India 2016 (Odisha) - Dhenkanal District
Dhenkanal Palace
Dhenkanal Palace, also called Gajlaxmi Palace, in Dhenkanal town is home to the Raja of Dhenkanal, Brig Raja Kamakhya Prasad Singh Deo Mahindra Bahadur.
The district Dhenkanal is situated in the heart of Odisha about 70km north of
Bhubaneshwar and has a population of about 1.2 million people. It was a princely state once and ruled by the Singdheo dynasty for 18 generations since 16th century.
In 1947 the princely state - one of 565 - joined the Indian Union and finally merged with Odisha in 1948.
Today the palace is a Heritage home stay. Build in the second half of 19th century it is a vast complex with many rooms, apartments, courts and gardens.
10 of the apartments are restored to accomodate guests who have access to the whole complex - the palace garden, the library and durbar hall - just to name some interesting spots.
The food that is served here is just outstanding. It might even be the best you can get in all India. The meals that are prepared by the palace kitchen alone are worth a visit and justify every detour.
Nuapatna - Famous for its handloom
Nuapatna is a village in Dhenkanal District with a community of artisans who specialised in handloom weaving of sarees and other cloth, cultivating this
handicraft to the highest level. Almost every household is involved in this art.
For some of the pieces shown in the pictures it takes up to several years to create them, worth some hundred euros in the end.
They won several prices at national exhibitions for their work. One of the pictures shows the award ceremony at the hand of the prime minister of India.
Wild Elephants near Joranda
During the visit in Dhenkanal district a group of elephants crossed the river to the north of the district which lead to a lot of worries of the local communities. The occasion of elephants crossing the river is very rare. As there are only small stripes of forests the situation is very intense for the animals which feel cornered and in danger and the people of adjacent villages who also feel in danger and in fear of their crops on the fields.
About three weeks after this encounter there was an article in the Times of India which claimed that this group of elephants had killed a farmer who was surprised by the elephants when he was at work on his field. More than 20 people are killed by wild elephants in Odisha every year.
