Bhimbetika Paintings

The sprawling caves of Bhimbetka (2405’N and 76045’E) are located about 45 km northeast of Bhopal, the state capital of Madhya Pradesh. Situated along the Bhopal-Hoshangabad highway, these caves bear proximity to the Bhiyapura village in Raisen district. The northern fringes of the ancient Vindhyachal ranges are home to the extraordinary rock shelters and paintings, its awesome rocks fortifying the ancient treasure within. Ensconced amidst lush greenery in dense forests, and rocky terrain and craggy cliffs, with the lofty rocks guarding the ancient premises, the caves of Bhimbetka present a breathtaking view even from as far as Obaidullaganj, a small town in the vicinity of Bhimbetka.

Bhimbetka is a natural art gallery and an archaeological treasure. The rock paintings have numerous layers belonging to various epochs of time, ranging from the Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic Age to the protohistoric, early historic and medieval periods. The most ancient scenes here believed to be commonly belonging to the Mesolithic Age. These magnificent paintings can be seen even on the ceiling of the rock shelters located at daunting heights.  The cover of the dense forest and vegetation protected these rocks painting from being lost to the vagaries of nature. Executed mainly in red and white, with the occasional use of green and yellow with themes taken from the everyday events of eons ago, the scenes usually depict hunting, dancing, horse and elephant riders, animal fights, honey collection, decoration of bodies, disguises, masks and different type of animals etc. It depicts the detail of social life during the long period of time, when man used to frequent these rock shelters.

Animals such as bison, tiger, rhinoceros, wild boar, elephants, monkeys, antelopes, lizards, peacocks etc. have been abundantly depicted in the rock shelters. Popular religious and ritual symbols also occur frequently. The colours used by the cave dwellers were prepared by combining manganese, hematite, soft red stone and wooden charcoal. Perhaps, animal fat and extracts of leaves were also used in the mixture.

The rock art of Bhimbetka has been classified into various groups on the basis of the style and subject. The superimposition of paintings shows that the same canvas was used by different people at different times. The drawings and paintings can be classified under seven different periods.(Text credit - ASI web site)

Mahal's of Islamnagar

Islamnagar is a village known for the palace of Bhopal's Afghan rulers built by Dost Mohammed Khan. Gardens surround the palace and the pavilion. It is near Bhopal on Berasia Road. Formal gardens surround the palace and pavilion. Most important of the monuments at Islam nagar include Chaman Mahal, Rani Mahal and Gond Mahal. The palaces here depict an amalgamation of the Rajput, Mughal and Malwa styles of architecture

CHAMAN MAHAL

Sardar Dost Mohammad Khan built this palace in 1715 A.D. He was an Afghan soldier of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and was the founder of Bhopal State. This palace is surrounded by an enclosure wall and has two entrances. A Sheesh Mahal with twelve doors is situated near the entrance. A Charbagh pattern garden in Mughal style is situated in the centre of this palace. Facing the garden is a red sandstone platform having a stone latticed screen around it. Arches decorated with floral motifs, pillared baradari, as well as rooms with open courtyard can be seen in front of it. Dost Mohammed Khan is said to have conducted his official business in the baradari. To the north a hammam is built in Mughal style. There is one dressing room in it. The main room can be approached through galleries, where water tanks are constructed on three sides. A copper plate is fixed at the base of one water tank beneath which a furnace is constructed for providing hot water. The second floor of the palace is flat roofed, which has two chhatris on either sides. The architecture of this palace is a mixed form of later Mughal, Rajput and Malwa styles. It has been built by using red sand stone, kakaiya bricks and lime. The style of the dome is particularly distinctive of the monuments of early Bhopal Rulers.

RANI MAHAL

This palace was constructed by Dost Mohammad khan in the year 1720 to serve as a residence of his queens. Shades of the Rajput, Mughal and the Malwa styles of architecture are evident here.

Nature's heart !

On a valentine day ! A leaf on a plant in Kaliasoot area of Bhopal. Browm spots may be pointing out to pollution which this nature's heart is getting exposed to in Hindustan ka dil now a days !

Raisen fort

One gets attracted to the sprawling Raisen fort as seen in picture from the highway. It is one kilometer from the main highway but road is un-motorable. To make it worse there are big stones in the lane towards the fort, which make sure that one cannot drive even if you want to try !. One has to then climb staircase which leads to this fort which includes temples, palaces, a large water reservoir and some 40 wells.

If one looks at the official web site of Raisen district, in 'places to see' on the site this fort even does not feature may be that that is the reason there is no focus on maintaining this fort, a fort which gave district its name !.

Sunrise as seen from Indore - Bhopal highway !

Peacock in Kanha National Park

Peacock in Kanha national park. Kanha,a national park and a Tiger Reserve is situated in the Mandla and Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh. It was was created on 1 June, 1955 by special law. Today it stretches over an area of 940 km² in the two districts and still has range of flora and fauna which it offers, and attracts lots of tourists during winters.

Khajuraho dance festival

Pic courtesy A M Faruqui

February 1 - 7, 2010. The Festival of Dances is a unique celebration of the best of Indian classical dance, in a spectacular floodlit temple setting in Khajuraho, Central India.

India's talented dancers performing different styles of dance - Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri and many more perform here. It is a platform for dancers, the festival and is organised by the Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation. It draws audience of dance lovers from all over the world.