I spent 90% of my life in eastern India,around 23 years and that is the reason couldnot stop myself from writing a small article on a place that is in my blood.I am born Bengali,my father is employed in jharkand and I did my higher studies in Orissa,so I am a combination of all 3 of these states.The good thing about any place in India is the way people get linked to each other enjoy each other's festivals and are there to stand by when you are in trouble.I could see this very early in my life.I spent my childhood in a place called as Jaduguda,which is 20Kms from the steel city of Tatanagar or Jamshedpur as you would call it.The colony was small and so everyone knew everyone and there was where this sense of extended family like came in everyone.There were families from Kerela.Karnataka,Orissa,Assam,Uttar Pradesh,Bihar,Madhya Pradesh and instead of their cultural differences,it seemed all were Knit together by some bond.We celebrated dusshera,onam.rath yatra,diwali,holi and every possibe festival that was there in Indian calendar.From a natural prespective Jaduguda combined with Ghatsila,Galudih,Narwa Pahar and Jamshedpur offered a good blend of nature with a very modern city like Jamshedpur.You could see teams coming in for picninc during the winters and sometime it was difficult to get a place being a local also.Then I moved on for my higher studies to Orissa,a state which has a mention in history for all the rich heritage it has.Intially I was not sure whether I will be comfortable there,in an entirely new culture and language,but then I had always heard of Ravenshaw college(Now Ravenshaw deemed university) and did not want to miss a chance to study there.Ravenshaw college had produced some of the greatest personalities of our country and I had found a seat in that college,it was a dream come true.I stayed in orissa for the next 6 years and still now while going to home from bangalore,I always ensure that I get down in cuttack.Cuttack is one of the oldest cities in India,people may say that the roads are not wide and other things,but how can you forget the age of the city.It is the financial capital of Orissa in my opinion.The Orissa high court,barabati cricket stadium and many other important institutions still function from cuttack.It is said and I also believe that from the doors of Maa Chandi of Chandi Temple you will never return empty handed.You can always enjoy the dahi vada aludam near barabati stadium and spend hours sitting near the jobra barrage on Mahanadi river.People are very friendly and welcoming and that is the reason alll my very good friends are oriyas.Dusshera/Durga puja of cuttack is as good as Kolkatta.Bali Yatra/Kartik Purnima is celebrated on banks of river mahandi every year.The story goes like in olden days sailors were wished good luck when the started sailing on this auspicious day.Still now the tradition continues,you should wake up early in the morning take bath and go straight to the bank of mahanadi and you can see thousands of small boats with candles/diyas floating on the river.That is a sight I will never forget in life.I have seen the best and worst in Cuttack.I was there during the super cyclones on 1999 when storms with wind speed ranging from 260 km/hr to 300 Km/hr struck the coast of orissa on the 28th of october.Many people were killed and livestocks lost.Orissa has a rich heritage as well as natural beauty.Who does not know the story of the great king Ashoka changing his way of life after the battle of Kalinga.From Cuttack or Bhubaneswar the present capital of Orrisa,you can make trips to these historical places and go back in time.Bhubaneswar is also called the city of temples.The most important among them is the Lingaraj temple.The temple is dedicated to lord shiva and is more than a 1000 years old.The temple is the largest in bhubaneswar and stands 55 m tall.Raja Rani temple is also one where you can feel the rich history of the city. You should also go to Udaygiri,Khandigiri.Udaygiri and Khandigiri have lot of religious as well as archaelogical significance.The caves of Udaygiri and Khandgiri and situated on two hils of the same name facing each other across the road.Udaygiri has 18 while khandagiri has 15 caves.Nandakan which is a short drive from the city is one of the very famous wildlife sanctauries in India.The have succesfully bred many animals in captivity.Konark temple which is the temple of sun god and was built in the 13th century is one of the biggest tourism attractions.The place is a world heritage site.It is also called as black pagoda because of the black granites used in the construction.The temple resembles the chariot of the sun god.The sculptures on the walls of the temple are really beautiful.Odissi dance festival also takes place here every december.Not far from here is the Chandrabhaga beach and the marine drive.Puri has one of the best beaches in India and is the home of the great lord Jagannath.Jagannath Puri is one of the four dhams in our hindu dharma,if we consider the fact that a dham is there in every direction.So we have Kedar-Bardinath in north,Jagannath puri in east,Rameshwaram in south and Dwarka in west.Jagannath means lord of the world.I myself try to pay a visit to the temple whenever I am in Orissa.The main deities in the temple are of Lord Jagannath,Balabhadra and goddess Subhdra.There are main smaller temples are shrines within the temple complex.The main door of the temple is known as singhadwara as it has got 2 lion statues and is east faced.The road in front of the singhdwara is called as bada danda.There are 22 steps that lead to the main temple and is called as baisi pahacha.You would encourage you to take mahaprasada.The main festival of puri is the rath yatra.On your way back from puri towars bhubaneswar,you can buy some handicrafts in pipli and have sweets near nakhara on the bhubaneswar-cuttack highway.From cuttack you can have a short trip to Paradeep which is one of the main ports of India.The ideal time to visit this part of the country would be in winter