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India: beyond the paths of tour guides!

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
As you all have seen, some of my photographs are not showing because they were erased in an "accidental maneuver". Some, however, are safe and persist.

To replace the photographs, is far time consuming and subjected to many errors. Some, I can have a clue, while others I can't.

To keep this thread alive and coherent, I opted for starting it from the beginning of my journey in India, last November 2016.

I am grateful to those who have commented so far and are following this thread and I am sorry if I have deceived them in any way.

Perhaps later on, I think I will erase the posts where no images appear. Think it's OK ?

I give a go then. Thank you guys ! :)
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Perhaps the best is to begin with a map and a couple of images from Mumbai.
The first is from the Dhobi Ghat where we would return at the end of the tour.

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Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Antonio,

We are so grateful that you can rebuild this window into the Indiancontinental experience that you share with us. Use you best judgement in removing non repairable earlier posts or merge several together if you wish.


❤️

However, do not remove the very first post as that is the thread "anchor". Loss of that and the entire thread could drift away to the other side of the invisible universe!

Asher
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
"Elephanta Caves are a network of sculpted caves located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri (literally "the city of caves") in Mumbai Harbour, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the east of the city of Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The island, located on an arm of the Arabian Sea, consists of two groups of caves—the first is a large group of five Hindu caves, the second, a smaller group of two Buddhist caves. The Hindu caves contain rock cut stone sculptures, representing the Shaiva Hindu sect, dedicated to the Lord Shiva." From Wikipedia

After crossing by boat, we travel for perhaps a kilometer on a "train" The weather was fine !

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Antonio Correia

Well-known member
Visit to Ramkund in Nashik.
Ramkund is considered as the holy tank, people bringing the ashes of their relatives to immerse in the tank.
Some images may have been published earlier, sorry...
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Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
"Elephanta Caves are a network of sculpted caves located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri (literally "the city of caves") in Mumbai Harbour, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the east of the city of Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The island, located on an arm of the Arabian Sea, consists of two groups of caves—the first is a large group of five Hindu caves, the second, a smaller group of two Buddhist caves. The Hindu caves contain rock cut stone sculptures, representing the Shaiva Hindu sect, dedicated to the Lord Shiva." From Wikipedia

After crossing by boat, we travel for perhaps a kilometer on a "train" The weather was fine !

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Antonio,

We in the West are mostly ignorant of the deities and derivative cultures that lead to Shiva, The Buddha and the like so entrenched in India. Also, few have any knowledge of the rich educated and scientifically advanced civilizations that were eons ahead of the Europeans in so many discilpines. Here we see massive underground architecture and beautiful sculptures. The forms are especially smooth and the curves exaggerated to make the figures luxuriously content and sympathetic.

I wonder if they know about the massive communities of stone masons and how they were fed and housed?

I would imagine that the building is akin to the need for devotion of resources that would approach the tasks of pyramid building in ancient Pharaohic Egypt.

Thanks for bring us this amazing treasure!

......BTW, how did you and Luisa choose where to eat and dis you get sick as there seems to be abundance of excuses for flies and water to carry all sorts of germs!

Asher
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
Asher, the last two images are in a different place, in Nashik in a place for blessings and pray.

Luisa has been in India 8 times and I have been there 7.
We have never been ill because we take some precautions like not drinking water unless from sealed bottle, washing teeth with mineral water, not eating raw food (like the one shown below), no yogurt, no tea, no cold tea, no ice and so forth. Eating only cooked food.
We do like Indian food !
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Two more photographs from the same place
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Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Antonio,

There must be a lot of group immunity to disease...oe lese local epidemics weekly! Or is the flow of water so great, that germs are diluted away in seconds?




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Have you considered what must be in this water? It would frighten the City of Bevely Hills Public Safety Dperatment and they would have it all barricaaded and folk with biohazard suits and a giant yellow mobile testing center, parked nearby!

Asher
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
Indeed Asher... the river has many problems.
As you can see by the photographs the water level is low and the water was running very slowly at the time we visited.
I would not like to bath in there !

"...The problem of water scarcity in Maharashtra’s Nashik has worsened as the district’s 12 small and medium water reservoirs have dried up.
Sources in district collector’s office said that there have been no pre-monsoon showers in 14 days.
There are 23 water reservoirs in Nashik district, with 16 of medium and seven having major capacity. As per official figures, till June 14, the stock in the district’s reservoirs was 2,274 mcft, implying that only three per cent water remained in 11 dams...
" June 15 2016 - The Indian Express

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Antonio Correia

Well-known member
Perhaps some images I am or/and will post are duplicates. I am sorry. It is a lot of work to select them and ... I do not feel like ! ;)

Back to Erola Caves. Some more.
The entries are now more expensive than before. The Prime Minister of India - Modi - decided to increase the prices of the entrances the day we arrived. That very day... no ! Not like this.

We landed at 23:00 and one hour later he stopped the circulation of big bank notes which we had some. Because of that, we had many problems when paying hotels, food, entrances and so on.
No caution or special measures were taken for the tourists. Shame !

From Wikipedia
"Ellora is one of the largest rock-cut monastery-temple caves complexes in the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Maharashtra, India. The site presents monuments and artwork of Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism from the 600-1000 CE period.[1][2] Cave 16 of Ellora features the largest single monolithic rock excavation in the world, the Kailasha temple, a chariot shaped monument dedicated to Shiva. The Kailasha temple excavation also presents the gods, goddesses and mythologies found in Vaishnavism, Shaktism and relief panels summarizing the two major Hindu Epics."

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Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Antonio,

In addition to the sensuous sculpture in caves both hewn out of rock and the many pictures of public ablution, prayersxand food, the photographs of individuals are so striking, even hauntingly personal. They touch me deeply.





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Don't stop!

Thanks,

Asher
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
On the road we stopped for a tea in one of the many shops along the way.
This thread begins to looks more like a reportage than anything else...


Door and security
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Room
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Toilet with strange position of the blue "item".
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Detail of the shower in the same toilet.
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Antonio Correia

Well-known member
For the day we are done. More tomorrow.

Corridor to the rooms
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The other side of the corridor (my back on the previous picture)
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Stairs
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Detail of the kitchen
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Antonio Correia

Well-known member
Two more from Ajanta Caves.

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A very large complex of caves with many visitors. It doesn't look because it was too early in the morning.
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Beautiful ! One must remember that these temples and sculptures were carved in the mountain !
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