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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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Khajuraho - The Unexpected

Khajuraho. The very name conjures up exotic images of erotic art on temple walls. However, there is so much more to Khajuraho than just the erotic, or even just temples. Last December, Samhith and I spent three days at Khajuraho, exploring as much of the ancient town as we could, and over the next few weeks, I shall try to show you the Khajuraho that we saw, beginning with this photo clicked at the Kandariya Mahadev Temple.



The Kandariya Mahadev is one of the most impressive temples at Khajuraho, and it’s the details which make it so impressive. This particular figure is of Agni, the God of Fire. Here, though, he is one of the Ashta-Dikpalas, the guardians of the 8 directions. Agni guards the South-East, and it’s his placement on the South East wall of the temple, which allows us to identify him here. Notice the finer details, such as his beard….



These photos are among my favourites; among the hundreds I clicked at Khajuraho, thanks to this female Plum-Headed Parakeet which chose Agni to be her perch!

Her mate was nearby, perched on one of the smaller Shikaras….




And they patiently posed for me as I went click-happy; thrilled by the sight of birds on a temple, a combination I am always thrilled to see!

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Location: Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh 471606, India

Comments

  1. BIGBIGBANGOctober 14, 2016 at 7:21 PM

    Lovely pics.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 15, 2016 at 9:39 PM

    ............Nice... ^_^v............

    ReplyDelete
  3. SudhageeNovember 23, 2016 at 10:29 AM

    I usually wait for the birds to fly away before taking pictures. :P

    But this time at the Rani ji ki Baori in Bundi there was a flock of pigeons who refused to fly away and all my pictures of the Baori are with them in the frame.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarNovember 23, 2016 at 10:41 AM

      And I look for birds to photograph! no matter where they are!

      looking forward to your pics of the Bundi! esp with the pigeons now!

      Delete

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