Magic By The Sea

From Lord Jagannath to oceanside beauty and green initiatives, Braja Sorensen uncovers the many layers of Puri.

- Braja Sorensen

We all have places we go to at certain times of the year, or have holidays earmarked for a particular season or festival time. With Puri, Orissa, the first thing that comes to mind is the annual Festival of the Chariots, the Ratha Yatra, when millions from all over India and the world gather to welcome the Lord of the Universe. It’s always a magical time. But after four visits to Puri in the past 10 months, I can soundly report that any time is a good time to visit this coastal city.

The light and oceanside beauty is the first mystical element that strikes you upon arrival. Waking on the ocean and watching the sun rise and splash the ocean in a rainbow of colours is an experience in itself. Nothing can match the perfect haze-meets-light mixture; the mist over the water as the sun rises; the inexplicable way the ocean can look like a Caribbean tropical isle and not the blue-grey ocean of Orissa. For one magic hour of dawn, the light falls in spectacular ray perfection, and Puri is bathed in a golden-orange light as it wakes.

I was stunned and grateful: as an Aussie girl born on the beach, I long for the sound of waves, the smell of the ocean, and the feel of sand beneath my feet. And Puri never fails to satisfy not only those longings of the child within but those of my mind, heart, and soul: because Jagannath is without doubt the wielder of the magic that happens here.