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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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Sunset at Nainital


On my recent visit to Corbett as part of the Club Mahindra Bloggers Trip, we spent some time at Nainital. After roaming around the streets for a while, we took the ropeway to get a glimpse of the snow covered peaks of the Himalayas. The ropeway idea was just a lark, to spend some extra time at Nainital, but it turned out to be full of surprises - from the beautiful aerial view of the Naini Lake.....




To the snow capped mountains visible even to the naked eye!



A board announced the availability of "powerful binoculars" to get a better view of the snow clad peaks....



But the binocs turned out to be a pair of normal ones encased in an impressive - looking case, making them look much bigger, and I guess, more 'powerful'! And the long queue waiting for a peep proved their popularity!



The ropeway seemed to be quite popular, since we had to wait more than half an hour for our turn, and the whole place was filled with tourists having fun, which meant that there was quite a lot of noise! We moved away from the crowd, seeking some peace. Anyway, most of us had our own binoculars, certainly more 'powerful', and we were rewarded by the sight of many birds too - Verditer Flycatchers, Rufous Sibias, and Himalayan Whistling Thrush, among others.





As each of us got busy with our cameras, clicking away at either the landscape or the birds, time flew past, and it was time for us to resume our journey down the ropeway. As we began our downward journey in the cable car, the sun began its descent too……







A ropeway is no longer a novelty in India. There are many tourist spots which now boast of cable cars. But this journey reminded me of the simple thrills of a ropeway – the feeling of being high up and looking down at the ground through a new perspective. But above all, our ropeway ride served to help me filter out the noise and crowd and make the most of a beautiful place!


I decided to use this post for Sky Watch Friday instead of a single picture as usual. Hope you liked it! For more beautiful skies from around the world, visit the Sky Watch Page.

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Location: Nainital, Uttarakhand, India

Comments

  1. PN SubramanianNovember 4, 2011 at 12:56 PM

    I am envious. I will make it up some day.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rniranjan_dasNovember 4, 2011 at 1:03 PM

    Nice post about a lovely post. Good one Anu.

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. BindhuNovember 4, 2011 at 2:47 PM

    The shots are very lovely, Anu. The ropeway ride must have been awesome! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mridula DNovember 4, 2011 at 3:58 PM

    Looks like you all had a good time and caught a lovely sunset too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Team G squareNovember 4, 2011 at 6:32 PM

    Lovely place to be .

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anu ShankarNovember 5, 2011 at 12:13 PM

    I hope u do :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anu ShankarNovember 5, 2011 at 12:13 PM

    Thanks a lot!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anu ShankarNovember 5, 2011 at 12:13 PM

    had a wonderful time, mridula! and the sunset was much better than what i could capture!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anu ShankarNovember 5, 2011 at 12:13 PM

    absolutely! u shd go !

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anu ShankarNovember 5, 2011 at 12:16 PM

    It was wonderful, Bindhu, but the views more than the ride itself!

    ReplyDelete
  11. ZephyrNovember 5, 2011 at 5:34 PM

    Those were stunning pictures. Loved the sunset series best of all and the birds.

    The font is better now. Thanks. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Shrinidhi HandeNovember 6, 2011 at 12:54 PM

    nice pics Anu

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anu ShankarNovember 7, 2011 at 2:51 PM

    THanks a lot, Zephyr!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anu ShankarNovember 7, 2011 at 2:52 PM

    Thanks Shrinidhi!

    ReplyDelete
  15. KanthiNovember 7, 2011 at 3:11 PM

    Hey! It reminded me of my trip but I had not been on the ropeway! The next time I go I will get my own powerful binoculars :) :) :)

    The photos are extremely beautiful 

    ReplyDelete
  16. Santosh bsNovember 7, 2011 at 3:24 PM

    wonderful and the powerful binoculars is a nice laugh :)
    and by the way, there is round dust spot visible in many of the photos, probably need to clean you camera once :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Santosh bsNovember 7, 2011 at 3:27 PM

    and the sunset photos are beautiful and you are an opportunistic birder :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anu ShankarNovember 7, 2011 at 3:44 PM

    Thanks Kanthi!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anu ShankarNovember 7, 2011 at 3:45 PM

    Thanks Santosh! I realised that too, but still wondering how to clean my lens... tried it once,but doesnt seem to have made much of a difference!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anu ShankarNovember 7, 2011 at 3:45 PM

    Now, thats a nice term.. opportunistic birder... and fits me perfectly!

    ReplyDelete
  21. SudhageeNovember 14, 2011 at 9:26 PM

    The first picture is simply breathtaking, Anu. May I use it as wallpaper for my laptop? Please, please ...

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anu ShankarNovember 14, 2011 at 9:42 PM

    Sure, Sudha! will send u the large image by mail. the one on the blog might be a smaller sized one...

    ReplyDelete
  23. Sanjay Kumar NegiDecember 14, 2011 at 3:33 PM

    Wow' great photos kindly chk here also http://www.gonainital.com/

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anu ShankarDecember 25, 2011 at 10:30 AM

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  25. nainital hotelsSeptember 6, 2012 at 2:41 PM

    the is one of the best photo-descriptive way i have seen ever....great work...

    ReplyDelete

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