Radhanatha Ray, the architect of modern Odia poetry, describes Odisha as a Sanskrit hymn “Bharat Gitika” this land of Odisha is well known as the petal of modern Bharat. The glorification of sacred beauty that is Utkal or Odisha. Utkal is the ancient name of Odisha.
Kapil Samhita, an epic describes Odisha as the best Land in Bharat. “Of all countries Bharat is the best and of all states, Odisha.” Odisha has the hoary past. The modern state of Odisha is which came to be constituted on April 1, 1936.
In the pages of history it is the land of powerful kingdoms as Kalinga, Utkal, Ordra, Koshal, Tosali, and Kangoda. From the early fifteen century it has come to be consistently called “Odisha” both in official and private records.
Kalinga is associated with prosperity and maritime glory to far east in middle ages to Java, Sumatra, Indonesia. Utkal is associated with rich sculptural and artistic excellence and the two names are synonym with Odisha.
Odisha is divided into five natural regions: the coasted plains, the river valleys and flood plains, the rolling uplands, the plateaus and the hills and the mountains. Odisha embraces the diversified floristic composition. The extensive ranges of hilly forests, several lofty peaks, long stretch of coastline, and excellent river in system, brackish waters and coastal plains together have capacities the state with a wide range of ecological habitats for a broad spectrum of vegetation.
