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 Navaratri comes to a close, let me quickly take you to our local Mariamman Temple, a hub of activity during Navaratri, and show you their Golu...
The Golu itself is filled with dolls, crowding both the sets of steps.
Here are some interesting ones.
P.S. Most of these dolls have either been donated by people, or by our local shops. Therefore, it is no surprise to see some of the dolls we saw earlier on display. However, we liked some of them so much that we just couldn't help showing them to you again!
Mariamman is a village goddess, and shrines to her are common at the outskirts of villages, since she is believed to protect the village from danger, evil, and diseases. In our colony too, the Mariamman temple is located at one end, protecting us in more ways than one. For one thing, the lane can be quite dark, and it is the temple and its bustle that makes walking along that lane at any time of the day, and sometimes at night, safer! As you can see, the temple is quite a small one. The deity you can see is not the main one. It is a bronze replica of the idol, taken out in procession.
The Golu itself is filled with dolls, crowding both the sets of steps.
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| The smaller set of steps hold the older, more traditional, dolls, while the bigger one holds the newer ones. |
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| The smaller steps... Since I have shown you these before, through earlier posts, I am not showing you these in detail right now. To see the earlier posts, click here and here. |
Here are some interesting ones.
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| We loved this Ganesha on the moon |
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| This little shrine with the devotees is pretty, right? |
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| Here is another shrine, with more devotees... |
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| Birds, as usual, catch our attention.. |
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| And this lion, hiding behind, caught Samhith's attention! |
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| Kamadhenu, we have seen before |
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| and this one, the fortune teller too! |
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| This is a new one... looks like an interesting story. Just cant figure out which one! |
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| The huge vegetables look inviting! |
P.S. Most of these dolls have either been donated by people, or by our local shops. Therefore, it is no surprise to see some of the dolls we saw earlier on display. However, we liked some of them so much that we just couldn't help showing them to you again!
Beautiful pictures and the concept. Now that I remember we did something similar when I was very young in North India also. I don't think it was called Golu or the reason of celebration was same, but yes a lot of toys, dolls and idols of deities were decorated.
ReplyDeleteGood! so now maybe you can start again!!!
DeleteQuite interesting particularly the bifurcation of old and new. It is for the first time that I could see a temple Golu. Thanks to you.
ReplyDeleteI never knew about Golu until today. Thanks to you and your blog! :)
ReplyDeleteI have been following your blog ever since I found post related to skywatch on your blog.
beautiful! i really like the birds
ReplyDeleteWow..such a beautiful post.
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