22nd November 2010, 16:20
| #31 | ||
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: City of seven islands.
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And the roads have improved dramatically too that Pune Dhule to Indore is good now. I had tough time overtaking over a 100 trucks or so between dhule and sendhwa. But heard that now it's all four laned. | ||
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22nd November 2010, 19:00
| #32 |
| Senior - BHPian  | |
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22nd November 2010, 23:08
| #33 | ||||
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: thane
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thanks everybody in rekindling my interest in continuing with the travelogue i almost thought i will write this for me only  | ||||
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22nd November 2010, 23:15
| #34 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: thane
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| dhule sendhwa the nightmare is almost over Quote:
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24th November 2010, 23:16
| #35 |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: thane
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| World Heritage Site Sanchi a small concrete road takes you up to the sanchi monuments. a musuem chronicling the history of discovery of sanchi at the base is very interesting dont give it a miss. i had two senior citizens with me but the site is quite manageable as there are well laid pathways. the view from the top is breathtaking spare atleast 1 full morning to cover this wonderful legacy of our ancestors. ashoka built this site with the relics of buddha which were never found(maybe well hidden) but relics of two of buddhas next generation monks were found in stupa 2 the casket of the same can be seen in the museum. the relics are opened only once in a year and are housed in the buddhist temple. stupa means a form of buddha and buddha is depicted as stupa. the toranas or carved entrances are the unique feature found only at this buddhist site although the stupas are also seen at sarnath. the ashoka pillar and the lion emblem on it and the wheel of progress in the indian flag are some of the emblems which were found at sanchi. let the pictures do the talking themselves the toranas tell the story of the buddha and are the most exquisite piece of heritage at sanchi       the yakshi is carved beautifully she is the symbol of fertility also known as the forest goddess she holds fruits and flowers   buddha statues installed later during evolution of sanchi   the fencing opens at the four toranas allowing a zigzag entrance into the stupa corridor made of interlocking blocks of stone bearing brahmi inscriptions on who the donor to a particular stone block was.      |
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25th November 2010, 14:53
| #36 |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: thane
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| murals on the toranas at sanchi the murals on the toranas are a form of storytelling and if you are history buff get yourself a guide. if you are an architecture buff you will be thrilled anyways. the storys are from jataka and the tales of buddha himself and his aftermath. im really at a loss in deciding which pics to include and which to leave out they are all so beautiful the mahabodhi tree as a form depicting buddha   greek followers of buddha see the headgear beards and hairstyle   buddha by his divine powers creates flood in a river the sage is crossing and gives a lesson in humility  tree of life  the emblem of our national flag the ashokchakra   toranas or decorated gateways are the unique feature of sanchi   Last edited by pravdr : 25th November 2010 at 15:04. |
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1st December 2010, 22:50
| #37 |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: thane
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| sanchi stupa markings on the stone pillars and the colonnades indicate a systematic method of donation and acknowledgement.engraving on stone indiactes the name and place from where the stone was donated.the script is brahmi.    the ashoka pillar has its base intact the pillar was moved by a local zamindar to crush sugarcane thinking the smooth polished surface of the pillar would be excellent to crush rice and sugarcane.it failed and so now it is housed in a shed adjoining the base.the capital(crown) bearing the famous emblem of four lions is housed in the musuem at the base of sanchi hill.      the greek influence? at sanchi is unmistakable. alongwith the toranas depicting grecian characters in reverence of buddha it has a few temples resembling the greek style of architecture similar the the temple of parthenon at acropolis.this was the time when greek ambassadors were at indian courts and indo bactrian kingdoms of punjab were dominant.the garuda dhwaja or heliodorus pillar at vidisha is a witness to these times.the pillar temples provide a majestic contrast as can be seen in some pictures adding to the mystic value of sanchi. remember sanchi was built from 300 years BC TO 1200 years AD in various stages. at this point the cultural evolution stopped and sanchi was consumed by the jungles only to be rediscovered by british in 19th century      Last edited by pravdr : 1st December 2010 at 22:59. |
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2nd December 2010, 15:22
| #38 |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: thane
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| sanchi the stupas are the crowning glory of sanchi. the plaster on the stupa is the earliest work of masonry seen in india.the great stupa of sanchi was partially excavated and rebuilt to its present state after the british archaeologists did not find any relics of buddha.         the 2nd stupa however yielded the relics of buddhas followers/disciples.the relics are housed in the nearby buddha temple and are open for exposition once in a year.the second stups torana is in complete form and in excellent condition.  the sanchi hill has a 3rd stupa downhill and many other stupas in the surroundings some pics of the stupas.the surroundings were scenic and the tanks built for supply of water were full.      on the way downhill is a monastery where sanghamitra and mahendra emperor ashokas daughter and son imbibed buddhist teachings and principles before embarking on a journey to srilanka from where on buddhism spread all over asia.pics show a donation bowl made from single stone. view of stupa from monastery.water tank for the monastery     Last edited by pravdr : 2nd December 2010 at 15:26. |
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2nd December 2010, 23:18
| #39 |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: thane
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| udayapur a missed opportunity after seeing the sanchi hill we explored the musuem at the base of the hill for some amazing artefacts stored there. also the modern history of sanchi with documents photographs and drawings has been well presented in the gallery do not miss this. we had a good lunch at the gateway retreat and decided to proceed to udayapur as i had heard about the temple being a 2nd khajuraho and being well preserved temple.opinion was divided as some people were awestruck by temple of gyaraspur which lay in another direction. finally we decided to have a crack at udayapur. we went all the way only to find the road totally broken down a few kms before udayapur. a tractor blocked the road and although locals encouraged us to go a few kms by kaccha road through fields we decideed to call it quits and turned back. first my car was nhc which has a very low ground clearance and undercarriage hits would have been definite.2nd the car is not 4x4 vehicle so if it got stuck we would be really stuck.so we came back to vidisha which is very close on the way back to sanchi.    the bad roads   the knockout punch  |
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6th December 2010, 15:20
| #40 |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: thane
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| heliodorus pillar and udaigiri caves turning back so close to udayapur was a heartburn but we consoled ourselves by enjoying the green fields of the central india hinterland. the fields were a riot of green and the tributaries of bes betwa and unnamed rivulets were full so were the tanks canals bunds and this soothed our disappointment over udayapur. in the beack of my mind i remember an inet article cautioning against bad roads towards udayapur but we did not anticipate a total offroading detour.neither do the mpstdc people have any knowledge about road conditions. with mixed feelings we came back to vidisha where a signage proclaimed the way to heliodorus pillar.it lies just off the main road you hardly drive 500meters and nestled in a fine enclosure somewhat isolated and present for almost 2300 years lies this majestic column aslo known as khamb baba by the locals. it is a "garuda pillar" with inscription at its base erected by heliodorus in service of vishnu proclaiming obeisance to him.recent archaelogical research has confirmed the presence of a once majestic vishnu temple where this pillar stood as a sentinel. Heliodorus pillar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia we took this opportunity to enjoy the gentle late afternoon breeze and a photo opportunity. in school we are rarely taught about the old historical heritage of our country which is rich and impressive. after admiring the pillar our thoughts floated to an era where people stood at the very spot where we were standing today. thrilling and worth every penny and effort to come all the way here INTO THE VERY HEART OF CENTRAL INDIA. small diversion towards heliodorus pillar in fact you can see the pillar through enclosure just below the branches  the signages tell you all about the history in short   the heliodorus pillar closeup   our older generation too was interested in conservation  the pillar in closeup note how the facets increase with the height   with satisfaction we left khamb baba and made our way towards udaigiri caves nearby. Last edited by pravdr : 6th December 2010 at 15:24. |
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6th December 2010, 15:49
| #41 |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: thane
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| Raiders Of The Losi Ark the setting is straight out of indiana jones movie. the time was evening and the udaigiri caves revealed themselves to us in all their glory. Pictures, Photos of Udaigiri Caves, India have you seen anything as dramatic as this !!!!! 1st pic boar incarnation of vishnu varahaavatar!!!      is this petra jordan? this is UDAIGIRI,madhya pradesh,INDIA,in the very heart of INCREDIBLE INDIA    this site has the potential to be another world heritage site.       the seal depicting shiva parvati!!!! magnificently carved on a stone face jsut imagine how diificult it is to poistion onself when carving on a vertical rockface.  all the info you need   old information boards also available provided you can read them    Last edited by pravdr : 6th December 2010 at 16:03. |
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6th December 2010, 16:17
| #42 |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: thane
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| satisfaction guaranteed with happy faces and contented hearts we started on our way back to sanchi which was close by. in my mind came a few thoughts one of happiness that these places were discovered after the time of mughal invaders otherwise they would have been usurped or destroyed in the name of religion. sometimes heritage has to be discovered in correct times!!!!! the bijamandal in vidisha was not so lucky as sanchi. other thought was about preservation over destruction to preserve and conserve is difficult but to destroy it takes seconds. as we covered the country road we came across a scene which made it one of the most satisfying moments for which the words are not enough.  the above magnificent scene showing the ghats of betwa river which has been flowing since times immemorial.time stood still as we stopped and took in the view to our hearts content. we enjoyed the rustic country scenes of vidisha   a hearty supper awaited us at mpstdc gateway retreat sanchi and some other pleasures as twilight took over.    Last edited by pravdr : 6th December 2010 at 16:25. |
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6th December 2010, 18:33
| #43 |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: City of seven islands.
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6th December 2010, 23:42
| #44 |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: thane
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| DAY 5 sanchi raisen bhojpur bhimbetka the next day morning at sanchi was peaceful and beautiful although i was very keen to see the finds at soneri close by time constraints made me reconsider and proceed towards bhojpur via raisen. there was a reason to go towards bhojpur via raisen 1 we thought we could cut down on kms which we could not due to a broken down bypass 2 we wanted to have a look at another undiscovered gem the hilltop raisen fort. we got a great dekko from below but unsatisfied as iam always i wanted to climb up and have a look which was not possible this time. however to all those going towards raisen make sure you spare half a day for this magnificent but now discrepit fort. we encountered a horror bypass which would have made us bypass bhopal and proceed directly to bhojpur temple. but seeing even trucks struggling we turned back and approached bhojpur via the bhopal road. this consumed an extra hour as getting into and out of bhopal slowed us down. raisen fort some views would have been exciting to climb up there.     the bhojpur bypass was initially good but broke down completely 3 kms from here we had to come back enter bhopal and go to bhojpur via state highway which rejoins the broken bypass  the road to bhojpur was good in stretches then as we came close a brown red monolith like block started to show up on the hillock on the horizon everyone exclaimed "there it is" yes there it was the temple of shiva built by raja bhoja standing like an epic a mute testimony of olden times even today.an unfinished dream!!!      |
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7th December 2010, 11:34
| #45 |
| BHPian  | Great Travelogue. I have never heard of most of the places you have visited here. :  Man, this country has so much to offer, a lifetime is not enough to cover all |
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