Bhubaneswar: The 30th edition of Monks, Caves and Kings walk at the twin hills of Udayagiri and Khandagiri Saturday had students from Victoria University and Deakin University from Australia and a self-taught artist and writer from Bangalore and a heritage conservation expert, among others.
The six students from Australia, currently doing their internship at the city-based Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM) in Public Health and Nutrition, came with Professor Michael Mathai. The students will stay at CUTM till July 13.
Joshua Noonan from Victoria University (VU) termed the heritage walk as an interesting and interactive platform to learn the history of ancient Odisha.
James Grills, also from VU said, “the contribution of Emperor Kharavela, the powerful ruler of Kalinga, was nicely narrated by the guide and the stone work in the caves of both the hills is wonderfully done and some are even intact even after such a long time.”
Pratibha Singh from Deakin University termed the heritage walk as an educative venture to brief the visitors on the pre-historic caves and the contributions of the royals and their patronage of Jain religious beliefs.
Seema Misra, artist-cum-writer from Bangalore while walking through the entire heritage trail drew sketches of the caves and other elements as she uses her own drawings for her blog Lonely Canopy. Originally from the city, she is now staying in the IT capital of India as she is working with Hewlett Packard Enterprise as a technical writer.
“I love to write, draw, paint and watch world cinema or travel across it. I am planning to have a self-illustrated travelogue of my cozy and enchanting sojourns across the country,” Seema added.
Sridevi Changli, heritage conservation expert from Bangalore, who was part of the group, said, “the Capital City of Bhubaneswar has a wonderful mix of heritage relating to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Its unique temple architecture, cave art and cave paintings in Chandaka, Udayagiri and Khandagiri have made it an interesting heritage site of international importance.”
Monks, Caves and Kings is part of the Ekamra Walks, the only guided heritage walk series of the city, which has emerged as another important circuit on Saturday morning. Currently, the Old Town Circuit on Sunday morning and the recently introduced Museum Walk on Sunday afternoon at Crafts Museum, Gandamunda (Kala Bhoomi) are the other two engagements for heritage and crafts lovers.
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