My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
I first heard of prehistoric
cave paintings at Anegundi through Lakshmi’s blog. It was especially interesting,
since I was then planning a visit there, and decided to add it to my agenda. We
had seen prehistoric cave paintings earlier at Lakhudiyar, on our trip to
Binsar, and wondered what it would be like, here. As our rickshaw driver drove
along the roads lined with hillocks on one side and fields on the other, I thought
of the differences between the two places. Lakhudiyar, though situated amidst the hills,
was located among the only outcrop of boulders in the area, which had no
foliage covering it. The rock overhanging the cave was shaped like the hood of
a snake, and was distinctly visible, even from a distance, while here, there
were boulders everywhere, and I couldn’t even begin to imagine which one of
them had been the abode of our prehistoric ancestors!
When we finally
stopped, it was right at the edge of a field, and I wondered for a minute if we
had reached our destination or the driver had stopped to relieve himself! Seeing
me hesitate, the driver asked me to get down, saying that we had reached. Shankar
didn’t seem too impressed, and refused to join us on our quest, opting instead
to spend some time in relative peace in the field without the non-stop
chattering of Samhith and me!
Leading us to a section
of rocks bordering the field, the driver showed us a narrow path we had to
take. The first thing I did was to keep my camera inside so that it would be
safe while I clambered up.
Samhith was in front of me, climbing up much more
easily than I could, and the first thing he did on reaching up, was to stumble
and fall! No, he didn’t get hurt, but he fell on his knees, right on some fresh
cow dung, and that remains, for him, the highlight of the trip! (He still remembers
the pant which got soiled, and avoids wearing it, even though it has been well
washed a number of times since!) The next few minutes rushed by as I managed to
clean him up with some grass and my kerchief, and then a passerby led him off
to some water which had collected in a puddle nearby, so that he could clean
himself. it was only then that I had time to look up and realize that we were
standing in a clearing atop the boulders we had seen on the road – it was a
sort of a plateau, hidden by the boulders, but with many more scattered here
and there. It seemed the kind of place our ancestors would have come to,
looking for safety.
As the wind disturbed
the dried grasses, some of which grew as high as my knees, I wondered what life
would have been like for those we call ‘prehistoric man’. Would they have been
safe from the predators here? If cows could manage to find their way up through
the narrow passage today, wouldn’t tigers have been able to come up here then? How
did they find this clearing in the first place? And how did they lead their
lives? It was impossible not to imagine our ancestors moving around among these
rocks, which were probably as old as time itself!
Once Samhith was clean
enough, we moved to see the paintings. We weren’t the only ones, but we were
the only Indians around. There were a group of people from France, with a French-speaking
guide who kept talking about the paintings. Unfortunately, he spoke too fast
for me to follow, and our driver knew little about them. He said few Indians wanted
to come here, so he rarely brought anyone, unless of course, they asked! I contented
myself with taking as many pics as I could. The paintings were spread over the
entire clearing, with three sets quite clear…
One had this drawing of
a snake…..
While others had bulls,
deer and other animals, including people….
The circular mark seen
here is apparently a burial symbol…..
Here are some more pics….
As we were leaving, our
driver called us to another section of the rock, where there were some marks
about 3 feet in length. According to him, these were footprints – either of the
prehistoric men (since this is obviously a prehistoric site), or, more
probably, the footprints of the Gods (since they obviously would have lived
here in prehistoric times). Samhith was all excited, wondering how tall the men
would have been, if they had feet this huge! It was rather a pity to tell him
that our driver probably had no idea what these were, and that they were
nothing more than erosion marks, but then, who wants to hear such lame
explanations? He remains convinced that our ancestors were about 10ft tall (at
least!), and that they left their footprints at ONLY this place!
I am not an expert on
these paintings… indeed, I know very little about them. For me, at least as of
now, it’s more of an experience….a desire to visit these places where man first
walked on earth. It makes me appreciate the small things in life, for we are so
lucky, so privileged to have them. Imagine living like our ancestors, having to
struggle for every meal, every piece of covering, even for a roof over the
head, not to mention the dangers lurking around every corner! And yet they
persevered, though it took centuries for things to change, for them to evolve! We
complain about the state of things today, but how many of us are willing to
work to make our dreams into reality. These places inspire me to work harder,
for I know that change is inevitable, and just like the time changed for them,
so will the time change for me!
Related Articles:
Would you have any pointers to get here? GSP coordinates/ rough direction etc?
ReplyDelete