[vrprabhu]

To reach the temple, one needs to cross the river and then go under the highway, so as to travel parallel to the river.

This old bridge standing firm and serving us all -




It's companion (new bridge) serves as the down lane -



The new and old, though standing only a few feet apart, have atleast a generation gap between them. Any guesses as to the age of the old bridge?

About six decades old, as evidenced by this -



However, the stone plaque itself isn't 60+ years old! Any guesses why (apart from the obviously newness of it compared with the obelisk)?


It is symbols like these that got me thinking (and the title of this thread).

When the old bridge was envisaged, designed and constructed, things must have been far, far different.

Growth must have happened by leaps and bounds from that day till now - and will continue to take place. I am pretty sure that vehicular traffic those days would have been a fraction of what it is today - but they went ahead and put up a magnificent structure, foreseeing quite a bit ahead.

What will happen after another six decades? Only my great-grand children will find out.

A peek into our past (i.e. my great grandfather's era) of this location is improbable. But, hopefully, this post will tell a tale to the generations to come?

[vrprabhu]

The quest to locate the 2,000 year old wall helped me to stumble upon this -



A close up




Yet another ancient tree




As well as another balancing rock




But I never imagined this particular specimen has much more historic relevance, which I wouldn't have ever guessed or would have occurred in the wildest of my dreams

[Amrik Singh]

Lovely shots. Trying to link past with the present.

[vrprabhu]

Let us take a look at the temple first -

One has to climb these stone cut steps to ascend -



It is not a very high climb, but as you go higher, the scenery unfolds -





And, the temple isn't actually as far as away as it looks -



The spot which looks greenish in the third picture above, is actually this -

[vrprabhu]

The final few steps -



The foundation is, of course, rock solid! No wonder it has been standing firm for centuries....











The original structure must have been a superb sight - unfortunately the lime wash and the vandalism has robbed its glory.








Why make an effort to create a symbol? Simply vandalise an existing treasure and etch your names for centuries -









Unaware of the significance of the vermillon painted patches -




And also, why there is always a smaller shrine away from the main one?

[vrprabhu]

Nature at work? A 360 degree (almost) shots of the balancing rock -








The rock is actually tilted - leaning away from the vertical, if you take a close look -




A view from an higher elevation -

[vrprabhu]

Post Diwali, things have turned busy.

Work? Sigh!

Here's something which may lighten up an otherwise dull moment -

As I climb the final flight of steps to the temple, I see this - rather, him :




It reminded me of the story where Hanuman in the guise of an old monkey teaches lesser mortals a lesson in humility - even mighty Bhima couldn't move Hanuman's tail by a millimetre.

Luckily, this guy was ruminating something more important, which is evident from the cold stare I get, when I come closer -




And goes back to his rumination.
May be, he too is looking for the wall that I am searching for? or, his next destination? or, whatever that is more important in the universe of simians, I guess. Thankfully, I have enough space to skirt his tail and go onward to the temple.




A penny for his thoughts - and wish him all success in his plans!!

BTW, that's a neat hairstyle this guys flaunts

[Red Liner]

Beautiful Prabhu. Loving these small installments you keep pushing up here.

[vrprabhu]

This part is done. But before I move ahead -

I guess this didn't quite catch the reader's eye :

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

However, the stone plaque itself isn't 60+ years old! Any guesses why (apart from the obviously newness of it compared with the obelisk)?

The reason for the above comment is that the stone plaque has an inscription about the 'old bridge' - ipso facto, the plaque must have been installed after the bridge was built.


And, as far this is concerned -

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

But I never imagined this particular specimen has much more historic relevance, which I wouldn't have ever guessed or would have occurred in the wildest of my dreams

Stone inscriptions are fairly common in these areas. Even more prevalent are boundary stones and markers - 'milestone' being one which all bhpians are aware of.

But in my quest, this one led me elsewhere. Let me give a clue, rather a couple of clues, which may help you guess the answer.

(a) Markers like this have a connection with the European continent. No - not the Stonehenge, but some thing similar.

(b) A famous character can be seen carrying this around (tip - Comix ; and no, that is not a spelling mistake from my side!)



Thanks, Red Liner. That was exactly my motive - small installments, just like a chai break!

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Beautiful .. Loving these small installments ..

[am1m]

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

(a) Markers like this have a connection with the European continent. No - not the Stonehenge, but some thing similar.

(b) A famous character can be seen carrying this around (tip - Comix ; and no, that is not a spelling mistake from my side!)

Obelisks? Or Menhirs?

If obelisks, then the connection is with Ancient Egypt first, they were the first to erect obelisks. Menhirs I guess, in ancient Europe. Heard there are several menhir sites across India.

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by am1m

.. Menhirs I guess, in ancient Europe. Heard there are several menhir sites across India.

Bang on target! This is what comes to my mind when someone says Menhir -




And this is how the one in real life looked -



The coconut trees gives one a clear perception of its size, right? (More of that later)

If Menhir wasn't enough, also found this one -




This particular feature has found mention in some movies...

[vrprabhu]

Menhirs and more....

The area was subject to some archaeological excavations a few years ago, but I was unable to pinpoint the exact location where it took place.

The area is vast, sparse human habitation and few pointers to identify the exact location.






There were a couple of unique pieces - which signify something else (see below) or is it just that nature has taken its toll?




The others were very much menhirs, as is pretty much visible -





The unique piece - which appears to be damaged, at least to me -



Its shape must be related to this underground cavern - which I presumed to be a burial site. But I could be absolutely wrong, and it could be even water storage or some such utility...






Lack of human presence, a desert like vegetation and the presence of menhirs makes the whole landscape surreal. To empahsize the size of menhirs, take a look at this. Two menhirs, facing each other and tall palm trees, make my daughter and wife look puny -



My daughter tries out what Obelix so casually does! If it is so high outside the earth, how much of it must be buried inside, to ensure that it stands tall and mighty?

[alpha1]

How old is this site? (the one with menhirs / obelisks / stonehenge etc)

[vrprabhu]

alpha1, from what I could find out on the net (through a research scholar's note) and some newspaper articles, the site is more than 2000 years old - closer to 500BCE!

The archaeological survey findings corroborate this - that this is a megalithic civilisation.

What is even more astounding is that this area is known for its castings, metallurgy and weaving since common era (CE or AD). So, definitely and historically, this is an established trade centre. But, alas, the details are far and few.

The other thing, which is also unique and symbolic, are these -




These are known as 'Cairn Circles' and are found in many parts of the world.






The numbers are likely identification marks of the archaeological survey team. Some of them, alas, are in this stage -


There are two more things that I came across - will cover it in my next post.

[vrprabhu]

While wandering around this place, we chanced upon this -



An ancient well, which appeared to be disused. Weaver birds had built their nests on the branches of trees growing here. These birds seem to prefer places near water for nest building.



A closer look will reveal (a) the old well dug out from the rock and (b) subsequent reinforcement and iron railings indicating that attempts were made to instal a motor to draw water?



May be this was a good source of water in ancient days, and continued drought had made this area arid and dry? Time to move on to my next location.....