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
We have seen Red Wattled Lapwings in Mumbai, but got a really close look at them while at Mount Abu and Udaipur. Though it was summer, there was plenty of water, and these birds were prominently visible near every water body we visited.
A pair of lapwings at Nakki Lake, Mount Abu....
We saw these birds when we went boating, and couldn't get any closer.....
And then at Udaipur, they were everywhere!
Nehru Park, on an island in the Fateh Sagar Lake, was a bird haven - we saw many birds and lost count of time photographing them. There were plenty of lapwings there.....
Some of them seemed to be nesting... we saw many like these sitting down at the same spot, and wondered if it was a nest.....
We even saw one bird sit down in the middle of the path!
In the same garden, some of the lapwings seemed unafraid of us, and allowed us to come close, giving me some wonderful photos!
After all those male and female lapwings, it was time for the young ones! We saw these chicks at the Udaipur zoo. No, they weren't in the enclosures, but were walking around freely, which only made the experience more memorable!
A pair of lapwings at Nakki Lake, Mount Abu....
We saw these birds when we went boating, and couldn't get any closer.....
And then at Udaipur, they were everywhere!
Nehru Park, on an island in the Fateh Sagar Lake, was a bird haven - we saw many birds and lost count of time photographing them. There were plenty of lapwings there.....
Some of them seemed to be nesting... we saw many like these sitting down at the same spot, and wondered if it was a nest.....
In the same garden, some of the lapwings seemed unafraid of us, and allowed us to come close, giving me some wonderful photos!
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