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
As trips go, the unplanned ones usually turn out to be the most fun, and our trip to Mahabaleshwar was no different. Looking back, it seems unbelievable that we went at all! The visit was a short one, but we managed to pack quite a bit into the time we had, but what was really memorable was the heavy rain which dominated our stay at the hill station. I have been to Mahabaleshwar before, but never in the monsoon, and the season certainly added an extra bit of gloss to the entire trip!
The Venna Lake is the highlight of Mahabaleshwar. I remember going boating on the lake on my first visit there, and it is usually packed with tourists... so packed that the last time I was there, we had to give boating a skip since the queue seemed to be never-ending! And here is my favourite photo of this trip - the Venna Lake in the monsoon! It was amazing how the clouds and the water seemed to merge....
That was just a glimpse of our trip. Read a more detailed account on my post on the Club Mahindra Blog....
Soaking in the spirit of Mahabaleshwar
The Venna Lake is the highlight of Mahabaleshwar. I remember going boating on the lake on my first visit there, and it is usually packed with tourists... so packed that the last time I was there, we had to give boating a skip since the queue seemed to be never-ending! And here is my favourite photo of this trip - the Venna Lake in the monsoon! It was amazing how the clouds and the water seemed to merge....
That was just a glimpse of our trip. Read a more detailed account on my post on the Club Mahindra Blog....
Soaking in the spirit of Mahabaleshwar
It seems that you have enjoyed a lot. I had been in Mumbai for 4 years. Many times I thought of going there, but unfortunately that never happened.
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Yes, we did, Krishna! you should go sometime.. but dont worry.. i visited Mahabaleshwar for the first time after living in mumbai for 25 years!! since then i have been there thrice! and there are so so many places i havent been to yet.. can u believe i have still not been to matheran?
DeleteThats a beautiful click. Never been here.
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Thanks a lot, Niranjan! you will love the place!
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ReplyDeleteAnuradha Shankar, We loved the way of your writing, we would like to make you our guest blogger. contact us at www.facebook.com/ravinehotel for further details.
Thanks.
Thanks a lot, but can you please send me a mail at anushankarn(at)gmail(dot)com ?
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