In the 25th edition of Ekamra Walks on Sunday, the participants were entrepreneurs, artists and scholars who asked for promoting the heritage of the city in a bigger way.
As the walk was held on the eve of the World Environment Day, 2017, the walkers also got a nice briefing on the traditional plants and shrubs.
They got the knowledge while visiting the medicinal plant garden Ekamra Van, on the bank of Bindusagar.
Anita Sabat and Amrita Sabat, two sisters and promoters of Sabat Exports Private limited were part of the heritage walk and they came in traditionally designed dresses with Odishi and Sambalpuri motifs and after the tour said that the temples of the State capital could be a treasure trove for designers as the traditional designs and motifs are present on their walls in plenty and the new designers could always take a lead from them.
Saying that students of institutes like the National Institute of Fashion Technology and Apparel Training and Design Centre, Bhubaneswar, could be greatly influenced by the art works on stone, they described how the traditional designs on their products have become a hit in the national and international fora and getting recognized for highlighting the old art forms from the ancient monuments.
Saying that all the cities like Sydney, Kuala lumpur and Singapore do have heritage tours (both free and paid) but do not have the old monuments like that of Bhubaneswar, the Sabat sisters called for united efforts from all agencies concerned to promote Odisha’s art and heritage elements with a untiring zeal.
Kashish Bharti, a dancer with the Art Vision institute, run by renowned Odishi and Chhow exponent Ileana Citaristi, who was part of the Ekamra Walks along with her mother, said, “The Odishi dance form has adopted its postures from the sculptures of the temples. The different poses or mudras on the temple walls are really inspiring and you find them fresh still after several visits. The facts and historic tales described by the guide are interesting and we often take note of them to enrich our knowledge on Odishi.’’
Kashish is learning Odishi for last seven years at the Art Vision and trying to take dancing a career in future. “I am inspired by the culture of Odisha and Odishi, but the heritage walk is equally inspiring as it is a learning point of several ancillary things,’’ she added.
Sai Shankar Sarangi, who came to the Ekamra Walks for the second time, tried his hands over the flutes and had a jugalbandi along with the flute artist Jagat Patnaik, who is a regular flute player at Ekamra Walks.
Sai Shankar is a Ph.D scholar at Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, and has learned playing flute on his own.
The participants visited Mukteswar, Parsurameswar, Sampurna Jaleswar, Kotitirtheswar, Bindusagar, Ananta Vasudev, lingaraj, Sari Temple, Mohini Temple and had an Odishi recital at the Art Vision.