Orissa is a state in India - it lies along the north eastern coast of India on the Bay of Bengal

The capital city of Orissa is called Bhubaneshwar. 'Bhuban' means world and 'Iswar' means God. It has over 600 Hindu temples and is known as the 'Jewel of Eastern India'.

There are temples in every town and village in Orissa. It also has beautiful landscapes, long sandy beaches and all kinds of wild animals, including white tigers, elephants, leopards and crocodiles.

31 million people live in Orissa and 80% of them live in the rural areas. The average amount of money people earn in a year is 431 rupees (£5).

There have been natural disasters in Orissa in recent years. In October 1999 a cyclone killed 50,000 people in the coastal areas. It left about one million people homeless and had a devastating effect on Orissa.

The village of Khalipathar is in the west of Orissa where the weather is very different. Drought is a problem here and this is getting worse every year. Some people think that this is because of global warming. In the past three years some people in the area have died from starvation.

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