[ampere]

Wow this thread is shaping up real well! I went to Elephenta in those times, when there were no digital cameras (or they were very costly; not sure) and when parents did not entrust their time and tested film-roll based cameras to their kids! This was around 1997 when as a part of college trip we ended up in Mumbai.

While going there I realized one thing: and that is people have been staying in Mumbai for decades, but have not visited these gems; my aunt being one of them!

@MX, I have all three LOTR movies first day first day first show (one in US and 2 in India !). I also have the director's cut DVD for three volumes.

But I would prefer the book and my imagination (Kaas, KP, ...)!

[MX6]

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

it is indeed rajgad.
rajgad is visible from the spot you mentioned.
you can easily spot the rajgad while driving from pune to satara on nh4. just keep eye on right side hillock after nasarapur.
if sky is clear, you can have good view of torna.

anyway, do not try torna fort in monsoon. its risky.
in any case, do not stay at torna.
[ be aware that some people believe that a ghost is present at torna fort. there are some incidents happened which one must take seriously]
[ i do not believe the ghost story but there is no need to be adventurous].

Wow. This is going to freak out SmartCat. Apart from snakes, I have loads of interest in Ghosts. We had a group back during college days who used to read all kinds of bizzare books on occult sciences. I used to love the tv serial Honi Anhoni they used to telecast in DD. We spent numerous nights in graveyards, hoping to come in front of a ghost.
I was a great follower of horror movies. The only movie that frightened me till date was The Omen! I used to love Stephen King! I always believe that Ghosts exist. But they are not necessarily the horror movie kinds.

Originally Posted by ampere

Wow this thread is shaping up real well! I went to Elephenta in those times, when there were no digital cameras (or they were very costly; not sure) and when parents did not entrust their time and tested film-roll based cameras to their kids! This was around 1997 when as a part of college trip we ended up in Mumbai.

While going there I realized one thing: and that is people have been staying in Mumbai for decades, but have not visited these gems; my aunt being one of them!

@MX, I have all three LOTR movies first day first day first show (one in US and 2 in India !). I also have the director's cut DVD for three volumes.

But I would prefer the book and my imagination (Kaas, KP, ...)!

I have the 12 dvd platinum edition. My most favourite character in LOTR is Gollum.
I can relate to those old days of roll cameras. I had a KB10 (kodak). My father was very poor at photography. So the camera was actually my brother's gift to me. Mumbai has many gems.

[MX6]

Here's some more photos of Elephanta before Shiva unleashes his taandav and his avatars in all glory.

Here's a first look at the Elephanta Island as we approach it. Look at the distance one needs to walk from the Boat Jetty.


Here's the toy train that ferries you half the distance. Then you walk again. Then you climb up.


A brief history of Elephanta.


Map of Elephanta.


An old stranded boat. Any T-BHP member interested in Modding this?


Foliage in Elephanta Island.


The cannon hill has this huge cannon. The Portuguese used to use this island more as a military bunker!


I had to remind this gentleman that this is a cannon and not a see-saw. He was very dejected and moved away.


There's loads of monkeys there. This one was very thirsty. With temperatures soaring high, I decided to give one of the bottles I was carrying to him. You can call it brotherly love.


That's the grand view of Elephanta Jetty from top! Can you see the vashi bridge at a distance?

[SmartCat]

Yeah, I neither like ghosts nor ghost stories.

But wow, that black cannon is huge, and so is the stranded speed boat. Check out the dogs near the boat to get an idea about the size of those boats.

[ampere]

Nice snaps ! Esp. the first one!
Water looks real blue.

Need to make a real leisure visit to Mumbai. Its mostly either to attend weddings in a hurry or to come for Visa interviews.

[MX6]

Shiva in all his glory.

Andhakasuravadha
Shiva slays the blind demon Andhaka who lusted after parvati. Shiva is angry to the core and he shows his fangs and claws even.


Ardhanaareshwara
Shiva gives half his body to Parvati. He shows that men and women are equal! Here he's half male and half female.


Meenakshisundareshwara
Shiva gets married to Meenakshi. Here he shows his most beautiful form - Sundareshwara


Nataraja
The cosmic dance that runs the world. Shiva is choreographing the functioning of the whole universe. He's supposed to be performing the cosmic dance in the more famous temple in south called Chidambaram.


Ravanaanugraha
Here he shows his grace. Ravana tries to move Mt. Kailas to lanka. When he shakes the mountain, Shiva just puts his toe down and due to the weight, the mountains crush Ravana's fingers. Shiva so taken by the piety of Ravana gifts him a linga. Legend has it that Ganesha played spoilsport and the linga got stuck in Gokarna in Karnataka.


Shiva and Parvati in Kailas
Matter and Energy together form the whole universe!


The three faces of shiva (out of his 5. two are shown as one on top and one behind which are not seen in this sculpture).

Aghora
The left face. He's the Angry young man. He's also known as Rudra, the destroyer.


Vamadeva
The right face. He's the young man with sensuous lips. He's showing life and vitality. Represents Brahma.


Tatpurusha
The central face that's benign and meditative. He's the protector or the preserver, representing Vishnu


That completes the Elephanta caves. Incidentally Elephanta derives it's names because the portuguese stumbled upon a huge statue of an Elephant (which now rests firmly in Jijamata Udyan) in the island. Elephanta has been accorded the Unesco world heritage site status.

Up next. Greenery near Mumbai? Oh yes!

[ampere]

Did you get some good lighting or its the flash of the camera?

[MX6]

Originally Posted by ampere

Did you get some good lighting or its the flash of the camera?

All natural light coming in from entrance. It's not enough at all. No tripods are allowed too. Flash flattens the image and makes it look pathetic.
All these are long exposures that are hand-held (compromised a bit on sharpness). To make it appealing, I made them black and white as well.
Thanks to the gods, I have a steady pair of hands and can manage with long exposures of even up to 2 seconds with decent results.

[SmartCat]

Good memory you have got. I have taken similar shots of Ellora, but don't remember the story behind it.

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

@vrprabhu,
you never posted the pic of kaas lake. correct me.
if you have the same, please post the pic.

Yes, AP saheb - we never got to the actual lake. What we see here are the backwaters as you have rightly said. The nearest we got was here - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ml#post1881196

Can you please give us some clarity on the exact location of the lake and the lay of the land. MX6 being a keen map enthusiast, I am sure he will appreciate it!

Originally Posted by MX6

Who pulls maximum crowd in Mumbai? Is it Amitabh? No. Is it Tendulkar? No again. He's the darling of every household here. He comes in all sizes. He's our great Ganesha who finds his place on the cave walls!

Carving amazing pillars which are perfect cylindrical is not an easy task especially when it's a temple that's carved out of a cave. No one moved these stones from outside. Add to it that this dates almost 1500 years back!

I've captured many of the sculptures in my camera! Shiva in his various glorious forms. But the central to all this is the huge sculpture showing the 3 of the 5 faces Shiva (Ishana, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vamadeva and Sadjyojata). The three faces are literally imposing and are supposed to depict the creation, protection and destruction of the trimurti's brahma, vishnu and shiva within shiva himself. We are literally dwarfed in front of him.


Here's a dampener though. Special Permission from Archaelogical Survey of India needed for use of Tripod within the caves. So all the pics taken were hand-held in very dark conditions. But watch this space for some very great photos of sculptures.

MX6, what a beautiful canvas you point. There is an "artistic" flavour in these pictures and words....

Initially I felt bad about hijacking the thread, but it turns out it was one of the best things I have done!!

And looking at the pictures and flow of your thoughts, I am sure you must have spent quite a lot of time this weekend in front of your PC/Laptop - hope all the words of encouragement and enjoyment compensate you for the time and pain....

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

can you please give us some clarity on the exact location of the lake and the lay of the land. MX6 being a keen map enthusiast, I am sure he will appreciate it![/b]

@vrprbhu,
in the post no 53 of this thread, you had posted the pics of pond and kachcha road.
the pond looks like kas lake but---
1] as you posted, you reached to this pond by taking that kachcha road and actually for kas lake, there is no kachcha road. you have to park the vehicles at the lone house/hall/structure near the side of road , you have to walk @ 100 feet upto bank of lake through the bushes.

as i said earlier, you will not find this lake easily from road though the road is less than 200 feet from lake.

please search wikimapia for kas [not kaas] lake, you will come to know the location and side road. zoom in and you will able to locate the lone house/hall/structure between bank of lake and road.

[Wolfheart]

Originally Posted by MX6

Wow. This is going to freak out SmartCat. Apart from snakes, I have loads of interest in Ghosts. We had a group back during college days who used to read all kinds of bizzare books on occult sciences. I used to love the tv serial Honi Anhoni they used to telecast in DD. We spent numerous nights in graveyards, hoping to come in front of a ghost.
I was a great follower of horror movies. The only movie that frightened me till date was The Omen! I used to love Stephen King! I always believe that Ghosts exist. But they are not necessarily the horror movie kinds.

MX6 , you sound like my alter ego. I have always had a very strong fascination with the supernatural and the occult. I have gone ghost hunting in several places but never found anything. That is till I saw one in my own room. However my take is that ghosts exist. I have seen one. However, I don't believe that they are spirits of the dead, there is a scientific explanation for apparitions. If there is a relevant thread, I would post my experiences there.

[amit_3306]

Its called Talwade lake...situated on Lonand- Satara road.. rainwater is the only source of water,u ll find it empty except the rainy season..There is a famous ancient mahakalitemple near the lake

[amit_3306]

Originally Posted by StarVegabond

Maharastra is the crown of India, but very understated. It has some of the mind blowing destinations
=====================
very apt title for a travelogue which explores Maharastra.

Very well said MX6...Truly its amazing Maharashtra

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

please search wikimapia for kas [not kaas] lake, you will come to know the location and side road. zoom in and you will able to locate the lone house/hall/structure between bank of lake and road.

I did - and this is what we must have done.

BTW, the road does ahead (right turn before reaching Bamnoli) and goes all the way ahead towards Tapola. So is there a way across the backwaters?

And the waters of the Kanher Dam do have a source somewhere in the ghats - and it appears that it has been dammed at the perfect place. Then why bring down water to Satara all the way from Kas Lake?