The Museum Society Tour to Bhopal and Sanchi - a great learning holiday

This article was originally a personal travelogue written for our Museum Society of Mumbai Group who were a delightful knowledgeable eclectic group of travellers -   this was our first trip with the Society. Hence its format differs from other blogs.

Meet at VT station for the 7.00 pm Punjab Mail. More information there. Terse instructions but having heard a lot of good things of the Museum Society tours, I was not too worried. Train late by 45 minutes – time to reflect on my first group tour outing. I prefer going on my own but here we were because we were promised Bhopal and Sanchi with an expert guide to lecture to us on the history and artifacts.

Got on board and found that most of the 19 pax, most around the magic figure of ‘60’ in age, were in two compartments. As I found on the trip, lots of good humour and people with similar interests; majority had been on other Museum Society tours before. Sharing of theplas, ghatias, aloo sabji and other Gujju snacks began and continued the bonding process throughout the trip.

Located at the cross roads of North and South India in ancient times, Vidisha used to be a prosperous town. 55kms from Bhopal and very close to Sanchi, it became our base for three nights followed by three nights at Bhopal. Cue to late hotel arrangements, we experienced 2 hotels in 3 nights… well worth the expereince. Both were comfortable, relatively clean, excellent A/C and good food.

Dr Narendra Vyas, Superintendant, Archaeological Survey of India – Northern Region – i.c. of Temple Restoration, was our guide and mentor. He has now retired but what an amazingly learned, humble human being. A repository of information not only on temples but also on history, culture, cave paintings, art, archaeology and religion. He stayed with us through the trip and accompanied us to various places. This article is more a photo essay than a detailed note as one can find historical facts in any Tour guide book. So, the pictures do most of the talking….. the places we experienced …..

• Ath Khamba                  
• Bajramath
• Bhimbetka Caves
• Bhopal Museum
• Bhopal – Birla Museum
• Bhopal – Museum of Man
• Hindola Toran
• Maladevi Temple
• Nagori Rock Paintings
• Sanchi Stupa
• Shiv Mandir, Bhojpur
• Udaygiri Caves and Bija Mandal
• Vidisha

 

Bajramath – originally a triple shrine dedicated to Surya, Vishnu and Shiva. This temple contains Jain deities of 12^thC AD.

The picture below shows how precariously the dome balances. Very little reconstruction work has been done. 

 

Bhimbetka Caves – Rock shelters and paintings were discovered here in 1957-58. You have no idea what lies behind this pathway to the Bhimbetka Caves – 750 rock shelters – 500 of these have paintings depicting hunting, riding, animals, communal activity, warfare and other scenes.

 Bhimbetka represents an interaction between people and the landscape as seen from the numerous rock art pieces. It was a hunting and gathering economy which is well represented here. 
 

 The mineral colours  used are green, red, ochre and white. The cupmarks made on the surface date back to 100,000 BP - this makes it far older than many of the similar sites elsewhere in the world. Other antiquarian remains include fortifications, walls, stupas, stone built houses, inscriptions of the Sunga - Gupta period.
 

                                                               Adjacent photo is a fine detail – for clarity, the picture has had colour correction to bring out the fine lines of the animals. 

The site was very active during lower paleolithic times to medieval period. There are 6 groups of caves spread over 10 acres. 

 


                          Tree and rock formations reminded me of Ankor Wat’s Ta Prohm. 

Dr Vyas shows how stick figures are made and how they  appear in rock paintings.

Bhopal Museum – designed by an Indian local architect, this Museum is world class in its design, its seventeen galleries and displays, its artifacts. There are sections on manuscripts, fossils, weapons, prehistory etc.

The Sculpture Gallery has a priceless collection of over 100 magnificent stone pieces. 87 Jain Bronzes in another gallery.  The shop sells excellent art books and copies of sculptures shown in the Museum. What a wonderful experience.

Bhopal – Museum of Man – over 200 acres, an amazing experience for any visitor – 22 tribal unit’s life size in the outdoors showing how the main Indian tribes live. 

A large building housing various aspects of daily life – jewellery, utensils, clothes, interiors, art and culture. Himalayan, Desert and Coastal regions have own displays. Wonderfully displayed and a treat to see… worth the visit all that way to Bhopal.

Hindola Toran – an entrance to a Brahma temple. Only the plinth and four central pillars survive. Carvings depict Vishnu’s incarnations.   0^th C AD. 

 

Maladevi Temple – a Jain temple with rich carvings.
                                                          Entrance hall is part rock cut. 9^th C AD.                                                                                               

We were more impressed with the massive bee hives – around  ten of them, each around 3 to 4 ft deep and as wide!!

Nagori Rock Paintings – 5^th C Gupta period. Superimposition of animals

on earlier paintings Lot of copper deposit on rocks. One can clearly see deer, lion

and a king under an umbrella. A pleasant walk leads to the Rock formation.

Shiv Mandir, Bhojpur – an unfinished temple in vast grounds. The 22 ft high Shiv Lingam (of which only 7 ft is visible) rests on a slab  which is 18ft x 18ft. The main pillar is 40 ft high.

Bija Mandal - Bija Mandal is a huge 11^th C AD site where Aurangzeb built a mosque using materials from a Parmara temple. There is also a step well.  Largest temple of which only 1/5 is visible today.

Udaygiri Caves - 3C BC has 20 caves rock cut. We climbed right to the top and we saw a magnificent view of the surrounding landscape. The Tawa Cave has a Tawa shape. The photo shows the huge Boar statue 4^th C BC with a lotus flower on his head. Lots of wave-like strokes to represent the Oceans.

  

What I liked of Udaygiri Caves was the very first sculpture of Lord Ganesh which you can see above as well as below in clearly.

 

We also climbed up the top of the Udaygiri caves –  caption for this next  photo is “Stop complaining and hold my hand. We will get there!!”

 Udaishwar Temple – an unplanned visit to a beautiful temple reminiscent of Khajuraho. Built in 1508, Parmar period in the Bhoomi style where the construction lines go straight up. 1994 excavations completed. The ladies had a special aarti done for them. .

Vidisha – home for three nights. Group with local Collector Yogendra Sharma

There is a museum here where there are some fine exhibits but a lack of knowledge and resources for a good display. They have just released a well designed brochure on the various sites around Vidisha. 

  

 


Bonding together in front of the local Rakshasa – 2^nd C BC Kubaid statue from Besnagar – Sunga Dynasty

 Sanchi Stupa – what does one say of such a serene experience. Just enjoy the photographs.

 

 



Here are some vignettes of our group







 







 

   



 











 This blog is dedicated to Dr Narendra Vyas who was our "guide" and mentor. He spent a considerable amount of time sharing his knowledge with us thereby making the trip memorable and full of understanding of all the small issues which are important on a Museum Society trip.  

   

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