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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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Red Flowers

Looking back, collating the images from my summer trip, I realized that we had seen many flowers, and most of them were red!! Here, take a look -

Red Passion Flower - can you see a bee buzzing in there?




Red Ginger
I saw these two flowers in the resort in Bangalore where I attended a wedding. Is it any surprise that I clicked them instead of paying attention to the ceremonies?

Lobster Claw or Hanging Heliconia

Flamingo Flower
These two were abundant in the compound of our hotel at Wayanad. It was impossible, not to click them!

Blood Lily
As to this one, it stood out proudly, the only splash of colour, in an otherwise green landscape, at the Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary Visitors Enclosure!

Beautiful, aren't they? And with such interesting names too!!!

P.S. Many thanks to Flowers of India for helping me identify them!

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