Heritage tour at Twin Hills of Udayagiri-Khandagiri on Saturday got a special guest Dr Ramchandra R Chavan, who came alone on his cycle from Maharashtra to Odisha and shared his experiences with the heritage lovers, who were mostly from the city-based Xavier University, Bhubaneswar (XUB).
The doctor, who has a passion to travel across the country and various parts of the world by cycle, completed his journey from Malvan in Maharashtra and reached Konark, covering a distance of more than 2,000 km, covering the challenges within a period of 20 days only.
He entered Odisha through Sohela in Bargarh and found the people, State, environment and the Odia cultural traditions unique and lasting. While speaking about his experiences to the 30 odd students and faculty members of Xavier School of Communications, XUB, and other participants, Dr. Ramchandra said “I have come across different types of people and with different economic groups, but the people of Odisha in the remote areas are happy, cordial and friendly with their guests and forever helpful to a stranger.’’
Describing his challenges, the enterprising doctor with a love for cycling, said in a group the problem is not much, but here when the rider is alone, many things would pose as a strong challenge, including personal health. The winter months also pose danger for the solo riders.
The students of the Xavier School of Communications, XUB, also actively participated in the discussions during the heritage walk and also tried to capture every possible moments through their still and video cameras. They would be using the photographs and reports for their in-house journals.
Archisman Dash, 1st year student of BSc Mass Communication, said, “The tour has informed us many stories about the Twin Hills, which we had never experienced before,’’