Tryst with Miles: Heritage

Showing posts with label Heritage. Show all posts

We had always read about Sanchi Stupa in our history books but i must have slept through the part when we were taught that its near Bhopal. So initially Sanchi Stupa wasn't part of the itinerary when were planning to attend my best friend's brothers wedding in Bhopal. But when we heard that it hardly 50 Km from Bhopal, we had to visit it after all It is part of the "Worlds Heritage" and well it was a decision well taken.
After attending a big fat Indian wedding, we were all set to explore places around Bhopal.

It was a beautiful drive through the mustard field and smooth tarmac . What I also did not know that we cross the Tropic of cancer as we go from Bhopal to Sanchi Stupa. Though I remembered having read about tropic of cancer , Equator etc , I could not recollect what it meant. another part of the history lessons I guess I slept through. So I Googled for the definition and here what it means:

"The Tropic of Cancer, also referred to as the northern tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on the Earth at which the Sun may appear directly overhead at its culmination."

And here I was standing at the "Tropic of cancer" , without even knowing its meaning correctly, it felt good. After all there would be only few places in the whold world this line passes through.

After a moment of pride, we were back on our way to Stupa. The entry feet at are quite minimal, we went in and a guide approached us. We thought it would be a good idea to have a guide explaining us the history and stories associated with the place. How I wish the guide taught me history lessons at school (No offence to you mam, if you are ever reading this). Here are some pointers from what I remember and of coarse with little research:

It was constructed by King Ashoka along with his wife Devi and the first Stupa contains the relics of Mahatma Buddha.
There are are a lot of additions and structures constructed later on around the main Stupa. The construction was passed on from one Dynasty to another Andhra-Satavahanas -> Kushanas and Kshatrapas -> Guptas)
It is believed that it Stupa was vandalised by Emperor Pusyamitra Sunga who overtook the Mauryan Empire but later reconstructed by his son Agnimitra.

We spent a lot of time going through each monument and absorbing the beauty of the place. It was very peacful and the place seems to resonate "Buddham Sharnam Gachhami"

There were many more of such sculptures , each with a story to tell. In this people are worshipping the tree.

Our guide who explained us the meaning of almost each of the carvings in detail.

One of the vandalised statues of Buddha

Bhimbetka (the "Place where Bhim sat down") : Located at around 45 Kms from Bhopal, Bhimbetka rock shelter is declared as a "World Heritage Site". It was discovered formally by Dr Vishnu Wakankar in 1957 while he was travelling by train and noticed these rocks. (though there are already mentions of it in archaeological records from 1888).

As we got out of the car, i noticed this huge formation of rock located ,the view was majestic. the parking had another car and 2 bikes, it was very surprising that a place like this did not have tourists flocking from all over the country and the world. As we ventured inside, there was a small temple near the entrance maintained by an old Priest. His face lightened up as he saw us, guess he is not used to having too many tourists and it was a welcome change for him. We talked to him for sometime though i was not able to understand him clearly due to the dialect as well as his voice being a little hoarse. But what i did understand was that , according to him this was the place where the(Pandwas from mahabharata ) had been during their "Agyatvas" [According to the mythology it was said that after the Pandavas lost the gambling , they were sentenced to 14 years of exile and the last year was to be "Agyatvas" (Agyat means unknown) during which if found , they will have to spend another 14 years away from their state.] After exploring the place for next few hours, I was not surprised why they would have chosen it, it was just perfect. There were natural shelters made of rocks which could protect you against sun or the rain.
and the surrounding , it was beautiful . Situated near the Betwa river and amidst the forest, i envied Pandwas for spending an year at that place. There were also ancient paintings on the wall, though they had faded away with time , they had a story to tell. It is also believed that the humans back then were much taller than they are now as some of the rock paintings were way higher. A very surprising paining was of a a Giraffe, which isn't found in India , not any more atleast! (though I cant be 100% sure if the painting was genuine but still intriguing)

The First View of Bhimbetka!

The entrance between the rock and the temple

These are added later depicting the ancient human beings residing in the caves

The Palm size in the pic was way bigger than ours. and this was supposed to be the palm size of the baby back then

Rock Paintings - Various animals, I think goats and cattle (though there were some pictures of giraffe which i lost, it was surprising as Giraffes are not found in India, not anymore atleast)

One of the many shelters

Some of the rock painting showing the animals (deer i reckon)

The tortoise rock

Another Rock shelter - Its much bigger though not the biggest we saw there

There were a lot of rock paintings though they were gradually fading away. But its amazing they have survived so many centuries. Wonder if we can find such hight quality paints now.

Bhojpur: Bhojpur is located at the distance of 35 Kms from Bhopal. It is famous for the incomplete Shiva temple build by Raja Bhoj in 11th century to cure his leprosy. The temple has a shiv-ling which is 18 ft high and 7.5 ft in circumference, making it one of the highest monolith in the country. It is under the protection of Archaeological Survey of india.