In 1936, even before independence, a new province of Orissa was formed by separation from Bihar, on a linguistic basis.
Hirakud: The longest man-made dam in the world
This massive structure, which was inaugurated in 1957, stretches to 26 kilometres in length. It is a composite structure of earth, concrete and stonework that stretches across the river Mahanadi. It also boasts of being the biggest artificial lake in Asia.
Pigeon mail system
Odisha police pigeon service started on an experimental basis in 1946 to deliver messages to remote areas of the state. This form of communication was used until very recently, as much as 2008.
First armed mutiny for Independence
The Paika Rebellion (1817) of Odisha can be considered as the first organized struggle for Independence from the British Raj. It was organised by Bakshi Jagabandhu, the highest-ranking army officer working for Gajapati Mukund Dev, in an attempt to take back their homeland.
Host to India Surf Festival
Odisha hosts India Surf Festival at Ramachandi Beach in Puri every year. It has massive international participation and an array of activities. It themes around spiritual surfing through various activities like boardsport, yoga, music and dance.
Disappearing beach of Chandipur
The Chandipur Beach of Balasore is famously nicknamed as the “hide and seek beach”. This is because during low tide, the water recedes up to 5 kilometres every day only to return during the high tides. This marvelous phenomenon is rarely seen anywhere else in the world.
Largest open-air theatre in the world
Every year, the city of Bargarh and the adjoining areas turn into the largest open-air-theatre, known as the Dhanu Jatra. The enactment of Krishna Leela from his birth to killing Kansa attracts a lot of devotees from across the state as well as the country.
Mahaprasad of Jagannath Temple, Puri
Mahaprasad, the devotional food-offerings to Lord Jagannath, is cooked in the largest functioning kitchen amidst the temple premises of the Puri Jagannath Temple, and is enough to feed lakhs of devotees every day. It somehow never goes to waste even though the same proportion of food is cooked every day. Interestingly enough, 7 pots are placed one over another but the food in the topmost one gets coooked before the lower ones.
An old surviving dance form, Odissi
The dance form Odissi is among the oldest dance forms, and is almost 700 years old. It is performed even today, with very little modification. It is intricately connected to temple worship and is mentioned in many ancient texts.
Ancient rock formations
3.6 billion-year-old zircon containing granite rock formations were found in the Keonjhar district of Odisha. It is evidenced to be the second oldest rock formation in the world after Jack Hills in Australia.
The only leaning temple
Located in Huma on the bank of Mahanadi, this temple is dedicated to the Hindu God, Lord Shiva (worshipped as Bimaleshwar). The reason of this tilt may be flooding or earthquake, or it might be intentional planning. However, the tilt of the temple has not been measured yet at any time.
Largest producer of Aluminum and Steel
Odisha also boasts of being the largest producer of Aluminum and steel. It is also the largest producer of Manganese, Iron ore, Bauxite and Chromite.
House of 62 distinctive tribes
There are about 62 different tribes in Odisha alone, each with their own set of dressing, tradition and languages. The cultural diversity of the tribes is huge, and this has been highlighted in mainstream media in recent years.
India’s most advanced missile testing site
Located offshore, Abdul Kalam Island, previously known as Wheeler Island was granted for missile testing in 1993 by Biju Patnaik on request of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam himself. It started with testing of the Prithvi Missile in an uninhabited Wheeler island in November 1993. Since then, the missiles Akash, Agni, Astra, BrahMos, Nirbhay, Prahaar, Prithvi, Shaurya, Advanced Air Defence and Prithvi Air Defence have been successfully tested ever since.
12 months and 13 festivals
It essentially means that there are more festivities in the state than there are months in the year. These festivals revolve around the central deity of the state, Lord Jagannath and his various “leelas”. Each of these festivals has a lot of significance in Odia culture and lifestyle.
