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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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Ganesha on Facebook

As I do every year, this year too, I will take you along with me as I visit Ganeshas in and around my locality. I start the series today with our favourite Ganesha at the moment. This Ganesha has been installed in our neighbouring building, and Samhith went over to take a look as soon as it arrived. He came back all agog at the theme.....





The Facebook idea seemed to strike a chord with him! For the first time, he grasped the idea of a 'theme'. He dragged me to see the Ganesha, and actually spent a long time looking at all the small details. He especially liked the idea of cutting the poster to make space for placing the idol! Considering that he now knows how to chat with his aunts and uncles on Facebook (of course, he is only allowed when I am around!), he was also excited to see who who was 'online'.... the only thing he didnt understand was the 'poke'! "Why would anyone want to poke anyone? And would anyone like it if they were poked?" was his question... Any answers????


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Comments

  1. Indrani GhoseSeptember 3, 2011 at 10:09 AM

    That is a great idea well executed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. aJSeptember 3, 2011 at 7:12 PM

    Hehe... that question bowled me out :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anu ShankarSeptember 4, 2011 at 12:59 PM

    Yes, Indrani! we loved it and told the organisers too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anu ShankarSeptember 4, 2011 at 1:00 PM

    Yes, Aakash! it bowled me over too! kids come up with most interesting questions!

    ReplyDelete

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