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Approach
: By air to Bhubaneswar (Cuttack is 29 km from
Bhubaneswar), road and rail.
Sight Seeing
MADHUSMRUTI-Madhusmruti,
the 'Karma Bhumi' or residence of Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Das, is
located at Cuttack. Madhusudan Das lived in this place from 1892 to
1934, till his death. Presently the building is used as the
administrative block of the S.B. Women's College.
The building has two
floors with a portico on the eastern side. One wooden staircase is found
on the left of the verandah abutting the portico leading to the 1st
floor. There is a balcony found on the north side supported with iron
pillars and iron parapet. There is another wooden staircase found on the
western side of the building. There are ten rooms and a big hall found
in the ground floor whereas there are eight rooms of varying sizes found
on the first floor along with an open terrace, above the big hall found
in the ground floor.
Madhusudan Das was born
in 1848 at Satyabhamapur village of Cuttack district. He had his early
education in the village, Cuttack Zilla School and Calcutta University.
He was the first Graduate of Orissa from Calcutta University in 1870. He
did his M.A. and Law Degree later and he was a flourishing lawyer in the
Patna High Court.
Inside two bigger rooms
located on the western side of the 1st floor are found the articles and
objects used by Late Madhusudan Das, during his residence at this place.
These material objects include photographs, paper manuscripts,
earthenware, textiles, wooden objects, clay objects, glass painting and
other ethnographic materials. Some of these have been placed inside
showcases and the rest are placed on tables, bedsteads, beds and wooden
benches.
It is said about Late
Madhusudan Das, that he was born as a man but died as an institution.
SWARAJYA
ASHRAM- the Freedom Fighters Centre
The Swarajya Ashram is located on the Kathajodi river front. It is an
old building and it has historical significance and importance for its
association with the Freedom Movement in Orissa and the Congress party
and well known leaders of Orissa in the Freedom Movement. The original
building is found at the centre, built in two storied during the
colonial period. There is another two storied block behind the building.
It is a protected monument under the State Archaeology.
BARABATI
FORT-The ruins of Barabati Fort with its
moat and gate and the excavated palace complex and base of the Ganga
period temple lie on the bank of the river Mahanadi as the silent
witness of the vicissitudes of Orissan history. This historical fort has
been the capital of ancient and medieval Orissa and the famous Ganga
kings like Anangabhima III, Narasimha I, Kapilendradeva,
Purushottamadeva and Prataparudradeva had ruled their vast empire from
this place. It is a protected monument under the Arachaeological Survey
of India.
Temple of
Cuttack Chandi :
Being the shrine of the presiding deity of the city, the temple of
Cuttack Chandi is normally visited by every Hindu visitor.
QADAM-I-RASOOL-Cuttack
town enjoyed for a pretty long time the honour of being the seat of
Political authority of the Muslims in Orissa. During the period numerous
Muslim monuments have built at Cuttack. The Qadam-I-Rasool is a monument
of beauty built by Shujaddin Khan. At four corners of its high compound
wall are four small yet strong towers constructed out of chiselled
stone. It is adorned with four flat domes and pucca pavements from all
direction of the grave yard to the main octagonal building with
magnificent dome in the centre. It contains the foot print of the
Prophet engraved in a circular stone. The dome outside is adorned with a
golden pinnacle.
SHAHI
MOSQUE-The Shahi Mosque is situated inside
the Barabati Fort. In structure it is similar to the Ujale Khan Mosque
at Mohammadia Bazar. All these Mosque are adorned with beautiful domes
on hexagonal base. Stones and tiles are used in construction of the
Mosque. It seems that during the British rule of Orissa it was used as a
Magazine as it is aparent from the two Mehrabs on the flanks which are
closed with bricks.
RAVENSHAW
COLLEGE-A small school established in 1841
was raised to the status of a college with Intermediate classes,
affiliated to Calcutta University. In 1875, largely through the efforts
of Mr. T.E. Ravenshaw, the then Commissioner of Orissa, it became a full
fledged first grade college. The Ravenshaw College building is highly
impressive and shows the influence Colonial architecture.
NETAJI
BIRTH PLACE MUSEUM
The name of Netajee Subhash Chandra
Bose fills every Indian with pride and with emotions of patriotism.
Everyone acknowledges that he was a great leader, who changed the course
of history of India.In the struggle of India's Independence against the
British, his Contribution has been unique. He sacrificed his everything
to attain independence and even today is a source of inspiration to the
Indian people.
Janakinath Bhawan, the
ancestral house of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, is located at Oriya Bazar
in Cuttack city of Orissa. Subhas Bose was born in this house on
23.1.1897 and spent his early childhood at Cuttack. He lived in this
house with a large family of eight brothers and six sisters. His father
Janakinath Bose was a lawyer by profession and a man of repute during
his time. Subhas Bose passed Entrance examination from Ravenshaw
Collegiate School in 1913 and thereafter went to Calcutta to pursue
higher studies.
The house complex
consists of an old two storeyed L-shaped building with the main block
running from West to East. There is a small temple on the back of the
building on east side. Another row of houses is located close to the
eastern boundary wall, which was used as the stable. There used to be a
garden on the north side of the building with an open courtyard on the
south of the main building. Each floor has four living rooms. Each floor
had running long verandahs in front of the living rooms with openings on
south side. There had been additions and alterations in later times in
the complex.
With financial
assistance from the Deptt. of Culture, Govt. of India, the Janakinath
Bhawan has been now converted into the Netaji Birth Place Museum of
National standard with change of the present ambience into that of late
19th and early 20th century. The livings rooms have been converted into
galleries displaying the different stages of life and activities of this
great personality of our country through photographs. The other
important exhibits in the Museum include old furnitures, house hold
articles, documents, books and other objects of use found in the house
and collected from various sources.
A Library is being
organized where books published on Netaji in any language and any place
are being gradually collected.
Interesting collections
in the Museum include 22 original letters written by Netaji from Geneva,
Milan in Italy, Shillong, Mandalay Jail, Rangoon Jail in Myanmar,
Presidency Jail, Alipore New Central Jail in Calcutta and Berlin to his
parents and family members. The other exhibits of importance are the old
household furnitures, books on Veda, Upanisad, Epics, Jurisprudence and
Law.
There is proposal to
have an open air auditorium on the South West side of the courtyard
along with laying out a formal garden on the north side of the building
so that the place becomes a place of tourist importance and perpetuate
the memory of this great son of soil.
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