From the archive record
Driving on the road from Konark to Puri in Orissa, East India during the monsoon season in India. Odisha, formerly known as Orissa, is an Indian state on the subcontinent's east coast, by the Bay of Bengal. It is surrounded by the Indian states of West Bengal to the north-east and in the east, Jharkhand to the north, Chhattisgarh to the west and north-west and Andhra Pradesh to the south. It is the modern name of the ancient kingdom of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka in 261 BCE. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April 1936, as a province in British India and consisted predominantly of Oriya speakers.[12] 1 April is therefore celebrated as Utkala Dibasa (foundation day of Odisha). Cuttack remained the capital of the state for over eight centuries until