Strange But Beautiful Lacquer Dolls (Jau Kandhei ) Of Odisha
The World Famous BrassTown & The BellTemple
Have you heard about two places called brass town Jalesar and bell temple Ghanteswari , where everything revolves around Bell metal ? In the recent past, Jalesar has come to the public notice because of the huge bell( approximate weight is 2100 kg) that is being prepared by the artisans there to be hanged in Lord Sriram temple at Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. Jalesar is located in the Etah district of Uttar Pradesh. It is connected by road to other towns such as Hathras, Etah, Aligarh, Firozabad and Agra. Jalesar is located on National Highway 321G. approx 48 km far away from Agra. Jalesar is a town of brass and famous for its ‘Pital Udyog‘ which has never faded its shine. Jalesar is known for its cast Temple bells.
The huge bell to be hanged in the Sriram temple, Ayodhya is under construction
In this connection, let me refer to a unique temple called Ghanteswari in Hirakud near Sambalpur of Odisha.
Huge numbers of bells tied up in tree branches by the devotees in front of Maa Ghanteswari temple.
Maa Ghanteswari temple facade
Maa Ghanteswari temple facade
Maa Ghanteswari Temple is situated 33 kms south-west of Sambalpur and on the bank of Mahanadi river .The claim to fame of this temple premise is, a large number of brass bells hanging all around( photo attached). Perhaps this is a lone spot of its sort in Odisha and maybe in entire India.People offer bells to Maa Ghanteswari after the attainment of their desires.
This region being the meeting point of three different tributaries of the same river Mahanadi, the water flow here was exceptionally perfidious, shaping a whirlpool. Because of this , numerous boats were sinking while approaching this spot. Presently after the development of Hirakud dam, this spot became safer.
Nowadays, it is because of the soothing wind, the swinging bells deliver an enchanting sound. Earlier there were some large size bells on this spot and with the assistance of intense wind those make huge sounds which made the oarsmen mindful of this perfidious spot and they never drew close to it.
For details about the Hirakud reservoir, world’s largest earthen dam and few of those adjoining temples in the Mahanadi river delta , you may go through the following article
Dr. Manoj Mishra
