BHUBANESWAR: The 67th Monks, Caves and Kings Walks at Khandagiri-Udayagiri hosted travellers from Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, UN officials and from faraway Poland at Udaygiri hills here Saturday.
Visiting the archaeological remains of the famous Jain shrine, the visitors explored the colourful history, military prowess, religious and cultural developments and socio-cultural fabrics of the 2nd century Kalinga Empire.
Robert Roclawski, native of the historical city Olsztyn, was happy knowing so much about Odisha’s glorious past as it was known as Kalinga then.
“This Monks, Caves and Kings heritage trail has many things amalgamated into one. The history, carvings on the sandstone, the patronage of Royalty for the propagation of Jainism and the story of Emperor Kharavela as nicely narrated by the guide made a special day and I enjoyed the every bit of it,’’ Robert said.
Harikiran Bangera, an orthopaedic surgeon from Mangalore, who came with his wife and son, said that his wife being a professor at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here usually comes once in a month. “I had been to the Old Town heritage walk once, but today’s walk at Khandagiri and Udayagiri was a wonderful experience and we all enjoyed our time very much.’’
Chief of Field Office, Unicef Odisha, Monika Nielsen said, “The heritage trails under Ekamra Walks have really put a nice way to represent Bhubaneswar’s rich and glorious past so that visitors would get a slice of it through the guided tours.’’
Sathwik, studying in Class VII took much interest in the discussions and also asked a lot many questions to the guide and all the visitors enjoyed the conversations as the site has got some interesting elements like naming of the caves as per animals, members of the Royalty and the inscriptions with fabulous historic and archaeological values.
Sathwik has also a brother Sidharth, who lives in Mangalore with his dad. Harikiran is on a three-day family tour to nearby places this time.
Sandeep Kumar S, originally from Kerala and a staff with AIIMS Bhubaneswar came to join the walk with his friend Sunil Nair. “From AIIMS we are almost a regular group to the Khandagiri heritage trail. Many more friends are likely to join the expedition to explore the stories, tales and the mysteries behind the stone-carves caves and other stuff,’’ said Sandeep.
- Snigdha, a student of IIT Bhubaneswar who had heard about the Ekamra Walks from friends, joined the 67th Monks, Caves and Kings along with her father K. Gurumurthy and mother S.N. Padmavathi. Gurumurthy’s family from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh enjoyed the tour and they also participated in the interactive trail to know more about the famous monument with influences of Jainism and also partly Buddhism as evident from the structures atop the Udayagiri Hills.