Ekamra Walks add a dash of Odissi, herbs to temple trail
Bhubaneswar: On Sunday, members of the Ekamra Walks, the weekly heritage walk of the city, were treated with two wonderful recitals of Odissi by the students of Art Vision, the institute run by renowned Odissi and Chhow exponent, Guru Illeana Citaristi.
The 10th edition of this popular temple trail saw more than 20 members get a warm welcome from Citaristi at her house which is also her dance school. Matching upto the architectural heritage, she has adorned her house with major elements from Kalingan style and even incorporated an open stage into the building, where her disciples performed Dasamahavidya and Mangalacharan, two items in Odissi and left the heritage walkers in awe.
The tour this time included four foreigners, two from France and two from United States of America and nearly 10 from outside the state.
Earlier, Director Tourism Nitin B. Jawle welcomed the visitors at Mukteswar. He also added that there is a plan to include the visit to Art Vision, an element in the route map of the Ekamra Walks, as it has already become one of the major heritage spots and learning centres with more than 60 girls getting the tutelage in Odissi dance from their Guru.
Earlier, at around 7 am as usual, the Ekamra Walks started from Mukteswar Temple and covered Parasurameswar, Swarnajaleswar, Kotitirtheswar, Bindusagar, Ananta Vasudev, LIngaraj, Chitrakarini, Suka-Sari Deula, Bindusagar Parikrama encircling the holy lake, Vaitaal Temple, Art Vision campus and ending at Ekamra Van to see the wonderful medicinal plant garden.
TEASER OF EKAMRA WALKS RELEASED: Meanwhile, De Tour, the agency conducting the heritage walk under the guidance and support from Bhubaneswar Development Authority, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and Odisha Tourism, has come out with a teaser on the weekly heritage walk and it has generated a great response among the public, and mainly among the young mass.
During the weekly heritage tour walkers today also had an experience inside the temple kitchen of Ananta Vasudev temple, the only Vishnu Temple in the Ekamra Kshetra, which is dotted with the maximum number of Shiva shrines.
They also had a feel of the traditional heritage district of Old Bhubaneswar, which has taken a huge transformation from the ancient Ekamra Kshetra to the modern-day Capital city of Odisha.
