US Ambassador joins Ekamra Walks

Bhubaneswar: US Ambassador to India Kenneth I. Juster came on a special Ekamra Walks and walked from the 10^thCentury Mukteswar to 11^th Century Lingaraj Temple.

The Ambassador, accompanied by Consul General Katherine B. Hadda from Hyderabad and other Embassy and Consular officials, started the heritage tour covering adistance of more than 1 km on Wednesday.

The US Ambassador showed keen interest in knowing the architectural style and the unique Kalingan way of temple building and especially, the beautifully designed arch of the Mukteswar Temple.

After that, he went to 7^th Century Parasurameswar Temple, which is also a masterpiece in temple building craftsmanship of the Odishan traditional architects or “sthapathis” as they were referred to in the ancient text.

After Parasurameswar, the Ambassador went through the Kotitirtha Lane and sawSwarnajaleswar and Kotitirtheswar Temples and reached the holy Bindusagar Lake and was fascinated by the view of the water body as the morning sunlight and the blue sky created a magnificent view.

He also clicked photographs with the priests performing traditional rites.

The 12^th Century Anantavasudeva Temple with its sought-after temple kitchen also attracted the attention of the US representative to India and he asked guide Sophia about the temple kitchen and how the cooks are managing to deliver delicious food centuries after centuries with the traditional cooking style with earthen pots.

After Anantavasudeva Temple, the US Ambassador had a look at the historic Doodhwala “dharamsala,” meant to accommodate the budget pilgrims in the Old City, sawthe Gourishankar Temple and went to the Curzon Mandap near the 11^thCentury shrine, famous for the worship of Lord Lingaraj, the presiding deity ofEkamra Kshetra.

 Throughout the heritage walk, the Envoy tried to capture the memories with his own camera and enjoyed the time with people, places, lanes and passages of Old Bhubaneswar.

Vice-Chairman Bhubaneswar Development Authority and Municipal Commissioner Dr Krishan Kumarthanked the US Envoy, Kenneth I. Juster, for joining Ekamra Walks, the first guided heritage tour of the city, which has become a major tourist attraction in recent times.