Senior citizens, youngsters and architects discussed the style and uniqueness of temples and monuments that dot the old city here during the year’s last Ekamra Walks.
The participants learned about the building style and plan of the Mukteswar Temple, famous for its arch, and the types of stone used for construction, the images of different gods and goddesses and how they have evolved through time.
Satyaswaroop Mishra, the guide, led a discussion on Saptamatrika or the seven fierce forms of Parvati near the Parasurameswar Temple. He discussed how shrines evolved from being centred on male deities to female deities: “With the genesis of more forms of Parvati, or Shakti, people gradually turned towards worshipping the female deity and it paved the way for Shakti upasana.”
Architecture student Swayam Swastik Das said: “Our temples are the perfect example of scientific adaptation of knowledge of the sun band prevalent in different seasons.”
Hitesh Seth said: “We are looking at the temples as monuments for the future by our past generations. We have to explore the architectural and structural details to know more about the engineering techniques of our ancestors.”
More than 3,150 people from 26 nations joined the 55th edition of the event. The heritage walk has become popular among tourists, and thanks to its vast various social media reach, its popularity is rising further.
Text by Anwesha Ambaly; Picture by Ashwinee Pati
