Tag: travel

  • Edakkal caves: a connection to the ancient world

    Edakkal caves: a connection to the ancient world

    Indian subcontinent witnessed the rise and fall of ancient civilizations. Main action of those civilizations were found in the North-Western parts of the subcontinent in and around Sindhu Valley at locations like Harappa, Mohenjo Daro and Kalibangan etc. Our today’s destination is the proof and the connection to the ancient world dating even further back than Indus Valley civilization. Edakkal caves in Waynad, Kerala are the link between today’s world and the period of Neolithic people. 

    Edakkal caves are ‘rock shelter’ kind of caves. A large boulder is straddling upon a fissure forming these caves. Even the name ‘Edakkal’ literally means ‘a stone in between’.

    Story time:

    As per the legend, Edakkal caves are formed because of the arrows shot by Lav and Kush, sons of Lord Sri Ram. However, credit of the recent discovery of these caves goes to Fred Fawcett, the then Superintendent of Police of the Malabar district. In 1890, he was on one of his hunting trips to Waynad district. He stumbled upon this rock-shelter and discovered it to be the treasure of petroglyphs.

    What’s so cool about it?

    The only site in South India where you can find the petroglyphs carved by Neolithic people. You can reach the caves after a short trek through Ambukutty Mala, a mountain in western ghats. These caves are in the form of two chambers at two levels. The lower is a smaller one with about 210 sq. ft. and 10 m high, while the upper chamber is about 2100 sq. ft. with 18 m high roof.

    Oldest petroglyphs found in these caves are approximately from 6000 BCE. This is a strong evidence of a presence of highly civilized prehistoric settlements in the area. Recently, the State Archeological Department of Kerala conducted a study of the caves in 2009. During this study, they found around 400 signs which depicted the probable connections with Indus Valley civilization. Most important motif found in caves was “a man with a jar cup”. Along with these, there are some engravings in Tamil and Brahmi scripts which are pretty recent in comparison with 8000 years old petroglyphs.

    Let’s appreciate this connection with our very ancient ancestors and halt here for the day. Tomorrow will be one more exciting destination to visit and enjoy. Till then, sayonara…

    I am participating in the A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 5 challenge. “E is for the Edakkal Caves, Waynad District”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.

  • Cellular Jail – Beacon of Remembrance of Sacrifice

    Cellular Jail – Beacon of Remembrance of Sacrifice

    For the first two days, we travelled to masterpieces of Dravidian and Gothic Architectures in the state of Tamil Nadu. Two beacons of faith – each for Hindus and Christians. Our today’s destination is a Beacon of Remembrance of Sacrifice. Cellular Jail, Andaman. This place constantly reminds us about the sacrifices of our freedom fighters, tortures they endured at this ‘Kaala Pani’. British Raj incarcerated many notable freedom fighters like Batukeshwar Dutt, Bikram Ghosh, Yogendra Shukla, V.O. Chidambaram Pillai and Savarkar Brothers in these infamous torture house. Currently, India honours this place as a National Memorial in memory of these freedom fighters.

    Story time:

    Right after the suppression of revolt of 1857, Britishers executed most of the revolutionaries. However, they exiled surviving revolutionaries for life on the remote island of Andaman to cut their ties to the mainland. They even started calling it as ‘Kala Pani’ to threaten them with loss of caste, resulting in social exclusion over a Hindu belief of ‘Sindhu Bandi’ (ban on overseas journey). Population of prisoners increased to around 1000 from the initial 200 prisoners in the first 10 years.

    • HQ of Ross Island Penal Settlement
    • Construction of New Jail

    As the independence movement picked up pace towards the end of the 19th century, the number of prisoners shipped to Andamans increased significantly. Which triggered the building of a new prison complex starting in 1896 which was completed in 1906. It was the same period when harsh punishments and intense labour started to be a part of ‘punishment of transportation to the Andaman Islands’

    Harsh punishments and labour

    When prison actively held prisoners, they had to undergo intense labour like running the oil mills, pulling the coir thrades by hands etc. Failing to complete the task or obey the orders, offenders were thrown in solitary confinement or subjected to harsh punishments like flogging, reduced diet, suspension in an iron suit, etc.. Many prisoners took a route of hunger strikes to protest against such barbaric punishments. To break these strikes, officers of the British Raj took extreme measures and tried forcefully feeding them with tubes. Because of this few of them died by “Drowning in milk”. 

    • Oil mill
    • Flogging frame

    These horrific punishments continued till 1939. Beginning of World War II forced to empty just. Later for a brief period of one and half year, Indian National Army occupied and governed the island till the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II

    Architecture:

    As I mentioned earlier, construction of prison buildings started in 1896 with puce-coloured bricks imported from Burma. It continued till 1906. Building had seven radial wings connected with a central tower used by guards to keep watch on all prisoners. Jeremy Bentham’s concept of Panopticon inspired the design of this jail. These seven wings comprised a total of 696 cells of 4.5 by 2.7 metres spread over three stories. There are no dormitories in the jail. The building is so designed that every cell faces the back of the other cell. As a result, communication amongst prisoners impossible. Cellular jail derived its name from these solitary cells.

    What not to miss:

    Today, only three wings are standing as a beacon of remembrance of sacrifice with a status of National Monument declared by the Prime Minister of India in 1979. There is a small museum depicting various punishments and hard labour activities which those prisoners went through. There’s a light and sound show in Hindi and English narrating and showcasing the trials and tribulations of the inmates along with guided tours of the complex.

    Today, let’s halt at this place and pay our homage and respect towards these freedom fighters and begin our journey northwards tomorrow.

    I am participating in the A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 2 challenge. “C is for the Cellular Jail, Andaman”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.

  • Basilica of our lady of good health: A place that rose to the glory

    Basilica of our lady of good health: A place that rose to the glory

    This bucket-list journey started with the magnificent Chola legacy of Airavatesvara Temple, Darasuram. Our today’s destination is not far away from it. Merely 80-85 km towards east of Darasuram, there’s a small village of Velankanni. This coastal village is the house of our today’s “Incredible India Attraction”. The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health is a Marian Shrine on the coast of Velankanni. Built in the Gothic style of architecture, this shrine is a major pilgrimage for Christians in India. 

    Story Time:

    Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health at dusk Photo by Koshy Koshy Copyrights CC BY 2.0

    This Basilica is dedicated to Our Lady of Good Health and is attributed to three miracles attached to the area around it. Oral tradition of the stories of two apparitions of the Virgin Mary and the saving of Portuguese Sailors from the storm in Bay of Bengal are the only source of these miracles as there are no historical written records about them.

    First apparition of the Virgin Mary dates back to the mid 16th century. Local shepherd boy was on his milk delivery duty. A woman holding a child asked milk for the little one to a shepherd boy. Boy moved to his next delivery after giving some milk to the woman. When he completed the delivery, he discovered the milk jug was still full with fresh cool milk. Then, a small shrine was built at the place of apparition called Matha Kulam, which means Our Lady’s Pool.

    Second time, Virgin Mary appeared in front of a crippled buttermilk seller boy asking buttermilk for the little one in her hand. Answering her request, the boy gave some buttermilk. Woman then asked him to go to the next town and meet a gentleman there. After reaching there, ask the gentleman to build a chapel in her honour at that location. As soon as he started the journey, he realized that he is no longer a cripple. They quickly built a thatched chapel in the honour of Our Lady of Good Health (Arokia Matha in Tamil).

    Third miracle occurred to the Portugues Ship sailing from Macau to Sri Lanka. The ship got caught in a horrific storm in the Bay of Bengal. When sailors prayed to Virgin Mery under her title “Star of the Sea” storm subsided. As a result, all 150 sailors reached the coast and as a thanksgiving rebuilt the shrine to Our Lady of Good Health and continued enhancing it in their subsequent voyages.

    • Gothic Architecture of Basilica Photo by Krrishnah Copyrights CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Right side of Main Chirch Photo by BrownyCat Copyrights CC BY 3.0
    • New extension to the Basilica Photo by BrownyCat Copyrights CC BY 3.0
    • Matha Kulam (Our lady’s pool) Photo by Muzirian Copyrights CC BY-DA 4.0

    Architecture:

    This Basilica is a classic example of a place rising to glory with time. Started with just a thatched chapel, Basilica is currently standing in its glory of Gothic Architecture. Currently, the Shrine Basilica contains three chapels, as well as Our Lady’s Tank, Church Museum, Priests’ Residence, Offering Center, Stations of the Cross, Stations of the Rosary, Shrine Mega Mahal and Vailankanni Beach. This magnificent white Gothic building has red-tiled roofing.  It witnessed many extensions like one one southern side in 1928 and the northern side in 1933. Latest extension included a new two storied church with 28 m high dome and 25 m Gothic spirals to accommodate multilingual pilgrims. This extension took place in 1974-75.

    Significance and Pilgrimage:

    HH Pope John XXIII granted the status of Minor Basilica to this shrine on 3rd November 1962. through an Apostolic Brief. He also aggregated it to the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

    Annual festival takes place between 29 August to 6 September. This is the time along with Christmas Velankanni Basilica draws maximum pilgrims. As a result, “the Lourdes of the East” is a suitable title for this place. Annual festival has many rituals like  mass, novenas, flag-hoisting and carrying a ‘palkhi’ of Mary in a procession. Procession is the major event. Only women are allowed to pull the first car while the statue of Mery is in the last car of the procession. The car of the Mery is the most decorated one in the procession. People of other religions also take part in this procession. Many pilgrims shave their heads and perform ear-piercing. Both of these are Hindu traditions. Hence, this is a very significant site of pilgrimage displaying the meeting point of two major religions of the world – Christian and Hindu.

    At this point, the day 2 of our journey comes to the halt. Let’s just enjoy this white Gothic architecture and have a good night rest. Tomorrow is one more exciting day of this journey.

    I am participating in A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 2 challenge. “B is for the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health, Velankanni”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.

  • Airavatesvara Temple: Magnificent legacy of Cholas

    Airavatesvara Temple: Magnificent legacy of Cholas

    Today, on the 1st of April, we embark on a journey together. It’s a virtual journey to exciting enticing places in our own country, the Incredible India! I have a dream to travel the world. However, I am fortunate to be an Indian. There are so many fascinating places in this country. Every place is attractive because of a unique feature. So, for this year’s April A to Z, I am taking an opportunity to make a sort of bucket list. A list of places to visit in India as soon as we are done with this COVID thing. As it starts with A, the first entry is “Airavatesvara Temple”.

    Airawateshwara temple is at Darasuram, in Thanjavur District of Karnataka. Built by Rajaraja Cholla II, this temple is one of the Great Living Chola Temples. Brihadeshwara Temple at Thanjaur,  Gangaikondacholisvaram Temple at Gadngaikonda Cholapuram are the other two in the group. UNESCO has declared this group of Great Living Chola Temples as a world heritage site.

    Story time:

    Sage Durvasa has cursed Indra’s elephant Airavata to lose its color and beauty for disrespecting him. Upset with guilt and regret, Airavat prayed to Lord Shiva at this temple location. Lord asked him to take a dip in the temple tank. This dip in the temple tank magically restored the color of its skin. After this incident Shiva Lingam at Darasuram bears its present name – Airavatesvara.

    Architecture:

    Rajaraja Chola II built this current complex of Airavatesvara Temple in 12th century CE in a classic example of Dravidian architecture with all of its peculiarities. The whole theme or template follows the Karakkoil style of temples. In this style, the main temple complex is chariot fashioned.  24 m high ‘Vimana’, the towering structure over Garbha Griha, is the pinnacle of architecture of the temple complex. Whole complex is donned with carvings and sculptures of many Vedic and Puranic deities like Indra, Agni, Varuna, Vayu, Brahma, Surya, Vishnu, Saptamtrikas, Durga, Saraswati and many more. 

    • Airavatesvara Temple, Darasuram, Photo by Supraja kannan, Copyrights CC BY-SA 4.0
    • The chariot-shaped agra-mandapam, Photo by MADHURANTHAKAN JAGADEESAN, Copyrights CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Another view of Airavatesvara Temple, Photo by Shriram Swaminathan, Copyrights CC BY-SA 3.0
    • Chola Carving in Airavatesvara Temple, Darasuram Photo by Nithi Anand, Copyrights CC BY 2.0

    Special attraction:

    Additionally, there’s one more interesting thing about this temple. ‘Agra Mandapa’ (अग्र मंडप) has an ornate porch with steps going from east to west with intricately carved balustrades. When one walks on these steps, they produce musical notes. This is the reason for them to be called ‘Singing Steps’. Isn’t it interesting? I have heard about musical pillars in many temples. These singing steps are very fascinating. I am eager to listen to their music.

    So, this is our first stop in this journey. Hope you also find this enticing and plan to visit this architectural marvel soon. Tomorrow, we’ll go to a new place… Till then, sayonara.

    I am participating in A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 1 challenge. “A is for Airavatesvara Temple, Darasuram, Thanjavur District”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.

  • दूर सफरीला जावं

    एका शांतशा संध्येला, मन मनात म्हणालं,
    दूर क्षितिजाच्या पार, जरा सफारीला जावं.

    वाऱ्यावर आला गंध, होते मन उल्हासित,
    त्याचा माग ते काढत, पक्षी होऊन उडावं.

    उंच झाडांच्या शेंड्याला, घरट्यात उतरावं,
    खाली वाकून पाहता, सरितेने बोलवावं.

    नदीसंगे जरा जावे, दरीतून वाहवत,
    डोंगराच्या पाठी येता, पायवाटेवर यावं.

    लाली आभाळा चढता, डोंगराच्या माथी जावं,
    सूर्य अस्ताला जातांना, संगे निळाईला न्यावं.

    सारीकडे आता बघा, मिट्ट काळोख दाटला,
    दिवे लागण होताच, मन घरी परतावं.

     

    Phonetic transcript

    Ēkā shāntaśā sandhyēlā, mana manāta mhaṇālaṁ,
dūra kṣhitijāchyā pāra, jarā saphārīlā jāvaṁ.

Vāṟyāvara ālā gandha, hōtē mana ulhāsita,
tyāchā māga tē kāḍhata, pakṣī hō'ūna uḍāvaṁ.

Un̄cha jhāḍān̄chyā śhēṇḍyālā, gharaṭyāta utarāvaṁ,
khālī vākūna pāhatā, saritēnē bōlavāvaṁ.

Nadīsaṅgē jarā jāvē, darītūna vāhavata,
ḍōṅgarācyā pāṭhī yētā, pāyavāṭēvara yāvaṁ.

Lālī ābhāḷā caḍhatā, ḍōṅgarācyā māthī jāvaṁ,
sūrya astālā jātānnā, saṅgē niḷā'īlā n'yāvaṁ.

Sārīkaḍē ātā baghā, miṭṭa kāḷōkha dāṭalā,
divē lāgaṇa hōtāca, mana gharī paratāvaṁ.

     

    Rough English translation

    On a quiet evening, in mind's mind peeped a thought,
Away across the horizon, let's go to Safari.

the breeze brough a fragrance, and it was enchanting,
mind flew out with a bird, following the fragrance.

It landed in a nest, at a top of a tall tree,
and answered the call by river, when it looked down from tree.

it trevelled with the river, flowing through the valley,
when they reached behind the hill, it came out on a trail.

with the sky turning red, mind climbed the hill,
As Sun was setting, it took all the blue with it.

Now it's all dark around, nothing can be seen,
lights start to lit up, and mind comes back home.

    I am taking my Alexa Rank to the next level with #MyFriendAlexa and #BlogChatter

     

  • प्रवास

    जीवनाचा प्रवास कसा
    वळणे घेत चालतो,
    हिरवेकंच रान कधी,
    वाळवंटी नेतो.

    प्रवासाची खूप न्यारी
    असते अशी एक गम्मत,
    सार्या लांब प्रवासात
    जिद्द चिकाटीच सोबत.

    कधी सुखाच्या किरणांनी
    होतो सूर्योदय तेव्हाचा,
    केव्हा कधी ठाव घेतो
    उदास सूर्यास्त मनाचा.

    अनुभव शिदोरी गोळा करत
    प्रवास हा चालतो,
    श्वासांचं इंधन संपलं की
    शेवटचा मुक्काम पडतो.