Nandankanan Park Walk: The Human Touch Behind Rich Biodiversity

Bhubaneswar: It is quite ironical that human beings are both destroyers and saviours of nature. The nature trail, Nandankanan Park Walk is an attempt to acknowledge the people who play a vital role in conserving a plethora of remarkable biodiversity at the famous Nandankanan Biological Park.

Eighteen nature lovers joined for the latest morning escapade to Nandankanan Biological Park as part of .FEST (Bhubaneswar City Festival).The nature trail includes a guided tour through the conservatory. The enthusiasts at today’s walk were as diverse as the biodiversity and included journalists, architects and food bloggers from different parts of the country.

Bhubaneswar Nature Walk with its two pronged approach aims to conduct two walks on Saturday and Sunday at Nandankanan Biological Park and Chandaka Wildlife Reserve respectively.

The open air aviary left the wildlife enthusiasts awestruck with a visual feast of kaleidoscopic range of birds. The walkers got a close view of the feeding centre at the Veterinary Centre. They were impressed by the efforts made by the zoo keepers for the conservation of the Asiatic Lion and Royal Bengal Tiger. Young visitors were inspired by the exemplary work done towards the conservation and propagation of some endangered species.

Nandankanan Park Walk is an initiative by Bhubaneswar Development Authority and curated by Playbook to encourage the understanding of the role of community in the preservation of nature.

Bhubaneswar Art Trail

The Bhubaneswar Art Trail features 1.3 km of medieval monuments, monasteries, schools and residential buildings and is the setting for artworks by 24 artists from India and abroad. These art works, part of a unique public art exhibition in lived spaces, can be viewed by the public from 8 am to 7 pm every day.

Guided walks by volunteers are conducted every Saturday and Tuesday at 8:30 am and 5 pm. These walks begin at Guajhara premises and end at Nilakantheswar Temple, which marks the end of the trail.

The guided walks have attracted visitors of many kinds, from international tourists, school children, families and local denizens of the Old Town. The walks include detailed descriptions of the various exhibits, explanation of artist concepts and a poster exhibition titled ‘Mahatma on Celluloid’ consisting of rate film posters of movies on Gandhian values from the National Film Archives of India, Pune.

Visitors have found the mix of contemporary artworks using materials like bamboo, metal, found objects like used food pots and earthen lamps a riveting visual mix. Repeat visits in the evening are quite common to take in the lighted artworks and sights and sounds of the Old Town.