My Weekend Odysseys

What can match the joy of discovering things of different era. A time, place, aesthetic, you know nothing about. Stories etched in stone paintings that tell you about the people of a long gone era, their life, their times and that is historical gem called Bhimbetka located in state of Madhya Pradesh. Bhimbetka group of rock shelters located close to 45 kms of Bhopal in Vindhya mountain range amidst the Ratapani wildlife sanctuary exhibit the earliest traces of human life in India, number of these analysis suggest that at least few of these shelters were inhabited for over 10000 years ago. Home to the most gorgeous rock painting,. There are over 750 rock shelters in this region and guess what !! 500 of them are adorned with rock paintings. The site remained a center of human activities right from lower Paleolithic times up to medieval period. The subject of the paintings depict day to day activities of ancient man, human figures, animals, communal gatherings and dances, warfare etc.Ther

From the depths of the ocean to the flowing rivers, Water- so vital for life to exist, hides within its belly lot of secrets. One such secret lies embedded on Shalmala river bed - A place called SAHASRALINGA. Sahasra translates to thousand in Sanskrit and as name suggest "Thousand linga's or Shivlings".The place is unique because the linga's are situated on rocks of the river Shalmala. Carved on riverine rocks, Sahasralinga looks very artistic and beautiful. Sahasralinga is a pilgrimage place, located around 14 kms from town of Sirsi in Uttar Kannada district nestled in lush green Western Ghats. River Shalmala which originates from Dharwad flows quietly through the pristine forest near the village of Sonda. The bed of this river has huge boulders as well as small rocks and each one of them have Shivalinga carved on them. Some even have more than one Shivalinga and even Nandi - the vehicle of Lord Shiva. Originally every Linga had a Nandi facing it but now many seems t