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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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An unusual sight

We recently saw a sight in our building, which is common in Kerala, but rather unusual for this city. Shankar was the first to spot the man atop our coconut tree, and suggested that it was a good opportunity for some photos.... So here they are...... shots of a guy at ease atop a coconut tree, and his descent... without any aids except his hands and feet............

















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Location: Chedda Nagar, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Comments

  1. AartiNovember 26, 2009 at 4:23 PM

    :)Oh i am always amazed watching them climb the tree with their bare hands and just that rope around their legs... amazing!!

    one guy comes home once every couple of mths to pull out all coconuts!! :)

    dint know they had it up North as well

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bhavesh ChhatbarNovember 26, 2009 at 5:06 PM

    Quite unusual in Mumbai! And did you notice, he did give you a look.

    About your query on my post Peacocks [Mor, मोर] of Morachi Chincholi [मोराची चिंचोली], I suggest the best place to stay is Pune only. It's just 50 kms. by road from Pune.

    ReplyDelete
  3. SoulSpaceNovember 27, 2009 at 8:21 PM

    how do i vote for yu?

    ReplyDelete
  4. SorcererNovember 29, 2009 at 7:22 PM

    cool!!

    i heard the contest for making a tree climbing robot is still on!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. MridulaNovember 30, 2009 at 6:03 PM

    Many congratulations on the nominations Anu.

    ReplyDelete
  6. IndraniDecember 1, 2009 at 8:35 AM

    Wow! Great captures.
    When I was small, i used to admire them for being so brave.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anuradha ShankarDecember 1, 2009 at 3:27 PM

    @ Aaarti: well, they do come by once in a while.... but they are difficult to get hold of them, esp since there are so few..... and in any case, our colony is more like a village amidst this busy city.....

    @ Bhavesh : yes, he did spot me, and was probably surprised to see someone taking pics!!
    thanks for the info...... have to go there sometime sooon.....

    @ Sorcerer : welcome to my blogs..... yes, i heard about it too......

    @ Mridula : thanks.... it was a great surprise.. as well as a great pleasure...

    @ Indrani : yes, me too.... never thought i would see one here...

    ReplyDelete

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