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The Elephanta Caves

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
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Some Memorable Sights during my trip - And No temples this time.....

I have been writing pages and pages about my trip to Thanjavur and surrounding places, mostly temples. Here is something different. To finish off my series of blogs about my Diwali trip, let me invite you to join me in a different kind of tour – a tour through the eyes, or rather the lens of my camera. These are photographs taken over a period of 15 days, at various places. Let me assure you that there is not a single temple among them. These are purely of the sights I saw during my trip, something I will remember all my life, and would like to share with all of you.

From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip
the sun set during our return trip from Rameswaram

From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip
A lotus in a pond near Thirukkarugavur

From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip
The road covered with husks near Nagapattinam

From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip
A hermit crab leaving its shell at Kodikkarai

From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip

From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip
scenes near Vedaranyam

From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip
A canal covered with flowers


From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip

Butterflies perch on flowers at the Hotel Sadabhishekam nea Vaitheeswaran Kovil

From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip


From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip
A sparrow


From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip
A Kngfisher at Chaayavanam

With this, I come to an end to my blogs about the temples around Thanjavur. Hope to start another such series soon......
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Location: Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India

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