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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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Purple Sunbird

We have plenty of Purple Rumped Sunbirds visiting our home, but the Purple Sunbird is rare. On our very first day at Mount Abu, as we waited in the garden while our room was being readied, these birds kept us engaged and happy. Sitting on the swing, seeing these birds flutter among the flowers was a wonderful beginning to our unplanned holiday.....








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  1. BattlefieldMarch 12, 2012 at 6:01 PM

    beautiful pictures..
    It is exactly opposite in gandhinagar. Many purple sunbird but few purple rumped sunbirds.

    ReplyDelete

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