Lesser Known Historic Places in Silver City Cuttack

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Bhubaneswar: Former capital and second largest city of Odisha, Cuttack is a city also known as “Millenium City” and “Silver City”. Cuttack’s history dates back over 1000 years and the town is characterized by a maze of streets, alleys and alleys which has earned it the nickname of town with ‘Baban Bazaar, Tepan Galee ‘ meaning ’52 markets and 53 streets’. The city exudes an old world charm and has buildings dating from the ancient times as well as the British Raj. Besides being the commercial capital of Odisha, Cuttack is also the seat of the High Court of Orissa.

Located on a narrow strip of land between the Mahanadi and Kathjodi rivers, Cuttack is called the town of brotherhood or ‘Bhai-Chara ‘ where people of all religious communities have resided for centuries in harmony and cooperation. Some of the city’s famous landmarks include Ravenshaw University, Barabati Fort, Barabati Stadium, Cuttack Chandi Temple, and Odisha State Maritime Museum.

However, there are many lesser-known sites in the Millennium City that are not as frequented by tourists. Here is a list of some of these places of historical significance–

Gurudwara Guru Nanak Datan Sahib

Photo credit – YouTube

A sacred historic Sikh shrine, the Daatan Sahib Gurudwara is where the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak Dev ji, stopped on the way to Puri. It is believed that a tree branch planted by him after using it as a tooth

cleaner still blooms here. Thus the place was named ‘Datan’ Sahib (Datan meaning twig).

Anand Bhawan Museum and Learning Center

Built by the grandfather of the Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, Laxmi Narayan Patnaik, Anand Bhavan is the ancestral home of Biju Patnaik in Tulsipur, where he was born on March 5, 1916. It has been transformed into a memorial museum in the centenary of the birth of Biju Patnaik in 2016.

The medieval-era dargah of Sufi saint Sayeed Ali Saheed Bukhari, popularly known as the mazaar of Bukhari Baba, is located in the Barabati fort complex in Cuttack. Built in 1468, the structure is one of the few buildings from the Mughal era, with a white dome and an arched gateway adorned with an exquisite marble pietra dura. The dargah is popular among Hindus and Muslims who visit the shrine to pay their respects to the Sufi saint. The tomb is crowded with worshipers on Thursday.

A monument protected by the Archaeological Survey of India, Chudanga Gada Fort, also known as Sarangagarh Fort, is located near Barang Station, 8 km southwest of Cuttack town. Like Barabati Fort, this fort also played an important role in the medieval history of Orissa. Chodagandadeva of the Ganga dynasty chose this site and built the fort for the effective safeguard of his vast empire. Remains of fort walls, stepped wells, dilapidated temples, cisterns with stone cladding, an attic, watchtowers and freestone can still be found in the fortified area.

Swaraj Ashram is a two-story building located in the Telenga Bazaar area of Cuttack. This building was the site of the Non-Cooperation Movement in Odisha in the 1920s. Gandhi had remained in Swaraj Ashram during his visits to Odisha. The ashram, spread over 1,100 square feet, has been converted into a monument protected by the government of Odisha. There are around 200 photographs in the ashram which captured Gandhi’s visits to Odisha between 1921 and 1946.