First Impressions of Bhubaneswar, Orissa

I arrived in Bhubaneswar last Saturday and the city felt so different from Delhi, it was hard to believe I was in the same country. Sure, the drivers flouted the rules with the same intensity as those in Delhi, but the similarities basically stopped there. Bhubaneswar has huge stretches of green space, uncrowded streets, and murals using the Warli painting style. Warli is apparently based on a pictorial written language used by some of the indigenous populations in India.

Another striking difference is the language. While many people in Bhubaneswar speak Hindi and/or English, the main language used is Oriya. The curly scripts of the language could be seen on signs throughout the city.

And overall, the city has more of a suburban/residential feel. I felt particularly inclined to take a picture of this block because it reminded me of the opening sequence from the Golden Girls.