Carvings in Goa

When it comes to Goa, only two things come to the mind -

its magnificent Beaches......

 and Churches

and yes its Cuisine ......

and Carnival....

I feel myself lucky to visit more reclusive sites of Goa.......

These are carvings found in South Goa,

I am forgeting the name of place and district...

I visited this place in the month of February 2009

We were told to pour water on these carvings

to get the actual shape of the creatures

or murals carved on the sides of the river....

Some of these were dears, peacocks, or a hunter.....

What this figure actually depicts, we do not know...

these carvings are lying scattered on the ...

side of the calm and quite water of river..

Most of the times, these are covered with water

as the level of the adjacent.....

water body raises its leves, specially during the rains....

This I suppose a dear or a goat....

This was a wild guess of our team that it might be a bull...

with the pouring of water these carvings come to life....

Unfortunately no material was found on these carvings. 

I wonder that how and why these are still unknown. 

Even one of my friends who stayed in Goa for so many years,

does not have the idea about these carvings...

we wanted desparately to know

 who created them and

 when these were carved. 

If we look at the creatures,

it reminds one of the pictures seen in

history books in seventh or eighth standard. 

The creatures shown in these carvings

are somewhat similar to them.

Small material was found in Marathi only.

  It is good that somebody is working on it. 

I will try to get that.

This wast country called Bharat--

 how many things are there which are yet to be explored,

stories to be told......do not know.

Auto in Fatehpur-Shekhawati

This auto invites  "O Tau, Baith Bolero Mein"

I could't sit in this Auto as

it invites "Tau" only and I am not a "Tau"



Rock Cut cave in Mahabalipuram

 We have our own sphinx.  Never heard about their existence
 before my visit to this place.

Mahabalipuram was a port few centuries back, many people may had visited this place or many people from this part of the county might have had visited  other countries. 
 Had they copied it from Egypt or some country or it is just the imagination of the person who carved it.  Do not know ?

Besides being a port it was school of art also. 

My guide in Mahabalipuram showed me very proudly the gap

 between the rock and  the front leg of the cow. 

A well curved milk woman.

The carvings in this cave are related to Krishna where one can see a Buddhist monk milking a cow. 

A Good imagination.

It is monkey or a child on his father's shoulders.

I think it is Durga riding on Lion ?

A shephard in rains..

This Krishna lifting the Goverdhan on his finger.

How these rocks were carved into these different styles ?

How much time they have taken ? 

Kanheri Caves_Mumbai

Heard about Kanheri Caves long back but get a chance to visit these marvels in June this year only.

These Buddhist Rock cut caves dates back to 1 BC and 9 AD.  Kanheri caves located in the deep forests famously known as Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivli in Mumbai. 

   These beautifully carved figures adorned at the entrance,     welcoming the tourists to this huge Buddhist habitat.

This huge Buddha was busy giving company to the Tourists

sitting on its feets for the photographs. 

This is the main prayer hall called Chaitnya in Buddhism. 

 It seems that the ceiling of this hall was adorned with something may be with wood as I had seen in Karla Caves.

Inscription on the pillar of Chaitnya Hall.  Is it Palli or some other script, I do not know and I do not know how these beautiful small words were carved on the rock.

Delapidated Buddha Statue.

Stupas carved on the walls of the main cave.

Are the guards are for this Cobra or Sheshnaag in the middle of this carving.  Why these carvings do not speak and narrate their stories....may be they are telling something but I am not able to understand them.... 

The main cave 

All these figures in Buddist caves have similarities in their

 dress their headgears. 

 Was Buddhism all over India? 

Then why and how it has almost vanished in India?

These caves are scattered on a very large area in this part of Mumbai. 

 It seems it was a huge habitat or a university.

I wonder how and in how many years they have carved these dormitories out of the hard rocks.

 Here people are enjoying in one of the reservoir or a canal.

These caves have a perfect water harvesting system. One can find many water channels and reservoirs to store the water. Same thing is found in Karla caves also. 

I have visited many historical places in our country,

and have found that people or the architects of that era were more aware of the water harvesting. 

 I have seen in Mandu a perfect system of water harvesting.

I have not covered all the caves, next time

I will go with lots of time and a very good camera.

The caves are surrounded with the real jungle and trek trails.

Once you are in this Sanjay Park, you forget that you are in Mumbai 

Why this park is named after Sanjay,

 it could have some refreshing name.

Yes, you rightly said it is difficult to imagine such a place in a city like Mumbai.