Bonding, Sense Of Unity Culminates 96th Monks, Caves And Kings At Twin Hills Heritage Trail

Bhubaneswar: Fifteen participants, a small but known group, took part in the 96th Heritage Trail at Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves. Serving as a prelude to the temple stories of Bhubaneswar, the Heritage Trail had a family from Baroda visiting Bhubaneswar for the first time, a group of entrepreneur friends, a Bhubaneswar-based couple who are now settled in London and two students from Regional Institute of Education forming a diverse group.

The trail left everyone with a sense of wonder at the ancient history of the sites, not just in terms of temples but also in terms of heritage and its significance it still holds in present times. The initiative behind Heritage Trail of educating the people on the city’s heritage and culture and catering to different groups of visitors through different kinds of trails left the walkers impressed. The fact that the walks started back in December of 2017 and have taken place uninterrupted in these 2 years barring the time during Cyclone Fani, was also commended.

The trail ended with an ice breaker session among the walkers with everyone introducing themselves and a walk down the memory lane, quite like the Heritage Trails itself. One of the walkers, Pradyumna Mohanty, an IT Consultant, originally from Bhubaneswar, now settled in London, reminisced about his visit as a toddler to the twin hills. Decades later, this visit with his wife Priyanka, a banker at Bank of Baroda, also settled in London, turned him into an ardent heritage lover.

The 96th Heritage Trail served as a reminder to everyone present about the importance that the oldest of old heritage sites still have and that the heritage and culture doesn’t end at just temples in our temple city.

With plans to introduce Cycle Walks sometime next year, Heritage Walks is looking forward to more visitors, travellers, and friends  to join them on this enlightening and memorable journey.