The Hotel Kalinga Ashok of Bhubaneshwar is another ITDC establishment in a State Capital. It is situated at Gautam Nagar, equidistant from the New Capital and Old Bhubaneshwar. It is a new establishment, very modern in architecture and outlook. As an Oriya I am proud of it.
If the Ashok Hotel of Delhi is the flagstaff of ITDC, the Hotel Kalinga Ashok is the flag carrier of ITDC, the India Tourism Development Corporation. It is a new modern Hotel in a new, modern and growing city, which is going to compete with Bangalore in the area of Software development. All the same, Bhubaneshwar has links with the old, and with Orissa’s rich heritage. It is built on the history and cultural heritage of Kalinga-Utkal-Orissa. The late Biju Patnaik had a fascination for the word ’Kalinga’. He wanted the Utkal University to be named as the University of Kalinga. It would have sounded great, and reminded the youth of Orissa all about Kalinga and its people, who were sailing for Bali, Java, Sumatra and other South East Asian countries for trade.
I have never stayed in Hotel Kalinga Ashok, but have participated in many conferences for which it was the venue. The last one I attended was in 1997, as a Delegate to a Seminar organised by UK-based ActionAid, which had its concluding session here. Its tea and Coffee are excellent. Its Working Lunch is so good that it can easily induce you to a deep slumber. The Ice Cream is fabulous. The staff are very humble and efficient.
Its large Conference room and small rooms for group discussion are very airy, and comfortable. It has secretarial facilities necessary for a Conference or Seminar.
Whenever I come here, I am reminded of Kalinga daughter Sanghamitra who weent to Sri Lanka, carrying the message of Buddhism. She established a cultural and religious bridge between India and Sri Lanka.