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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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Pictures of 7 Cat Species Found in 1 Forest - A Record

I stumbled across this as I was surfing through the net, aimlessly as always...... and then my eyes fell on this, and I was absolutely stunned!

This article from the National Geographic News tells us of a rare sighting of seven different species of cats - one of which was totally unknown there. But what was really surprising was the location - Assam! Yes,  in our very own country!!!! Hard to believe isn't it, considering the state of our forests?? Maybe everything is not yet lost....Let us salvage what we can while we still have it.

You can read the whole article here.


Meanwhile, I couldn't resist downloading the pics onto my blog..... All the photos belong to Kashmira Kakati, the wildlife biologist whose research led her to this wonderful sighting. Thanks to Kashmira and National Geographic for these wonderful pics..

Leopard

Leopard Cat

Clouded Leopard

Golden Cat

Jungle Cat

Tiger

Marbled Cat

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Comments

  1. A journey called LifeMarch 17, 2010 at 5:18 AM

    Hey Anu.. loved ur new organised look.. This made very interesting read.. thanks so much

    ReplyDelete
  2. SoulSpaceMarch 17, 2010 at 7:57 AM

    wow..thats awesome
    going by this i am hoping this Tiger no of 1114 is false and there are many more safely (and thankfully)hidden away in our forests
    and not the end of the world as predicted...
    eternal optimist!
    love the blue feel to yr blog..feels like I am at the beach...and thats my fav.spot!

    ReplyDelete
  3. sriMarch 17, 2010 at 8:50 AM

    you wont believe how happy and scared this news makes me. Happy that such things still exists intact, scared that it may be the last time we see them, even in pics. I really wish the forests are conserved for the wonderful bio diversity they have. And thanks a load for the pics!

    ReplyDelete
  4. chitraMarch 17, 2010 at 10:53 AM

    That is really good news Anu and thanks for sharing with us.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Julia DuttaMarch 17, 2010 at 11:02 AM

    Wow! That is something!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anuradha ShankarMarch 18, 2010 at 10:30 AM

    @AJCL: thanks a lot...knew this would interest a lot of people like us, which is why i put this up...

    @ssstoryteller: i hope so too...... thanks...... i just noticed the new template designer on blogger and tried it out.....

    @Sri: absolutely!!!! it is great news certainly, but we dont want more tourists rushing there trying to spot them and disturb their habitat!!!

    @CHitra : its really great news..

    @Julia: Absolutely!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. UshaMarch 18, 2010 at 11:25 AM

    Hey
    This is awesome stuff! I'm fwding the link to ur blog to a few of my friends!

    ReplyDelete
  8. SaravananMarch 29, 2010 at 9:02 PM

    It is quite exciting to see all 7 breeds of cats

    ReplyDelete

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