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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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White Browed Wagtails

It was at Tirunelli Temple in Wayanad that we saw the White Browed Wagtail, strutting about on the temple roof. Waiting for the temple to open, I had plenty of time to click photos....





And then, on my recent visit to Jog Falls, we saw the bird again, this time, a pair....



I wondered if the brown one was the female..



but a bit of reading tells me that its a juvenile.



The bird is quite a common one, and is frequently seen near water bodies, and is known to nest on roof tops. Interestingly, the scientific name of the bird is 'Motacilla Maderaspatensis', derived from the city of Madras, now called Chennai!


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