Bheem Betika – Of Prehistoric Structures, Caves, Drawings and Paintings

Bheem Betika is a world heritage site situated about an hour’s drive from Bhopal towards the south on the Hoshangabad highway.

 
This world heritage site is known for its pre-historic structures, caves and especially paintings. Bheem Betika was first mentioned in Indian archaeological records in 1888 as a Buddhist site. The earliest paintings on its cave walls is believed to be of the Mesolithic era.

 
A beautiful winding road through the country side and hills brings one to these famous structures. There is hardly any tourist infrastructure available here, but one can find partially educated locals who double up as tourist guides.


At first sight, these rocky structures can captivate one’s imagination. They seem to bellow out of nowhere amidst dense forests. It gets more interesting as one takes a walk through them.

 
The entire place is swarming with caves and most of these caves have these prehistoric paintings. There are superimposition of paintings in the caves, which shows that the same canvas was used by different people at different times.


The drawings and paintings can be classified under seven different periods:

Period 1 - (Upper Palaeolithic): These are linear representations, in green and dark red, of huge figures of animals such as bisons, tigers, and rhinoceroses.

Period II - (Mesolithic): Comparatively small in size the stylised figures in this group show linear decorations on the body.

In addition to animals there are human figures and hunting scenes, giving a clear picture of the weapons they used: barbed spears, pointed sticks, bows and arrows. The depiction of communal dances, birds, musical instruments, mother and child pregnant women, men carrying dead animal drinking and burials appear in rhythmic movement.

Period III - (Chalaeolithic) These drawings reveal that during this period the cave dwellers of this area had come in contact with the agricultural communities of the Malwa plains and started and exchange of their requirements with each other.

Period IV & V - (Early historic): The figures of this group have a schematic and decorative style and are painted mainly in red white and yellow. The association is of riders, depiction of religious symbols, Tunic-like dresses and the existence of scripts of different periods. The religious beliefs are represented by figures of Yakshas , tree gods and magical sky chariots.

Period VI & VIl - (Medieval) : These paintings are geometric linear and more schematic, but they show degenerations and crudeness in their artistic style. The colours used by the cave dwellers were prepared by combining manganese haematite soft red stone and wooden coal.


If one needs a break from pre-historic paintings, then they can find solace in bats and beehives that can be found in plenty in these caves. Even better, is a great view of Bhopal from the tortoise rock. One can see the entire Bhopal horizon from that point.


In sum, a great place to explore and have a fabulous time! Do remember to carry some sun block, a pair of sunglasses and lots of water and food.

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Mahabalipuram - A 7th century wonder!

It was a bright sunny Saturday morning in Chennai and my friend, his family, my sister and I decided to drive down to the historical town of Mahabalipuram.

Mahabalipuram/Mamallapuram is 60 km south of Chennai and is situated on the coromandel coast by the Bay of Bengal. Mahabalipuram was a busy 7th century port city and houses a lot of temples and historic monuments which have been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


Since we had left home late in the morning, our agenda was to visit the famous sea shore temple, the pancha rathas, if possible and a relaxed evening session at the beach.

As we entered this quaint dusty, but bustling tourist town, the ladies in the car got excited as they spotted tons of shopping opportunity. Somehow, we were able to coax them into exploring our glorious past before getting into the materialistic present.


We proceeded to the sprawling sea shore temple area after having bought our entrance tickets and hiring ourselves a guide. This shore temple and its boundaries are being managed and run effectively by the archaeological society of India (ASI).


With the guide leading our way, we visited the 3 shrines within the shore temple premises, namely the east and west facing Shiva shrines and the east facing (but tucked inside) Vishnu (Ananthasayanam or sleeping Vishnu) temple. We got to know that this temple is one of the oldest forms of Dravidian architecture and South Indian temples.


The other interesting fact that we got to know was that this temple was submerged under sea for some years during which the salt and sea water corroded the rock surfaces and sculptures. Even to date, rocks and boulders lined up the sea facing territory of the temple to prevent the sea from entering the temple premises. The floor of the temple and the sea are more or less at the sea level.


Our guide told us that remnants of the 7th pagoda were discovered when the sea waters receded after the 2004 tsunami and earthquake that hit this part of the world. The archaeological society of India have been sending divers for underwater excavations since 2005 to uncover the history of an underwater city.


We were shown the place of 'bali' or sacrifice and its significance to Maha'bali'puram getting its name. The influence of the Chinese tiger in the Dravidian architecture can also be seen here. Frequent trade between China and India might have been the trigger. We also saw the place that used to be a school/training ground for the art of fighting. Sculptures in various fighting poses depicted this training facility.

After the shore temple, we made our way to the Panch Rathas or Five Chariots, which are monolithic structures named after the Pandavas of the Mahabharata.

 
These structures, which have been made from a single piece of stone, were more like the school of architecture as each of these 5 structures portray a different architecture - Dravidian, Buddhist and West Bengal styles.
 

One can just gape in wonder and admire these great pieces of architecture. After a small break in the shade and a detailed photo shooting session, we trotted towards the serene looking beach where the men could enjoy a walk in the breeze while the ladies could finish their shopping experience in the adjoining shopping shacks.


With a serene looking beach, exquisite architecture, amazing sculptures, delicious history, a quaint & dusty tourist town in the kitty, our evening had all the ingredients of a 7th Century Wonder!!


The complete album can be viewed by clicking below.

Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, India

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