But the festival which Cuttackis look forward to most is the Bali Yatra. Bali Yatra is supposedly the second largest trade festival in Asia. In olden times, merchants used to trade with South-East Asian countries. And whatever items they brought from those places after trading Oriya goods used to be put up for sale in the capital city (which was then Cuttack). People from all over the state and beyond used to come to Cuttack to buy these items. Bali Yatra is the festival of continuing this ancient tradition. It is held every year in the month of November on the banks of the Mahanadi (“Bali Yatra” literally means a festival to celebtate the trade that the ancient Oriyas had with the island of Bali in the ancient days), where many stalls are set up selling both local and exotic goods. People from all over Odisha come to the Baliyatra to buy items, as was the custom back in those days.
20.5°N 85.83°E and has an average elevation of 36 metres (118 ft). Located at the apex of the Mahanadi delta, the city is surrounded by the river Mahanadi and its tributaries from almost all the sides. The tributaries include the Kathjori, the Kuakhai and the Birupa. Cuttack features a tropical wet and dry climate. The summer season is from March to June when the climate is hot and humid. Thunderstorms are common at the height of the summer. The monsoon months are from July to October when the city receives most of its rainfall from the South West Monsoon. The annual rainfall is around 144 cm. The winter season from November to February is characterised by mild temperatures and occasional showers. Temperatures may exceed 40°C at the height of summer and may fall to below 10°C in winter.
Among the culinary delights unique to the Millenium City, none compare the famed Dahi Bara and Aludum, a spicy concoction of three basic dishes i.e., dahibara – vadas soaked in skim yoghurt, ghuguni – curried chickpeas and aludum – whole size potatoes immersed in fiery curry. Other popular fast foods include Chaat, Gupchup (Panipuri), Bara (Vada), Piaji, Aluchop (Bonda), Singada (Samosa), Pakudi (Pakora), Chakuli (Plain Dosa), Idli, etc. Here Idlis and Baras are served with a spicy curry unlike Sambar and Chutney in South India. Thunka Puri is a unique food of Cuttack available only during Bali Jatra.Seu Ganthia a preparation made from Bengal gram flour similar to Chanachoor of North India & Dhanu Moa available during Makar Sankranti are unique to Cuttack .
National Highway 5 passes through the city. A part of the Golden Quadrilateral project, this highway runs from Chennai to Kolkata. Feeder state highways connect Cuttack to Jajpur, Paradeep, Talcher, Angul, Kendrapara and nearby towns in Cuttack district. Intra city transport is primarily through Cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws. Nowadays DTS city buses ply in two routes in the city to join different places in the city and the state capital Bhubaneswar. Cuttack is a major junction connecting all the major parts of the state. The bus terminus at Cuttack is known as Badambadi, and is one of the largest bus terminus in India, and thousands of private and government buses ply to hundreds of destinations everyday.
Cuttack i/’k?t?k/ is the former capital and city of state Odisha, India. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 28 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha. It is the judicial capital of Odisha as the Orissa High Court is located here.The name of the city is an anglicised form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the ancient Barabati Fort around which the city developed. The city is spread across an area of 398 km2 (154 sq mi) and is situated at the beginning of the Mahanadi river delta. The city consists of 54 wards; in south it starts from Phulnakhara to Salipur, and in east it begins from Bidyadharpur to Choudwar.
A holy historical Sikh shrine The Gurdwara Daatan Sahib is located in this city. It is here that the first Sikh Guru, Shree Guru Nanak Dev halted on his way to Puri. It is believed that a tree branch planted by him after using it as a tooth cleaner still flourishes here, hence the name Daatan Sahib. Cuttack houses several churches that include holy Rosary church, Oriya Baptist church, etc. Cuttack town enjoyed for a pretty long time the honour of being the seat of political authority of the Muslims in Odisha. During this period numerous Muslim monuments were built in Cuttack. It has various mosques, like Qadam-E-Rasool, Juma Masjid, etc.
Recent growth of the city has resulted in expansion across the river Kathjori and a newer township towards the head of the delta formed between the tributary Kathjori river and the main river Mahanadi has come up by the name of Markat Nagar (popularly known as CDA by the local residents) which is spread across 2000 acres. CDA has 11 residential sectors & has population around 1,50,000. Jagatpur & Mahanadi vihar are two other township in the City. Mahanadi vihar is the first satellite city project in Odisha. Cuttack is referred to as a city with Baaban Bazaar, Teppan Galee i.e. a city having 52 markets and 53 streets.
Dusshera, the festival of goddess Durga, is very popular in Cuttack. There are thousands of idols are worshipped in many streets and localities. In this city, Dussehra is famous for its Chandi o Sona Medhas, in which the idols are adorned with huge amounts of gold and silver, with localities trying to outsmart each other by constructing more attractive idols. Indeed, the whole city comes to a standstill on Astami, Navami and in Dashami burning of effigy of the demon Ravana (the eighth, ninth and tenth days of Dussehra) as people travel all over the city appreciating all the idols put forth by the neighbourhoods.
Cuttack takes pride in being the birthplace of the prominent Indian statesman, independence leader and freedom-fighter Subhas Chandra Bose. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose studied in an Anglo school till standard six which is now known as Stewart School and then shifted to Ravenshaw Collegiate school of Cuttack. The birthplace of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose which is known as Janakinath Bhawan in Oriya Bazar has now been converted to a museum named Netaji Birth Place Museum where original letters written by Netaji along with other Netaji’s important materials are exhibited.
The other important school in Cuttack is the famous Ravenshaw Collegiate school (oldest school of Odisha) which proudly boasts many eminent personalities in its alumni including Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, Biju Pattnaik, Harekrishna Mahtab, etc. Among other notable schools (run by Odisha state board) are Ranihat High School, Secondary Board High School, Odisha Police High School, Christ Collegiate School, Jobra High School, Kamalakanta Vidayapitha, Peary Mohan Academy, Badambadi New Colony High School, Matrubhaban, Saraswati Sishu Mandira, CRRI High School etc.
Cuttack is home to several technical institutions which includes Dhaneshwar Rath Institute of Engineering & Management Studies (DRIEMS), Bhubananda Orissa School of Engineering (BOSE)the 1st technical school of Orissa, Image Institute of technology & management (IITM), IPSAR, IMIT, Ajay Binay Institute of Technology (ABIT), and JIET. The twin cities house around 117 engineering colleges. There exists a textile engineering college in Chowdwar. There is also a Biju Pattnaik film and television institute offering professional courses.
Cuttack is an important station on the Howrah-Chennai mainline of the East Coast Railway and falls under the Khurda Road division. A branch line to Paradeep starts from Cuttack. It is connected to all parts of India through trains run by the Indian Railways.The Cuttack Railway station is selected to be developed as a multi functional railway station with food courts shopping plaza, theaters to be developed . Other railway stations in the city are Balikuda, Kathjori, Kendrapara road, Nirgundi, Manguli-Choudwar and Naraj.
SCB medical College, one of the premier medical colleges in India and the largest medical institution in Odisha, proudly associates its origin to the Silver city – Cuttack. This college produces one of the finest brand of doctors every year. The quality of education imparted in SCB medical college is quite high. SCB medical college has produced some of the very first licensed medical practitioners of India medical fraternity. SCB medical college also has a dental college which gives bachelors degree in dental surgery.
The Swami Vivekananda National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research (SVNIRTAR) is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India. It is located in a beautiful rural area at Olatpur at a distance of 30 km from Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. It conducts three Bachelor Degree courses in Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Prosthetics and Orthotics, two Postgraduate courses in Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy affiliated to Utkal University, Bhubaneswar.
Cuttack also hosts Paramahansa Nath temple (near Biribati, 14 km away from the city center), Bhattarika Temple, Dhabaleswar temple, Panchamukhi Hanuman temple and the most oldest temple is Paramahansanatha others. The Barabati fort houses the Gada Chandi temple which is one of the oldest temples in Cuttack. The Dhabaleswar temple is located on an island in the river Mahanadi and is connected to the mainland by a long hanging bridge. The pillar less hanging bridge is unique of its kind in India.
Cuttack has a branch of sports authority of India (SAI) training centres, which was established on 26 March 1987, under Sports Hostel Scheme at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack. Government of Odisha has provided accommodation facility at Barabati stadium for boys and at Jawaharlal Nehru indoor stadium for girls. The centre gives training for athletics, basketball, football, volleyball, and gymnastic. There is a quite nice athletic track at the Satyabrata stadium, near Barabati stadium.
Qadam-E-Rasool- The Qadam-E-Rasool is a monument of beauty built by Shujaddin Khan. At four corners of its high compound wall are four small yet strong towers constructed out of chiselled stone. It is adorned with four flat domes and pucca pavements from all direction of the grave yard to the main octagonal building with magnificent dome in the centre. It contains the foot print of the Prophet engraved in a circular stone. The dome outside is adorned with a golden pinnacle.
Cuttack had been the centre of art and literature in the past. The Arnapurna theater, Group-B is one of the oldest theater of Odisha and is situated in Buxi Bazaar, Cuttack. Cuttack has several movie theatres playing movie in Oriya, Hindi, and English languages. To cater to the needs of a large Telugu audience in Cuttack, a few theatres also play Telugu movie. Some of the well-known theatres are Grand, Jayashree (Badambadi), Nishamani (Link road), Samrat, etc.
Katak Chandi Temple- The temple of goddess Katak Chandi, is probably the most famous religious establishment of city. With Katak Chandi being worshipped as the main goddess, the temple has smaller temples of other Gods and goddesses within its small compound. Not far from this temple, is the Gada Chandi temple which inside the Barabati Fort. There is also temple of Lord Shiva on the banks of Mahanadi River, and near the fort, known as Gada Gadia temple.
Juma Masjid- Juma, means Big, and this is the oldest, biggest, and the most beautiful masjid of Cuttack. It was built during the Mughal era. It possesses several rooms for visitors and students. Earlier there used to be a Madrasa in this mosque. However, since last 10 years, the Madrasa is shifted out of the mosque. The neighbourhoods surrounding the Juma Masjid are inhabited both by Hindus and Muslims, who live peacefully with perfect communal harmony.