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Cuttack is the former capital & commercial capital of the state of Orissa, India. It is also the Judicial Capital of the State of Orissa as the Orissa High Court has its seat at Cuttack. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 20 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. The name of the city is an anglicized form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the ancientBarabati Fort around which the city developed. The city is spread across an area of 398 km2 (154 sq mi) and is situated at the beginning of the Mahanadi river delta. Cuttack achieved its significance as an important trade centre in 1750 under the Marathas rule and became a business hub for trade between the Marathas of Nagpur and the English Merchants of Bengal. Under the British rule, Cuttack became the capital of Orissa in 1816 and later on came to be the administrative headquarters of Orissa when the capital was shifted to Bhubaneshwar in 1948. Cuttack is also known all over the country for its exquisite and delicate silver filigree works with wires, horn and brass products, stone works of Puri, colourful silk and cotton textiles of Maniabandha and Sambalpur and for the appliqué works of Pipli.
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