Temples, Old Town Traditions Mesmerize Australian Engineering Students

Bhubaneswar: Engineering students from Australia who are on a student exchange programme to India, today joined the 127th Ekamra Walks Old Town Circuit and were delighted to see the beautiful Kalingan Temple Architecture and style.

More than 10 students from Australia’s leading engineering colleges joined others to form a group of 27 walkers and it commenced from the 10th Century built Mukteswar Temple courtyard. Today’s walk started at 6:30 am and was attended by many professionals, local students among others.

Dibya, an Odissi dancer who was also one of the walkers today, showcased some of the postures that are depicted on temple walls associated with the dance. It was an electrifying moment to see the postures of the sculptures come to life.

Harry who is heading the Australian contingent informed that he did some research before coming to Bhubaneswar. He said “many of the tourists who come to India, visit places like Goa, Rajasthan or Kerala which are mainstream tourist destinations but we figured out Bhubaneswar is more culturally rich, cleaner and calmer. So we decided to visit this beautiful city of temples”.

The walkers today were fascinated by the centuries old temple traditions which are being followed even today. They were especially curious about the food being prepared at the Ananta Vasudev temple kitchen which they got to see during the walk. Ananta Vasudev is the only Vishnu shrine in the Ekamra Kshetra, which is mainly dotted with Shiva temples.

Georgia, a Mechatronic Engineering student from Australia said “this walk has been amazing. It’s been a really great chance to see everything that the city has to offer and all the new initiatives the city administration is taking up”.

Srimoyee, a banking professional who works with HSBC in Kolkata, said she has been born and brought up in Bhubaneswar but has never visited these temples the way she did today. She said “recently I read an article about the eco-friendly pens that are being given to the walkers and that triggered something in me and motivated me to attend the walk. I participated in the walk today and I feel proud to be from this city of temples. This is a great initiative and it is good to see that people from all over the world are getting to know our city and it’s culture”.