Bhubaneswar: With the celebration of Janmastami everywhere across the Ekamra Kshetra, the two heritage walks in the city today, i.e. Ekamra Walks in Old Town area and the Museum Walk at Crafts Museum, Kala Bhoomi have the touch of the festivity.
While a beautiful dance drama in Odissi unfolded the story of Krishna Janmastami or Janmastami or Gokulastami in short at the amphitheatre of Kala Bhoomi, the visitors at the Old Town Circuit got a touch of that celebration while going around Ananta Vasudev Temple, the only Vishnu temple in the Ekamra Kshetra with rich density of Shiva shrines.
Janmashtami is an annual major Hindu festival which celebrates the birth of Lord Ksrihna, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It is observed on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) in the month of Shravan and Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) in the month of Bhadrav, which overlaps with August and September of the English calendar.
While a traveler from US and 14 others from Odisha and outside constituted the 89th Ekamra Walks in Old Town Circuit, more than 50 turned up at the 13th Museum Walk at the Crafts Museum in Kala Bhoomi near Gandamunda during the afternoon.
Valerie Bauza from US said she was always fascinated by the old heritage structures and the ancient traditions of India and the Ekamra Walks today had given her a perfect occasion to know about the Kalingan temple architecture and the social traditions of the Old Town area. An environmental engineer by profession, she hopes to explore more such potential sites in the State Capital.
Sanat Dash, a resident of Brahmeswar area in the Old Town, who was part of the heritage tour said “though I am a local resident, I had no prior knowledge on the beautiful temples, their architecture, the stories behind their creation and many interesting tales associated with the mythological aspects. Today’s Ekamra Walks made me richer by many things as I came to know about so many things on the monuments and the Old Town. I wish this would take the tourism promotion to the ultimate level.’’
Aparna Menem said “the Ekamra Walks provided a refreshing and enchanting experience as it has to describe so many things through the guides to the visitor on the Old City of Bhubaneswar.’’
Mayank Tiwari, who has made Bhubaneswar his home, said “I am really delighted to know so many things on the old temples and heritage structures. I hope the initiative would definitely work towards promoting the heritage city in a big way.’’
Gayatree Tripathy, from neighbouring Millennium City Cuttack said “mine was a wonderful experience with the Ekamra Walks, visiting the Old City and exploring the monuments, which have given a World Class identity to the historic city. I wish the State Capital would get the World Heritage City tag as it is ornamented with so many beautiful monuments starting from 2nd Century BC to 15th/16th Century AD.’’
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