Travelling Solo: Elephanta Caves

I have now been in Mumbai for a cumulative period of almost 8 months. Even though I have family and friends, I have had the liberty and opportunity to live alone. I admit that hasn't been very pleasant  experience all through. To stop relying on other people's times and schedules I gave up and decided to explore this city alone.

My first solo trip was to Elephanta Caves. Ancient stone carved Hindu caves, Elephanta is an hour's boat ride away from the Gateway of India, Apollo Bunder, Mumbai. The entire location of the Gateway of India is like getting transferred to the England of yore. Completely built in Gothic architecture, the south Mumbai lanes deserve a post of their own. Ride to Elephanta caves costs 150INR in a deluxe boat and covers a return trip to the island. Since time flies by at the island and I am still a Delhi girl at heart, I'd boarded an 11am ferry leaving Gateway and returned well in time by 4pm. That I'd say was very smart of me! :D

The boat ride was spent in silence admiring the open seas. Coming from the land locked part of India, the openness of the endless ocean still fascinates me. Big ships and trawlers still get curious stares from me. And both were endlessly supplied on the way to Elephanta. It was also interesting to note the riches of Mumbai parked safely in the ocean-the personal yatches of the richy rich! Ok so it may not be as classy or as jam packed as the French Riviera but it was good to see some for myself. Between the container rigs and the naval setup, the personal wealth of a few individuals gleamed like tacky baubles.

Landing at the Elephanta caves, one has to jump over, pass through and hold on to thick ropes, old tyres and previously parked boats, not in that order though. Covered with barnacles, the landing leads up to the walkway that further leads to the steps rising up to the caves. A small toy-train ride costs INR 20 and saves you the walk in the hot burning sun. Hats and caps of all kinds were available but one is obviously paying the premium for buying them there. I stuck to my scarf and sun glasses. My ever handy water bottle proved its value over and over again during the trip.

Climbing the stairs was not easy. I am not the most physically fit person around and the climb didn't help. Shops lining the side have idle shopkeepers that made me more conscious of being fat than fit people in a gym. In short, their stares kept me going. reaching the top hafting and panting, I kept going. At the entrance, a board caught my attention that advertised Government Guides that were available for free. Upon inquiring I was told that the guard inside would point me to the correct person. I couldn't be happier.

I entered the ancient temple and felt dwarfed. The skill, the imagination and the scale, it all overawes you. Most of it was destroyed and disfigured by the invading Portuguese. What remains are faceless figures and tiny details that even today help archeologists identify the carvings. My hunt for the guide didn't start very well since the private guides would not allow the guards to point out the free one. I persisted and he relented. After a small self tour and guess-who game with myself, I finally met a young lady who was my guide! A student of history at the University of Mumbai, she was a volunteer who spent 5hours a week at Elephanta giving people like me a crash course in Hindu carvings.

What she taught me was very basic but very helpful. Since most carvings have been destroyed, it is next to impossible to identify the Gods and their avatars by their faces. Instead they are identified by their vehicles and their accessories! So a God in the background with a bird underneath is Vishnu! A mouse makes it Ganesh! I don't remember much but back then it made very logical sense! She also knew the stories/myths that related to each of the carvings and the was very keen to explain the eco system of the island. Self sustaining, it has no source of fresh water except the rains! She showed us the natural filtering process of the rock cuts caves and the underground pool that keeps the entire island alive.

I think I shall visit again. With people and food this time.

Leaving for Elephanta from the Gateway of India

Welcome to Elephanta!

Toy train at Elephanta

Rock Carvings

The iconic Mahesh Carving

Entrance to Elephanta

Sunset on my way back

all the single ladies(minus one) and the south indian heroes!

all my life i've wanted to do a honest to goodness road trip. to be true, my fascination began with all the trashy american teen flicks and their ideas of coming to age. on November 20, 2010 i, shivani saksena, actually had a short but very interesting road trip.
second term@xl has been bucket loads of fun. after the depressing beginning and frustrating ending of term 1, term 2 has been rather nice to me(touch wood). this particular month of november will always remain special. first a beach vacation and then this. oh i love this november!
if i were to start at the starting, mr menon came up with this idea of a half a day trip to Dasam falls(40km outside ranchi-about 100 or so from XL) and all of readily agreed. for some reason, we decided to begin early(smart decision-the highway early morning is wow!). at 5:40am, we were all set to leave. mr menon with Kottana, Dexter with SN, Badal with SK and i was with KK. or should i say, i was with KK and Padmini? ;)
since i can't make this a really boring travelogue, i'm throwing in what my excitement was all about-Padmini is a very stately Royal Enfield Thunderbird!! i could've gushed about it, if anyone were really listening but then again, whatever.
KK and i were leading the pack coz we kept cruising averaging about 75-80kmph while the rest were almost crawling averaging 40kmph! the drive at 6 in the morning is an experience. with a heavy sweat shirt and hood covering all of my head except my face, i could still feel the chill. the wind really talks to you at that speed. the highway from jamshedpur to ranchi (NH 33)is a a good road except in patches where it is becomes unbearable but otherwise the two lane highway is a built for a good ride.
on my way to dasam falls my camera kept clicking...the fog covered mountains, endless fields of freshly harvested crops, a very beautiful sunrise, an idyllic temple built on the banks of the many rain fed rivers we crossed, yellow fields covered in hay and mustard blossoms, a tomato market, small villages on the edge of civilization yet untouched in their life, an ancient devi temple called Deori Devi, cliffs that rose high yet didn't intimidate and yes, whatever else caught my fancy. my only regret is that by the time i'd focus and click, we'd have moved further ahead and so many of my pictures are of mundane trees that only i know hide a beautiful sight.
with 3pit stops on our way there, we took a total of 2hours and a half. the last 15kms to dasam is off the highway and into the hinterlands of jharkhand. the road is well built but like i mentioned, the life there is still disconnected from urban development.
some 10 into our journey, i was bothered by the utter silence we were traveling in. i wasn't sure if it was really a comfortable silence or just lack of conversation on either side. when i finally muttered up the courage to ask KK if he'd like to talk on our way there, i got a very classy answer that i probably wouldn't forget for a long time. he said, "lady if you wanted to talk, u picked the wrong guy. i like my bike rides in silence."
silence suited me just fine. i got to sing to myself, pray a little, sort issues in my head and just be quiet. with padmini roaring like she does, i didn't need conversation. the world passing me by was a blur at moments when i'd just lose myself to the wind, the roar and peace. oxymoronic life, isn't it?
dasam falls were a real sight. fallin from 144feet high marble rocks, it looked quite an enchanting place. it is actually well maintained and given how some places are cluttered and dirty, this was quite the opposite. climbing down the stairs to the bottom of the falls, we made our camp and went about doing whatever it was one wished to do. i went as close as i could to the smaller falls that make dasam falls. the rocks were very slippry and losing one's footing is the easiest thing. dexter was the only one who joined me in fall exploratory mode while most went off rock climbing. it was only later that we joined them. i am not particularly fond of rock climbing coz it manages to very vocally prove to me how badly out of shape i am. but i persevered. with mr menon and dexter being good support however idiosyncratically.
after one slip, i realised i shouldn't push the bar too far for me and stayed back from further climbing. the guys though went all the way to the top of the falls. what a sight it must've made! i was happy enough sitting on the ledge of with my feet in the splashing water and just staring into space. i never realised how much i'd missed my thoughtless staring into space until i spent a good part of the morning doing just that today. most people here dnt know my moods. they especially don't know my silence. but i do. and i liked the thoughless moments. and to think of it, i wasn't on the ground, i wasn't in the air...i was sitting on a rock ledge under a waterfall in the middle of the jungles of jharkhand. wow!
the drive back was quite uneventful as such but the longest i've had. KK and i drove non stop back to college(one 5minute break doesn't count) and that means sitting on the bike in the same position continuously for a little less than two hours with nothing to do and a sun to hide from. if i look for a reason why i still loved it, i wouldn't have a clue. i just did. it could be doing the diva scarf and shades routine or it could be the exhaustion wearing off under the wind. i dnt know.
the trip has one extra special moment for me. it was when KK didn't see a pothole and padmini obviously jerked hard. my instant reaction when i drive is to talk to my car and make it up to her. KK did the exact same thing. touching.

ps: photos in next blog post...i still hv2load em!!

On my way back

This is on my way back to jamshedpur. I'm in the rajdhani and though
I'm surrounded by people I know aka my batchmates the journey will be
a long one I know. For some reason this route back is not long for
only me. There is no enthusiasm and gaeity that had accompanied me
when had travelled from XL to home
This transition from the first term to the second has been softened by
my time home but still fear lurks. For the first term it was fear of
the unknown and a transition. This time it's more like walking into
the lion's den knowing your sword and skill aren't the sharpest.
Life is funny and somehow when two worlds clash, u realise it the
best. Coming back home would have been so different I'd never
imagined. But sometimes like they say, change is the only constant.
So here's to me! To term II!

Shivani Saksena
sent from my iPod

Does the shoe fit?

Happy day, sad day, a day of revelations

Open minds, closed hearts, no place for aberrations.

A wispy hi, a hearty hug, some beaming adoration

A covert glance, an innuendo, a pretty irritation.

Of lefts and rights and divided loyalties

Of dreams and illusions and crashing realities.

Standing there in the pool, splashing all around

Coming back, waist high, just as before I pound.