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
Our first outing of the year was to Jalgaon where we attended a havan and a puja. An auspicious beginning to the new year, wouldn't you say?
Considering that we perform so many rituals ourselves at home, I have always been fascinated by all the paraphernalia that we use for them. I used the opportunity at Jalgaon to click pics, not of the puja itself, which everyone else was doing, but of the preparations for the puja..........
Here is the puja site.. all ready and prepared....
Here are the essentials - water, haldi(turmeric), kumkum, chandan...etc. etc. etc...
i love that kamadalu-like vessel with the spout.. Don't know its correct name.... look at the tiny different shaped wooden articles next to it. They are used for the havan for making the offerings...
Fruits and flowers... and the spoons used for the havan... again, sorry, but the names elude me.
The Kalash - the central item....
and finally, the sacred fire....
For those of you who think this is too much, next time, I shall click pics at my mother's place of her puja.. you will be stunned by the number and variety of things she uses!!!
Good to see the prep. Its also critical to understand significance of each puja, which we never care about
ReplyDeleteI thought the Purnakumbha (the earthern pot filled with water with fresh leaves of the mango tree and a coconut placed on the top) is also important.
ReplyDeleteAm always fascinated by the amt of stuff we need for a simple puja or homam!!
ReplyDeletethe number of vessels[ gramma will have me up late at nite, sitting next to the cupoboards, pulling out stainless steel vessels, some of her mom's silver wares and wot nots].. but its something i look fwd to, quite enjoy it!! :)
and the bells.. small cups... the havan[earlier it was couple of bricks] n sitting platforms[palagais] n so much more!!
But what i wanna know is why we use them all.. significance... what the point... no one knows that :(
Yes, shrinidhi... very true... we spend hours on pujas, but few of us know the significances... am planning to write a series on the details... dont know when, though!:)
ReplyDeleteSpecial thanks to you Celine.... i hadnt even realise that the last two pics hadnt uploaded properly!!!! so the kalash is there....
and well, Aarti, as you say, i am the one to get the stuff ready, so am really fascinated by the variety of stuff we use, though i dont really know the exact significance too.... i was hesitant to write what i did know, 'cause i was scared of writing something unverified... so, another post shall follow with the significance of the pujas.......... once my mom and m-i-l are back, so i can cross check with them :-)
Nice to see another way of pooja arrangement different from what we follow.
ReplyDeletethe vessel with the spout is called Kindi. In olden days, in many of the Kerala homes, water filled kindis will be kept near the entrance for the visitors to wash their leg before entering.
Thanks Jayasree..yes,i did wonder if it was what we call a 'gindi'.. but the one i have looks somewhat different, except the spout!
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to see pictures and read bits about your culture. Your pictures are great, but mostly now I would like to read more about the pictures.
ReplyDelete