Urban Oriyas are the gentlest Indians—saying this from experience, of having worked with a few, and befriended many. That might make them seem simple and boring (like the local food perhaps), although if you've watched comedian Biswa Kalyan Rath (whose humour flows from the twang first), you'll know Oriyas can be funny, too.

But people aren't the first things you observe/notice as soon as you reach Odisha's capital, Bhubaneswar, as I did this weekend (for a day, to attend a literature festival). Bombay was bright as a white, Syska LED bulb, when I left at 5 pm. At 7.30 pm, Bhubhaneshwar appeared pitch-dark, as if well past 9pm.