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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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Spot That Bird! White Cheeked Barbet

Sitting on the balcony of my room at the Club Mahindra Kodagu Valley (Coorg), I heard this bird long before I saw it. From this pic, can you guess why?





This is a White Cheeked Barbet, a common bird in these parts, but nevertheless, a lifer for me.


The White Cheeked Barbet is endemic to the Western Ghats, and the hills around it. They are frugivorous, which means, they mostly eat fruits, though they also eat insects at times. Interestingly, Wikipedia tells me that they are arboreal, which means they live on the trees, and rarely visit the ground - not even to drink water, like some other birds. They get most of their water intake through their fruity diet! 


These birds play an important role in the forest as seed dispersal, and, at times, pollination agents. Thankfully, they still seem to be plentiful, and not endangered. 



Capturing one on camera, however, turned out to be a difficult task. I eventually managed to click these pics later in the day when I left my room and went wandering around, looking for it! 


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Location: Kodagu, Karnataka, India

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