Cuttack

State of: Orissa

Main languages: Oriya, Bengali and Hindi

 

History:

 

The city of Cuttack gets its name from the etymological word 'Katak'. It means army cantonment and also a capital city. And this city adequately lives up to its name. This city had started as a military cantonment because of the invincible situation that had been developing in the state of Orissa. The inscriptions of Anangabhimadeva III refer to the city of Cuttack as Abhinab-Baranasi-Katak. It is like the city of Baransi, which was situated between Baruna and Asi. Similarly the city of Cuttack had been situated between the rivers of Mahanadi and Kathajodi. Hence it was also given the name of Abhinab Baranasi or the new kind of Baranasi. It later developed in to the city of 5 villages which included Saranasi Katak, Sarangagarh Katak, Choudwar Katak, Viraja Katak and Amaravati Katak. Cuttack had been connected through land and waterways during the medieval times. It was not significant before the 8th century but the flourishing Eastern trade made Cuttack the capital city. The first news paper of Orissa, the "UtkalDipika", started here in 1866. Though it is no longer the capital of Orissa, Cuttack remains the industrial hub of the state. It is also known as the millennium city.

 

Geography and climate:

 

Cuttack is situated at 20.5° N 85.83° E and has an average elevation of 37 meters or 121 feet. The city is located at the apex of the delta formed by rivers. These include the rivers Mahanadi in the north and Kathajodi in the south. The city experiences hot and humid climate conditions. The maximum temperatures can go up to 40 degrees centigrade in the summers and the winters are cold and dry. The minimum temperature in the winters is about 10 degree centigrade. 

 

Demography:

 

As per the 2001 census, the city of Cuttack had a population of 535,139. The city had the literacy rate of about 75% which is higher than the national average.

 

Economy:

 

The city has been famous for the delicate and exquisite filigree works, the art horns and also the multi colored textile products which are available here. Apart from the growing industries and trading centers the city also has a huge agricultural set up, especially in rice.

 

Tourism:

 

There are many places to see in Cuttack like the Stone Revetment of Cuttack, Barabati Fort, Temple of Cuttack Chandi, Quadam-i-Rasool and many more. It is a stop over for the famous religious beach of Jagannath Puri. 

  

Festivals

 

Cuttack is famous for worshipping the goddess Chandi. There are various other festivals held here. The unique festivals of the city are Dusshera and Baliyatra. Dusshera is the festival of another form of the Goddesss Chandi. The city is also famous for the chandi medha. These are the silver filigree works. There are huge amounts of gold and silver spent on the construction of these medhas. The festival of Baliyatra is for remembering the old tradition of trade between Java and Orissa, Sumatra and Bali. This is held in the month of November. The kite festival in the month of January is also very popular. 

 

Transportation:

 

The city of Cuttack is well connected by roads to Kolkata. The city also has an airport at the distance of 28 km known as the Biju Patnaik Airport. There are regular trains to major Indian cities from here.