CET architecture alumni join 78th Monks, Caves and Kings

Bhubaneswar: Members of Forum of Architecture Alumni of CET, Bhubaneswar (FAACET) today took part in the 78th Monks, Caves and Kings the famous Jain heritage walk under the umbrella of Ekamra Walks at the Twin Hills of Udayagiri and Khandagiri.

FAACET is the registered Alumni Society of the Architecture Department, CET, Bhubaneswar, formed in 2016. It has successfully conducted three alumni reunions in the past with overwhelming response from all the alumni members. Apart from the regular alumni meet, FAACET also takes up critical social issues and tries to tackle the same with inputs from experienced senior architects.

The theme of this year’s meet is “CONNECT’’ and the organisation is celebrating its reunion on August 9 and 10. Today being the second day of the annual event, the members of FAACET took part in the walk curated under Ekamra Walks initiative by the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA).

Advisor to FAACET and senior architect Akshaya Beuria, who led the walkers from the forum said “we might have visited the Twin Hills before, but the stories associated with the history, archaeology and other elements always mesmerise us. Today’s experience for us was unique under Ekamra Walks.”

Culture lovers and heritage explorers were enchanted by the fabled tales etched on cave walls of the twin hills of Khandagiri and Uadayagiri in another group along with the members from FAACET. They enjoyed the stories of the evolution of these caves and the history of Odisha. Many of the walkers who belong to Bhubaneswar were especially because they didn’t know many of these stories even though they have visited these hills many times in the past.

Ankitasha Mishra, a student preparing for competitive exams was taken aback to see some of the carved panels are so beautifully preserved even after a thousand years. She said “even though the sculptures are very well preserved we need to take drastic steps to save them from getting destroyed due to climate change and urbanisation. All of us can devote some time on the weekends to take part in these heritage walks and learn about our priceless history and culture so that we don’t lose them”.

The 78th Cave Trail at the Khandagiri and Uadayagiri caves hosted students and professionals from across the country. The walkers loved the way our history is presented for the entire world to relish.

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