Bhubaneswar: The 75th Ekamra Walks Old Town circuit saw participation of nearly 70 heritage enthusiasts as they explored the history and culture of the Ekamra Kshetra in two different groups here Sunday.
Senior officials from State Bank of India (SBI) formed the first group with the Deputy Managing Director (DMD) of SBI Corporate Centre in Mumbai and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of SBI Mutual Fund, Anuradha Rao, joining in with other senior officials of the bank’s regional and local offices.
The second group consisted of members of Odisha State Tourists’ Guide Association (OSTGA), Odissi dancers, visitors from other parts of the state and writers and architecture students from Mumbai.
Praising the weekly heritage walk as an interesting event, the CEO of SBI Mutual Fund said, “Though I have been here before, but I hadn’t taken part in any heritage walk. Indeed, it is very nice to learn about the heritage, ancient cultural practices and last but not the least, the distinctly unique Kalingan temple building style and architecture, which was the highlight of today’s walk.”
Apart from the DMD of SBI Corporate Centre in Mumbai, CGM Sanjeev Naryani, GM-II Kolkata Regional Office Mahesh Goel and Sanjay Tiwari, GM SBI Corporate Centre Mumbai along with other local senior officials were part of the special group comprising the SBI team.
Globetrotter Paulo from Italy also joined the walk among others and explored the monuments. He was there at the 24th Monks, Caves and Kings heritage walks in Udaygiri and Khandagiri.
Sujata Patnaik, a travel writer and professor in English Literature from Chatrapur in Ganjam district, termed the walk as an innovative concept to attract tourists from across the globe. “I will definitely request everyone in my circle to be a part of this walk,” she added.
Sujata’s husband, former scientist with Indian Rare Earths and now independent consultant, RC Patnaik, hailed the efforts of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, Bhubaneswar Development Authority and Odisha Tourism and hoped that similar initiatives would be replicated in other parts of the state.
“The entire state is home to beautiful monuments with rich history and matching legends to stir the imagination of tourists from India and abroad,” he said.
Ashish Supakar, a student from Academy of Architecture, Mumbai said, “Being a student of architecture, the experience after participating in the Ekamra Walks is great as the guide ports you to a different era of temple-building.”
Sweta, a freelance writer based in Mumbai, who was part of the walk, termed her experience as “enriching”.
