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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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Mud Wasp

What do you do when you see a wasp? Stay out of its way? What do you think we do? Click it of course!!!!



This black and yellow wasp, probably a mud wasp, was busy building its nest on our balcony door in our room at the Club Mahindra Coorg Resort. It was fascinating to see how a little blob of mud quickly turned into a nest, all ready for occupation.


Unfortunately, not everyone shares our fascination for such creatures, and predictably, neither did the resort staff. We returned from a walk to find the nest gone, the door wiped clean. All we could do, was wonder if the wasp had found a safer place to build its home.
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  1. sriOctober 2, 2013 at 1:51 PM

    hahah :) quit a challenge

    ReplyDelete
  2. Meghana HassanOctober 3, 2013 at 7:45 AM

    Beautifully captured...

    ReplyDelete
  3. P.N. SubramanianOctober 5, 2013 at 11:43 AM

    Wonderful! Some of the wasps could also be found in the unused plug points outside our houses. Incidentally coul you please dispense with word verification as I am straining my eyes (may be of old age)

    ReplyDelete

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