Konkan Petroglyphs

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 and Sindhudurg districts in Maharashtra, in the Konkan region. Sometime last year, the organization Expansions Mind had organized a talk by Dr Tejas Garge, Director, ASI, Maharashtra on the subject. Unfortunately, I could not attend the talk, but later when the organization decided to organize a guided field trip I signed up. I was really excited about going to Ratnagiri, and taking in the Konkan landscape more than what the petroglyphs were about. But, the petroglyphs are going to be a perplexing subject of enquiry and research definitely, and may be remain undeciphered for long. One thing that we gather from historians is that the discovery puts Konkan firmly on the pre-historic map and throw some fascinating insights.

Though I did the journey in mid-January, I refrained from writing or posting the photographs as we were asked not publish anything for the fear of endangering the invaluable heritage that hasn’t yet come under the ASI or under any kind of formal state protection. We were lucky to have been guided by the man who made an accidental discovery of the petroglyphs way back in the 1980s as a school kid, and continues to preserve on its research and work on conservation, Sudhir Risbud. Sudhir and his friends connected the dots, and mapped an area that ran like a straight line across the Konkan landscape where there can be no straight stretch given the hills that run across miles and miles closer to the shore.  “Spread almost over 220 km in length and 25 km away in width in straight line from coast”, is what Dr Garge said in his lecture and by then they had covered 48 villages, 64 sites with over 1000 plus carvings identified.

In his paper Dr Garge says, “The petroglyphs from this region are mostly life size figures mostly of animals and have been executed in carved outlines. The carvings are not deeper than 5 cm and the grooves are 3-4 cm wide. Most of the petroglyphs in Ratnagiri appear to be made by pecking technique by hammer stone. The dating of Ratnagiri petroglyphs is difficult at present due to lack of cultural evidence. (PETROGLYPHS IN KONKAN: HISTORIOGRAPHY, RECENT DISCOVERIES AND FUTURE ENDEAVOURS Tejas M. Garge, B.V. Kulkarni, Rhutvij R. Apte and Sudhir Risbud). There are two types of petroglyphs identified, one that could have been straight line carving perhaps with a stone tool, and another that has areas scooped out. Some of the figures that are more than a straight line carving would have needed an iron implement.

Even now I refrain from mentioning the site names and specialty of the sites, but decided to write as I came across a couple of news reports recently and also a feature on it by an Argentinian in the Financial Express.

Immediate trigger to post these pictures here though I do not even have my photo editing tools right now, is the article in the Free Press Journal about Maharashtra government’s decision to recommend the site for UNESCO nomination. The report says the State has fixed a Rs 6 crore budget for the preservation and security of what is estimated to be 1,200 carvings at 62 locations in the two districts. These would cover five main sites, though the work to find more carvings continues.

As suggested by our guide, as well as for the sake of access, reach and conservation it is better to reach to Sudhir or his friends for a guided tour of the petroglyphs and not venture out on your own. The laterite rocks where the carvings are at some places in barren land, some places closer to the famed alphonso mango orchards of Konkan, and in some places near mines but in almost all cases they fall on the lands that are under private ownership. This has been one of the biggest challenges in preservation, popularizing, as well as conservation of the Konkan petroglyphs. Almost all land in Konkan is privately owned, don’t you know that asked one of our guides. We actually encountered a group of people at one site. The site we had gone to visit had no residential or industrial activity, but there was a lone bungalow nearby. The moment the occupants saw a van load of people descending there, they got curious and came over. Luckily for us, there were no issues, they said they were the owners of the site, but are co-operating with the government to preserve an invaluable heritage.

 There is so much the petroglyphs can teach us - the antiquity of the civilization, the continuity of the symbols, the art, the habitation, the animals that existed then and what is left of in the region. How come there are elephants, as well rhinoceros at Konkan? What are those animals and birds that are still not very clear? Did they all inhabit that land or a representation only? If not in Konkan there have been ancient finds of rhino bones in some Gujarat and Maharashtra sites. What are those geometric figures caved on the rock represent? I could only think of the Navagraha kolams (Rangoli) we do even today, and the geometric pattern of the Vedis. My travel mates argued, how can you talk about Hindu religious symbols for figures that existed much before the religion came in to being. Well, I am not going to answer that here, nor did I reply to them. It is difficult for non-believers or Hindu naysayers to see the continuity of symbols. However, would like to add just a line of what one heard in Dr Garge’s lecture that is available on You Tube is that some of the abstract or geometric figures have along with them human figures and that it is very common in Warli paintings to have goddess and a square. One of such carving a researcher has tried to compare with Goddess Palaghat in Warli marriages.

“Since there is no depiction of domesticated animals, horse rider, metal weapons or anything which suggests agricultural activity or historical scenes, therefore, some of the petroglyphs from the Konkan can be tentatively assigned to pre-pastoral Stone Age”. (PETROGLYPHS IN KONKAN: HISTORIOGRAPHY, RECENT DISCOVERIES

AND FUTURE ENDEAVOURS Tejas M. Garge, B.V. Kulkarni, Rhutvij R. Apte and Sudhir Risbud)

 May be before ending I can mention two sites that are very well known among the locals and have also been written about by many. The largest carving at Kasheli, a giant elephant with which several figures are carved out, and the elephant at Ukshi that has been preserved by the local, trying to create a protective wall around and a small stage to climb up and get a top angle view for a full understanding. All with local material and done without damaging any of the area.