Puri: Once a magnet for backpackers, hippies and globe-trotters from across the Western world, Chakratirtha Road—popularly known as CT Road—came alive again Sunday as over 20 participants of the Puri Heritage Walks (PHW) revisited its rich yet fading legacy as an international tourism hotspot.
The walk, part of the 18th edition of the Puri Heritage Walks, was curated by heritage researcher Prasanta Kumar Mishra under the theme “International Tourism Trail: CT Road.” The initiative traced how, during the 1960s and 1970s, the bustling stretch of Puri evolved into a favourite haunt for foreign tourists seeking spirituality, simplicity and cultural immersion.
Starting near Hotel Bay View, the group walked to Honey Bee Café, where Mishra recounted how foreign travellers began arriving in Puri in the early 1960s, opting for affordable lodgings along CT Road. The calm seaside ambience and informal hospitality made the stretch a magnet for visitors, generating livelihoods for local residents and entrepreneurs.
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Drawing from personal anecdotes, Mishra shared memories of cultural exchanges with international guests over meals. He noted that the hippie wave of the 1970s brought a surge of tourists from Spain, Italy, Japan and other Western nations. As many visitors were unfamiliar with Odia cuisine, they introduced local cooks to global recipes, leaving a culinary imprint that endures.
Mishra cited examples such as Japanese omu rice evolving locally into “Om Rice,” while spaghetti, pasta, burgers and toasts gradually found a place in Puri’s café menus. Participants also learned how open-air eateries like Bamboo Restaurant and Shambhu Restaurant once thrived by serving foreign guests.
Anecdotes included stories of foreign women who married locals and later opened popular eateries along the stretch, with PHW coordinator Kumar Aurojyoti adding his lived recollections to the discussion. The walk also covered a Kashmiri handicrafts shop once popular with foreign tourists, Harris Café and several heritage landmarks, including the historic Madhupur Kothi—the former beachside palace of the Madhupur queen.
At Z Hotel, participants reflected on its nearly century-old legacy in Puri’s hospitality history before ending at Pink House Restaurant, where the original café structure still stands as a reminder of a bygone era.
As the PHW edition centred on international tourism, participants also attended the Odisha–Japan Festival at Talabania, enjoying Japanese performances, authentic cuisine and cross-cultural interactions. While the walk revived memories of CT Road’s cosmopolitan past, participants voiced concern over its declining global appeal, citing congestion, unplanned urban growth and a shift toward mass domestic tourism that has diluted its distinctive character.
Among those who joined the walk were PHW co-coordinator Ashoka Manjari Nayak, programme director Biswaranjan Dehury and several heritage enthusiasts.