Elephanta, a photographer's delight

A 10-year old's idea of  picnic has got nothing to do with age-old sculptures of gods and goddesses or a long flight of stairs that promise you the charm of a bygone era. The visuals that occupy its mind would be that of a picnic basket with sandwiches, cookies, a large mat, a picnic hat and some soft drinks. But what do you do when you have adults who are not well-versed with the city and its surprises? You just stride along. You don't have a choice.

If I were to give a vivid account of my first visit to see the Elephanta Caves, I wouldn't be able to do that, because the only part of the journey I remember is the boat-ride that we took from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island. I guess that was the only thing I enjoyed and hence I am able to recollect. Everything else is a big shapeless blur. After that whenever I heard people say that Elephanta Caves should be part of their Mumbai itinerary I scowled at their plan.

But as they say, this city never stops surprising you. And it was my turn again. The irony is that it took a man of German origins to take me back to Elephanta. Hah!!!

My buddy's buddy from Germany was in India to shoot in and around Mumbai. And as usual, the tourist itinerary had the place Elephanta mentioned on it. So we got going. And this time, honestly speaking,  the boat-ride didn't excite me much. It was just about OK. But what lay in store were a good number of frames to be captured with my camera.

These caves are located on the Elephanta Islands, earlier known as Gharapuri Islands or the island of caves. You can read more about them here.

These photographs speak a lot, but I still wouldn't vouch for these caves as the perfect spot for sightseeing, what with the dirt and filth around it. But yes, magic can be done with your camera. And hey, beware of the damned monkeys!