The world is moving ahead with time creating history of what is left behind. But in the course of development we tend to miss the lessons of life passed down by our ancestors who lived thousands of years ago. One such heritage site is the Bhimbetka Rocks.
The name is derived from the mythological association of this place with one of the Pandavas called Bhima, mentioned in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The Bhimbetka Rocks are an Archaeological and World heritage Site in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is also mention in the Indian Archaeological Survey (ASI).
The Bhimbetka Rock Shelters are situated in the Raisen District near Abdullaganj town and are inside the Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary. You can reach by taking flights to Bhopal airport which is at a distance of 46 km.
Bhimbetka Caves
Picture credits: indiaunveiled.in |
The Rock shelters display the traces of early human life in India. Analyses of this place suggest that some of these shelters were inhabited by humans for 100,000 years. There are rock paintings here which are of the Stone Age around 30,000 years old. The paintings are executed in shades of red and white with occasional use of green and yellow.
The entire area is covered with lush green vegetation, water supply and natural shelters. It is also blessed with rich flora and fauna. These rock sites are quite similar to the ones at Kakadu National Park, Australia, paintings of Bushmen in Kalahari Desert and cave paintings in France.
A display of human hands at Bhimbetka
Picture credits: www.touropia.com |
The UNESCO citation has declared the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka as a World Heritage Site in 2003. However, it was first mentioned in the Indian archaeological records in 1888 as a Buddhist site. Later V. S. Wakankar discovered this place after visiting with a team of archaeologists in 1957. Since that time, more than 750 shelters have been identified out of which 243 are in the Bhimbetka group and the remaining 178 in the Lakha Juar group.
Artists who have come here to explore the paintings have recorded scenes of everyday lives of the people who inhabited this place. These scenes are of hunting, cooking, eating, animals, symbols, childbirth, dancing, burials and rites. The animals which are a part of the hunting scene include bison, tigers, lions, wild boar, elephants, antelopes, dogs, lizards, and crocodiles. The rock which has all the animals and hunting scenes is popularly referred to as ‘Zoo Rock’.
Paintings of hunting animals
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What catches more attention is that the paintings represent the whole spectrum of time in terms of periods.
Representations of huge figures of animals like bison, tigers and rhinos in the shades of dark green and red.
The size of figures gets reduced here. In addition to animals, there is appearance of hunting scenes, weapons such as barbed spears, pointed sticks, bows and arrows. This period has depiction of communal dances, birds, musical instruments, mother and child, pregnant women, dead animals, and burial.
These paintings of this period show the trade of agricultural goods with the communities of Malwa plains.
This period consists of figures which have a sort of decorative style, painted in red, white and yellow. It also has riders, religious symbols, and clothes, figures of yakshas, tree gods and magical sky chariots.
The paintings of this period have a more geometric linear shape which shows crudeness in their artistic style. The colors used here are prepared from manganese, wooden coal, animal fat and extracts of leaves.
These periods provide a series of evolution that occurred during that era.
Human activities like dancing at Bhimbetka
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Heritage sites like these are rare and a challenge to maintain with the growing development. Free Press Journal requests its readers to take an initiative to help keep the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters and any such places clean.
If you have any of your travel experiences to share, send them to us at webeditor@fpj.co.in
