Odisha: Doctors take time off to explore monuments through 60th Ekamra Walks

Bhubaneswar: The 60th Ekamra Walks Old Town and Lingaraj Circuit had a group of leading doctors today during the heritage tour. While out of 35 visitors six were doctors, most of them were gynaecologists, who were here to attend the All India Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (AICOG), 2018, in the city recently, some were also from abroad and inside India, who were here just for visiting the city and exploring the Old City and discovering the monuments.
Prof Chitra Ramaswamy from Calgary, Canada was also joined as a walkers today with the Ekamra Walks, four students from the School of Architecture, KIIT University, also joined the event.
Dr. Rekha Khandelwal, a leading Gynaecologist from Delhi, who joined the walk with her paediatrician husband Dr Rajiv Khandelwal, said “we are extremely happy to know so many stories and legends on the beautiful monuments of this Temple City. I had come to the city before, but they were confined to the airport and the place of my stay. This time I am really happy to see the temples and also some rituals.’’
Dr. Rajiv Khandelwal said “we must try our best to preserve our heritage and also organize regular activities for their popularity so that even locals would visit them regularly. I am happy that the local tourists are also joining Ekamra Walks in large numbers.’’
Gynaecologist Dr. Reena Khandelwal and her ophthalmologist husband Dr CP Khandelwal termed the heritage walk as a great learning point and they were happy to see the Odissi performance at Art Vision, a dance institute for the Classical dance, established and managed by renowned Guru Ileana Citaristi.
Paediatrician from London Dr. Reeta Gupta, who joined the Ekamra Walks Old Town Circuit with her sister Deepa Agarwal from Bihar, said “though my sister has visited the city before, this is my first visit to Odisha and within a week’s time we are planning to visit as many places as possible.
Rajeswari Sahoo a student from School of Architecture, KIIT University, said “the ancient temple architecture of Kalinga was unique and its imprint is seen in many places of Asia and South East Asia. The heritage walk will help the visitors to know more about its uniqueness.’’
Kumaresh Ghosh, another student of School of Architecture, KIIT University, said “though our artisans have created the monuments of the Old Town in Bhubaneswar between 6th and 16th Century AD, they are so rich in showcasing the old school of architecture that we must preserve them with all modern tools and methods, so that the monuments will last forever.’’
Besides seeing the monuments the heritage walkers also visited Ekamra Van, the medicinal plant garden and saw Odissi dance at Art Vision.