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
The serene environs of Srirangapatna hide among them, scars
of not one, but four wars.
The crumbling fort walls, remnants of the massive
gateways, ruins of the erstwhile palace, and the dungeons, evoke memories of
those three decades, less than three centuries ago, when the four Mysore wars
tried the resilience of its citizens, over and over again.
These are grim
reminders of Srirangapatna’s past, and the ultimate sacrifices of its people ,
but the most poignant among them surely has to be the sight of this single
stone which stands as a testament to the bravest among the men who perished
here.
This simply engraved stone marks the spot where Tipu
Sultan’s body was found. This is one of the attractions which every tourist to
Srirangapatna visits, but few of us realise that he wasn’t found alone. His
body was found among ‘heaps’ of dead soldiers, to quote the ASI board at the
site, and the words only serve to emphasise the massive sacrifices made by the
people of this remarkable little town.
But above all, it speaks volumes of the courage of the man who stood up to the British, and fought for his beliefs, against all odds.
That he succumbed to the bullet of some ordinary, unnamed soldier reminds us
that he wasn’t among those who directed the war, but that he fought among his
men, shoulder to shoulder, and died among them too. My only knowledge of Tipu
Sultan was from all I had read about him – first at school, and later, through
books, and then, through a TV series on him. However, it was only as I stood
there, by that simple stone Colonel Wellesly had placed in his memory, that I
realized he had never felt more real!
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I just found your blog, and am enjoying it very much already. I hope to one day visit India, so I want to learn as much as I can about the history and people, and your posts will help me a lot! Now to go find out more about Tippu Sultan...
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Thank you so much, Natalie! I hope you get to visit India soon, and learn all you want to, before you do! If u need any help, feel free to send me a mail.
DeleteI have travelled through/ around Srirangapatna, but never visited this place at all. Quite a historical place. Is this a UNESCO Heritage site?
ReplyDeleteNo its not a UNESCO site, country hopping couple, but part of the ASI heritage sites. In fact ,there were boards all over, with a list of heritage sites in srirangapatna.
DeleteYes, its only when we visit the actual site we realise the importance and that person and how he must have faced the adversities.
ReplyDelete