The famed 'Gateway of India'& 'Taj Hotel' of Mumbai in one frame
We
had a full day to ourselves on the second day of visit to Mumbai, as for the
half day on our first day of our visit, we had explored visiting Mumbai, which is
detailed in my previous blog (titled ‘Visiting Mumba’).We had planned a visit to the famed Elephanta
Caves on the second day.I tried to
glean some information from the reception clerk of the Hotel regarding ferry
timings from the famed ‘Gateway of India’, but he did not have much information,
except for that the ferry ride starts at 10.00 A.M.Since I too could not gather much
information, I decided to start from the hotel at around 9.00 A.M.However, the late serving of B’fast, despite
my having instructed them on the previous day, delayed our scheduled visit by
about 20 minutes and we started only around 9.20 A.M.The weather was a bit sultry that day, but
when I reached the famed ‘Gateway of India’, I found that there was no dearth
of boats leaving for Elephanta Caves and there were a plethora of operators
offering return trips from as low as Rs.140/- per person onwards to average of Rs.200/-
per person, depending upon the size of the boat used for ferrying and the
service starts from around 9.00 A.M onwards.
The ferry boats at Gateway of India jetty ready to ferry passengers to Elephanta Caves
All set to embark on the journey to Elephanta Caves
As the Sea Gulls fly alongwith the ferry boat
Waiting for the train ride at Gharapuri island
Lovingly
called the City of dreams, Mumbai is the financial capital of the country and
is brimming with life 24X7.One of the
most famous monuments of Mumbai is the ‘Gateway of India’, which was built to
commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Many in 1924.The monument is a huge gate like structure
constructed in Indo-Saracenic architecture style, overlooking the Arabian Sea
and the Mumbai harbor and it took four years to complete this structure.The area is a sought after destination by
both domestic as well as foreign tourists visiting Mumbai and being set with
background of the famed Taj Hotel, a large number of instant photo makers will
converge on you to get a photograph taken with either of the structures as
background and do a brisk business.Besides this there are hordes of other vendors pedaling their wares
from balloons to food items, who will also bicker you to buy their
products.But the main thing that the
tourists must be aware of is that being an overcrowded location, especially the
ferry ticket counter area, it is infested with notorious pick pockets etc.,
therefore, visitors should be extra vigilant in this region.
As the climb for the Elephanta Caves begins
Since
the mechanized boats ferrying passengers to the Elephanta Cave start the
journey from the small jetty at the Gateway of India, there are a plethora of
boats of all sizes, shapes and colour jostling along the jetty, waiting for
their turn to pick up their load of passengers.The Elephanta Caves are situated about 11 Kms from the Gateway of India
on an island called Gharapuri, which is also called the ‘Island of the Caves’.The journey from the Gateway of India to the
island takes about 45 minutes to an hour depending upon the type of boat one
has purchased tickets for and from the jetty of the island, it is another 1.5
to 2 Kms. trek to the base of the hills, wherefrom about a 100 odd stairs take
you to the hill top.However, there is a
small train like contraption that ferries passengers from the jetty to the base
of the hillock and it’s ticket costs Rs.10/- for a return journey and during
the hot summer days it saves a person a lot of hard work and sweat, if one
chooses to travel by it.We immensely
enjoyed our ferry ride from the Gateway of India to the Island of Caves, with
the Sea Gulls flying around the sea breeze making the journey a pleasant &
memorable one.Occasional sighting of
huge tankers or other ships, including a cruise ship was an added bonus during
the trip through the Arabian Sea.
We finally reach the famed Elephanta Caves
The entry to Cave No.1
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (2)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (3)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (4)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (5)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (6)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (6)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (7)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (8)
Historically,
the Elephanta caves date back to the 2nd Century B.C, wherein some
relics related to Buddhist culture have been discovered. The rock cut caves are attributed to medieval
India and are dated back to 450 to 750 A.D.
Being an important trade route, this island remained under control of
various Kings right from 400 AD and the rock hewn caves are attributed to have
been constructed during the reign of Pulakesin-II of the Chalukya dynasty of
Badami. The
most important amongst the caves is the great Cave 1, which measures 39 metres
from the front entrance to the back and the main body of the cave,
excluding the porticos on the three open sides and the back aisle, is 27 metres
square and is supported by rows of six columns each.The layout of
the caves, including the pillar components, the placement and division of the
caves into different parts, and the provision of a sanctum or Garbhagriha of
sarvatobhadra plan, are important developments in rock-cut architecture. The
Elephanta Caves emerged from a long artistic tradition and one will see some
of the highest watermarks of medieval India's sculptural art.
Cave No.2 - The entry to the cave
Cave No.2 - The sculpture inside (1)
Cave No.2 - The sculpture inside (2)
As we return back - the view of Gateway of India and Taj Hotel from the sea.
The
Cave number 1 is resplendent with various stone cut motifs and sculptures and
the chief amongst them is the 7-metre-high masterpiece
“Sadashiva” that dominates the
entrance to Cave. The sculpture represents three aspects of Shiva: the Creator,
the Preserver, and the Destroyer, identified, respectively, with Aghoraor Bhairava (left
half), Taptapurusha or Mahadeva (central full face),
and Vamadeva or Uma (right half). Representations
of Nataraja, Yogishvara, Andhakasuravadha, Ardhanarishwara,
Kalyanasundaramurti, Gangadharamurti, and Ravanaanugrahamurti are
the other forms that can be viewed in this gallery. The details of the sculptures or motifs in
Cave are detailed as follows –
Slaying of
Andhakasura : Depicting Shiva slaying a demon
called Andhaka. One of the most animated panels in Elephanta. Shiva is
represented with eight arms in this panel.
Kalyana
Sundara: The
more humanly theme of marriage depicted in this panel. Arguably, Parvathi is
portrayed superbly than Shiva in this panel, with her her head slightly tilted
towards him with a hint of coyness.
Shiva-Parvathi :
One of the highly damaged panels in Elephanta. This depicts Shiva and Parvathi
engaged in a game of dice. The divine couple tries to cheat each other in the
game as much as possible, though Shiva loses in all the games. Shiva loses
everything, the trident,moon, earrings, snake and even the loincloth. The
mythology is associated with a complex philosophy.
Nataraja : Nataraja,
literally translate as the king/lord of dance.
In mythology Shiva is
considered as the cosmic dancer, who performs his divine dance to destroy the
weary universe.
Ravana
Shaking Kailasa :
Ravana, unsuccessfully tries to lift Kailash, the adobe of Shiva. There are
popular mythical stories associated with the Demon king Ravana, the lord of
Lanka and Lord Shiva.
Mahayogi
Shiva : A rare posture of Shiva meditating on
a lotus. Considered as the aadiyogi ( or the first guru of
Yoga) by the Yoga tradition, Shiva is depicted as the original
master of yoga.
Gangadhara: The
story depicting Shiva bringing River Ganga to earth. The fall of the river is
so powerful that Shiva has to make it fall on his matted hair first, before it
further descends.
Mahesh Murthy: The three headed iconic image representing
three aspects of Shiva. The masterpiece image of Elephanta. It's debatable to
find a more spectacular sculptural expression created during or after the
medieval period in India.
Ardhanarishvara :
Probably the most mystical theme to narrate. Shiva and Parvathi as a single
body, depicting the complex philosophical theme of male-female energy of the
universe.
Here
is a short video of the travel to the Island and the caves
N.B - Some of the details have been browsed from the UNESCO website
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