when an epic enters the language of home? Start with Sarala Das, then follow the words.

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Pratibha Ray photographed in Kollam in 2010.

People · Jagatsinghpur

Pratibha Ray

A familiar epic can change when another person gets to tell it. Enter through a woman’s questions, and keep reading.

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A red shrine and a palm tree at the Bhima Bhoi memorial in Khaliapali.

People · Sambalpur & Subarnapur

Bhima Bhoi

A poem can begin as a prayer and grow into a question for the whole world: whose suffering do we notice?

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An Odia palm-leaf manuscript beside a metal writing stylus.

People · Cuttack / Koraput

Gopinath Mohanty

A landscape holds more than a view. Follow a novelist into the lives, speech and unequal choices that give a place its human depth.

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Languages · Mayurbhanj / Keonjhar / Angul

Ho

Listen for the words that make a gathering. Follow the words into everyday life.

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Languages · Keonjhar / Angul / Dhenkanal

Juang

A house of memory. A language of its own. Follow the words into everyday life.

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Languages · Malkangiri

Koya

Start with a season. Ask for the words around it. Follow the words into everyday life.

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People · Bargarh

Gangadhar Meher

A loom makes a world from threads. A poem makes one from words. Meet a poet whose life invites you to think about both kinds of making.

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Languages · Across Odisha

Sambalpuri

A song can reach you before a map does. Begin with its makers, then listen for the world around it.

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Languages · Across Odisha

Desia

A language belongs on a stage and in a child’s first book. Follow two documented moments in Desia’s continuing story.

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Two golden pieces of chhena poda on a dark plate, with fruit and a garnish.

Food · Nayagarh / Across Odisha

Chhena Poda

A dark, fragrant edge. A soft centre. Leave a little room at the end of the meal.

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Puffed rice, onion and a chicken curry serving in a leaf bowl.

Food · Mayurbhanj

Mudhi Mansa

The lightness of puffed rice meets the depth of a curry. A meal can be a reason to give a town more time.

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Four brown rasagola sweets in syrup on a pale plate.

Food · Puri / Bhubaneswar / Cuttack

Odisha Rasagola

A little sweetness, a story of homecoming. Follow rasagola from Puri’s ritual world to the hands of Odisha’s sweet-makers.

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Round Poda pitha with a cut slice and nut garnish, presented on a green leaf beside a small bowl.

Food · Across Odisha

Poda pitha

A browned surface, a cut slice, a pause before sharing. Some food stories are worth waiting for.

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Cooked elephant-apple pieces with coconut and seeds in a blue-rimmed bowl.

Food · Across Odisha

Ou khatta

A little sweet, a little sour. The bowl at the edge of the meal has a story of its own.

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Coarsely crushed badi with pieces of onion in a small bowl.

Food · Across Odisha

Badi chura

A handful of crumbs, a generous amount of character. Meet the little accompaniment that deserves a closer look.

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Slices of golden tala poda pitha with a browned crust on a metal plate.

Food · Across Odisha

Tala pitha

A golden slice and a browned edge. Follow ripe palm fruit into one of Odisha’s seasonal food stories.

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A bowl of combined roasted eggplant and tomato mash with onion and herbs.

Food · Across Odisha

Baigana poda

A blistered skin gives way to a soft centre. Follow roasted eggplant from the flame to a small bowl beside the meal.

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Fish steaks in an opened, charred leaf parcel with a yellow spice coating.

Food · Across Odisha

Patrapoda

Open a leaf parcel and the story changes with what is inside. Meet mushroom, fish and prawn preparations without treating them as one dish.

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These are editorial previews. Area filters indicate a place or cultural connection, not a verified route or a language’s full geographic range.