Odisha Diaries - But First, Ornab Diaries! - Part 1



 26.10.2026

I check the cyclone tracker for the umpteenth time on my mobile, just like I have been doing the whole day.

To be precise, this checking has been going on since a week.

Ever since a cyclone named Ornab (also pronounced as Arnab) was predicted for Odisha, I have been checking the weather app and getting disheartened after seeing heavy rain forecast in Odisha in the coming two days. Then Ornab formed, and I switched on to the cyclone tracker, carefully monitoring the forecasted path of the cyclone (as if my monitoring would make the cyclone change its course). 

You see, the day on which Ornab was supposed to land on Puri was the same day that my family and I were supposed to land at Bhubaneswar.

Via flight.

Which is the most terrifying part for me. 

Not thunderstorms, not heavy to very heavy rainfall, not cyclones, but flying over a cyclone and the turbulence that is sure to occur. 

When we booked tickets for Puri, we had no idea that we would be flying under such circumstances. Jagannath Prabhu has been on my mind since a long time and it has been a dearly held dream to visit the temple of Puri. 

Now the dream inches closer. 

But instead of elation, there is anxiety.

Fear instead of anticipation.

Hopelessness instead of the excitement of going on a trip.

Journaling instead of preparing for a travelogue.

Even as I write this, I check the tracker yet again, only to see Ornab hovering over Bay of Bengal near Tamil Nadu.

As I check the distance of the cyclone from Bhubaneswar, I feel ashamed. Instead of worrying about the safety of the people living in the coastal areas, I am hyper-focused on the possibility of facing turbulence. 

Dear Jagannath, forgive me for being so small-minded! At the end of the day, I am only human, with a phobia of turbulence, a phobia that leaves no room for any other thought. All I wanted was to visit Your abode in Puri and see You. I see and hear many people saying that one can visit Puri only when You wish. I hope and pray that this is Your wish for us. 

I see the faith of others and feel a pang. It is not that I do not have faith. I have, but I also believe in Karma, in the universal law that whatever is meant for me will find me. And it is this knowledge that acts as a barrier for me to believe in only good things happening. I surrender to You, but only with the humility of accepting my lot and praying to You for strength and courage.

Speaking of courage, I check the cyclone tracker yet again and find no change in the position of the cyclone. (How can anything change when it hasn't even been FIVE minutes since I last checked!!??)

I decide that I have done enough tracking for the day and call it quits. Perhaps tomorrow will bring better news.

(To Be Continued!)

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