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I had no interest in pre-history, and it is not that I have a great interest in the subject even now. But, over two decades ago I had visited Bhimbetka when I went to Bhopal for a visit to Sanchi, Vidisha and Udaygiri. Bhojpur and Bhimbetka were a possible day trip and I didn’t want to miss it. The rock shelters at Bhimbetka possess incredible rock art, some dated as far back as 40,000 years ago. They were in early 2000s declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site. Dr. V.S.Wakankar whose birth centenary was celebrated in 2019 had discovered the site in 1957. Bhimbetka changed my mind about pre-history and its beauty and what those images represent are fascinating. One can spend a whole day there in those green, cool environs, looking at them without getting bored. However, that interest remained elusive. Two years ago, one heard about the Konkan Petroglyphs, a pre-historic rock art where various animal and human figures have been carved on the rocks across the Ratnagiri an...

Javari Mandir  This is not a detailed or a large post - but a short photo essay on the later temples, and smaller and not much visited temples of Khajuraho. A photograph I saw this morning of Chaturbhuj Vishnu murti haunted me, to think of all those mutilated murtis and broken parts of such beautiful temples. These temples were built much after the grand Lakshmana and the Kandariya Mahadev Temples were built. What stands tall even today as the pinnacles of north Indian style of temples called as Nagara style, based on the shape and styling of the shikaras.  These are photos taken on my phone, and I do not have a good exterior picture of the Duladev Temple. As I said this is a post is about the later temples Vamana, Javari, Chaturbhuj and Duladev. They are beautiful, different and in fact the last one in that long series of frentic temple construction is the only temple that does not have any erotic sculptures and houses a very unique Vishnu Murti in the Garbhagriha. Du...