The Elephanta Caves , located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri, about 11 Km off the coast of the Gateway of India, Mumbai, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A visit to these caves, excavated probably in the 6 th century CE, is awe-inspiring, and also thought-provoking. Over the years, I have visited the caves a number of times, and also attended a number of talks by experts in the fields of art, history and archaeology on the caves. Together, they help me understand these caves, their art, and the people they were created for, just a little bit better. Every new visit, every new talk, every new article I read about the caves, fleshes out the image of what the island and the caves would have been like, at their peak. I last wrote about the caves on this blog, in 2011, almost exactly 11 years ago. Since then, my understanding of the caves has, I would like to think, marginally improved. Hence this attempt to write a new and updated post, trying to bring to life, the caves of Elephan
Solapur is an important city in Maharashtra most well known for its textile industry, and bed sheets in particular. I remember my mother waiting to buy Solapur bed sheets at the Solapur station en-route to Chennai (then Madras) during my summer vacation. All other bed sheets were considered inferior quality than the Solapur ones, and to do them justice, they outlive all the other varieties. There is still one Solapur bed sheet with a beautiful peacock pattern, one that was bought almost 20 years ago still occupying the pride of place in my mother’s house. We visited Solapur en-route to Pandharpur, Tuljapur and Akkalkot, and stayed overnight there for the purpose of catching the train back to Bombay. We had a few hours free and decided to visit the local Shiva temple, called the Siddheshwar temple, as it was a Shravan somvar (i.e. a Monday in the Indian month of Shravan, which is considered auspicious for Lord Shiva). We hardly knew what a treat was waiting for us, and I regret not taki