'Ekamra Utsav', named after the ancient name of a temple city, is a festival of which state?

The Ekamra Utsav is a cultural festival of Odisha held in Bhubaneswar, the capital of the state. It is named after "Ekamra Kshetra", the ancient name of Bhubaneswar, and celebrates the heritage, arts, crafts and food of the city and the state.

The name "Ekamra" means "a single mango tree" ("eka" means one and "amra" means mango). According to tradition, Lord Shiva was worshipped in this area under a single mango tree, and the region came to be known as Ekamra Kshetra, a sacred area of Shiva worship. The Ekamra Purana, a text of the 13th century, describes the sacred places of the region.

Bhubaneswar is known as the "Temple City of India", because it once had hundreds of temples, many of which still stand. They were built mainly between the 7th and 13th centuries CE and show the development of the Kalinga style of temple architecture. The most famous is the Lingaraja Temple, dedicated to Shiva as Harihara (a combined form of Shiva and Vishnu), built in the 11th century. Other famous temples include the Mukteshwar Temple (famous for its carved gateway), the Rajarani Temple, the Parasurameswara Temple and the Brahmeswara Temple. The Bindusagar tank, the Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves (Jain caves of the 1st century BCE, linked with King Kharavela) and Dhauli (where Ashoka's rock edicts and the Shanti Stupa stand) are also nearby.

The festival includes cultural programmes with Odissi dance and music, folk performances, exhibitions of Odisha's handicrafts and handloom (such as Pattachitra, silver filigree, applique work and Sambalpuri and Bomkai textiles), food stalls and heritage walks.

Other festivals of Odisha include the Rath Yatra, Raja Parba, Nuakhai, the Bali Jatra, the Konark Dance Festival and the Mukteshwar Dance Festival.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Tamil Nadu has the temple city of Kanchipuram.
• ✗Karnataka has the temple towns of Hampi and Pattadakal.
• ✗Gujarat has the temple town of Palitana.