The less known spots in Famous Place: Caves in Mumbai

by Sohel Shaikh (India)

Making a local connection India

Mumbai or say it Bombay!!! The city of islands, the city of Bollywood, the economical capital of India, the most popular metropolitan of Kokan coast and the wealthiest city in India. Even around hugely popular tourist places, there lie a number of attractive, but less known places, when travellers from another country visits a highly popular tourists spot, his/her sightseeing is limited to a maximum of two days; but there are some caves which are lied there as a hidden treasure of beauty so the I spent a day to explore caves only and my journey starts at 8 to 9 o’clock in the morning around with elephant cave. The Elephanta Caves are located on Elephanta Island also known as the Island of Gharapuri which means “The City of Caves”. One can reach there from Gate way of India by ferry. The 7-metre- high masterpiece “Sadashiva” dominates the entrance to Cave 1. The sculpture represents three aspects of Shiva: the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer, identified, respectively, with Aghora or Bhairava(left half), Taptapurusha or Mahadeva (central full face), and Vamadeva or Uma (right half). Representations of Nataraja, Yogishvara, Andhakasuravadha, Ardhanarishwara, Kalyanasundaramurti, Gangadharamurti, andRavanaanugrahamurti are also noteworthy for their forms, dimensions, themes, representations, content,alignment and execution. Then journey was followed to the Mahakali cave whim is also known as Kondivita Caves; a group of 19 rock cut monuments and which were constructed between 1st and 6th century B.C. this group of rock cut monuments. The caves have a distinct division of two. One is situated that is a group of 4 more towards the Northwest and the other part which is a big group of 15 is located more towards the north east of the area. Mahakali caves are carved out of solid basalt rock. .They are also known as viharas or cells for monks. The monks used to stay in these cells. The cave no 9 the largest of the caves have images of Lord Buddha engraved on them but they are not clearly visible as they have become mutilated. Journey was lead to Jogeshwari Caves. Jogeshwari caves are known to be the first and largest Hindu temple caves in India. The cave has various engraved portraits and sculptures on the walls. These sculptures have been engraved very beautifully. Inside the cave numerous pillars have been built. There are 6 pillars on each side forming a sort of central section. In the middle of the pillars is situated the temple in which shrine is present. The pillars act as a boundary for the temple. The porch has a length of about 30 feet. After the Jogeshwari Caves, Kahneri caves were visited which is located in Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The attractions are Basalt formations, 109 special entrances, deciduous green forests, ancient architecture and a Cluster of Rock Cut Monuments. These caves were formed between 1st century BC and 9th century AD, with the earliest rocks comprising 109 tiny rock cut cells. After then I went to Mandapeshwar Cave. It is an 8th Century rock-cut shrine dedicated to Shiva located near Mount Poinsur in Borivali. Few Shaivaite narrative panels including Natraj, image of Lakulisa in Vyakhyana mudra are sculpted here. Mandapeshwer cave has sculptures of Nataraja, Sadashiva and a splendid sculpture of Ardhanarishvara. It also has Ganesha, Brahma and Vishnu statuettes. These Works depict the mythical tales of the Hindu gods and goddesses. Even today an elaborate sculpture representing the marriage of Shiva with Parvati may be viewed from the large square window at the south end of these caves. These are a part of travelling. On other hand I enjoyed a local street food while travelling like missal pav, vada pav, Dabeli and Pav Bhaji which are so delicious as mouthwatering. These whole trip lies under an economical pockets and one can truly enjoy a trip as well as good taste of craving with sometimes little bit of traffic.