Bhubaneswar: In an interesting coincidence the 90th Ekamra Walks Old Town Circuit today had 90 students from IIT Bhubaneswar with students from Computer Science, Civil, Mechanical, Electrical and Metallurgy branches joining the heritage tour to the Old City or Ekamra Kashtra explored the monuments, which remain as the symbols of Kalingan architecture, temple building tradition and dedicated craftsmanship.
Harshita Goud, a native of Hyderabad and a student of Civil Engineering from IIT Bhubaneswar termed her day’s experience as extraordinary and a learning occasion which showcased structures which have remained there for ages with such a detailed work on stone.
“Now-a-days we are listening to so many stories of building, bridge, residential complexes and mega structures collapsing due to lack of proper quality check or use of faulty techniques, but these structures from 7th Century or even earlier proved their perfect execution and strength proving that our ancestors had really mastered the engineering behind building temples and this had also influenced places beyond the Bay of Bengal or Indian Ocean,’’ she added.
Ashish Dev, a student of Civil Engineering from IIT Bhubaneswar, originally a resident of Delhi, said “I will give these beautiful structures 10 out of 10 marks for their beauty, stability and engineering marvel and if properly documented, these can be collectively covered under World Heritage Site monuments.’’
Shiva Prasad, another student from Telengana with the Civil Engineering Department of IIT Bhubaneswar was of the opinion that as the first interaction with such monuments, these are really with of high inspirational value for the present day structural engineers and structural engineers.
Rithika Gujrathi, another Civil Engineering student, who was with the mega group from IIT Bhubaneswar for the institute’s cultural exchange and outreach programmes, said that she is from Hyderabad and all temples of Ekamra Kshetra have the qualities to attract tourists from different corners of the globe.
Metallurgical engineering student Vinay Ahir from Akola in Maharashtra termed the Ekamra Walks Old Town circuit as a nice, interesting and enriching experience for every student.
Assistant ProfessorsYogesh Bhumkar and P Balakrishnan from Mechanical and Electrical engineering respectively termed the Ekamra Walks as an event for not only sightseeing, but learning the art and architecture of our past. Yesterday another group from IIT Bhubaneswar visited the Monks, Caves and KIngs heritage walk at Khandagiri and Udayagiri and many more students would likely to join in future.
Apart from the IIT students, the usual tourists for the Ekamra Walks also turned up in Mukteswar Temple and were explained everything on the monuments from the type of stones used, their sources and the essence of the Ekamra Kshetra in a storey-telling fashion. Both the groups were delighted to explore Ekamra Van, the medicinal plant garden on the Western bank of holy lake Bindu Sagar.
MUSEUM WALK
After the successful Ekamra Walks in the Old Town area in the morning hours 29 visitors visited the Crafts Museum at Kala Bhoomi near Pokhariput for the Museum Walk. The museum with its rich collection of terracotta, stone, wood, metal, craft, tribal art, pre-weaving technique and saree galleries have become an instant hit among the tourists, who want to explore the crafts of Odisha, which has ecelled in `kala’ or art. The other name of Odisha is thus aptly coined as Utkala.
Anittama Das, a visitor at Kala Bhoomi’s Museum Walk said “the diversity of the crafts at the Crafts Museum is immense and it’s a very attractive and engaging destination for visitors.’’
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