Badami's Ancient Caves and Fort - and a Disney-esque Surprise!

March 2007

Badami is definitely not on the gringo trail (note: at least it wasn’t in 2007, when we were there -apparently now it’s popular with international rock climbers).  Very few tourists bother to come here, despite the beautiful cave temples and the fascinating ancient fort.  The caves and the fort are situated at the top of hills on opposite sides of a very turquoise artificial lake.  

On the day we were there, we were the only visitors who walked around the lake from the temples to the fort.  All of the other tourists, including a group of Indian school children, hopped back into the buses that had brought them to the caves, and rode over to the fort.  Although they avoided a long, walk, they missed an unadvertised and most delightful attraction.

 

The Badami cave temples are hewn out of the beautiful red, pink and ochre marbled rock that surrounds the lake.  There are four main caves, numbered one through four in order of their creation.  All were created in the 6^th century... – or so – and all filled with carved friezes of the multiple Hindu gods in all of their various incarnations (they all have several, and all with different names, just to confuse the uninitiated) as well as their various consorts and their incarnations, along with all sorts of animals, plants, flowers, etc.

 

Cave one has some unusual carvings of what look like dwarves, holding up the staircase.  There's also a dancing Shiva sculpture with 18 arms, some holding drums, a torch, a serpent and an axe.  Shiva’s sone Ganesh and the bull Nandi are by his side.  Cave two is 64 steps up from Cave one, and is much smaller. 

 

Cave three is again 60 steps up from Cave two.  It’s the earliest dated Hindu temple, and is dedicated to Vishnu.  It’s the largest cave, with six huge pillars supporting the ceiling.  It is hauntingly beautiful – and somewhat austere.  I couldn’t resist taking a photo of three sari clad women who were there, two standing beside the big columns and the third taking a photo of the statue of Vishnu, seated on a hooded serpent.   

 

Cave four is just below Cave three and is the smallest of the caves. This cave has four large square columns.  The carvings in this cave, like the others, are exquisitely crafted and very detailed.

 

It was mid-day by the time we’d finished visiting all of the caves.  Of course, it was very hot – and there was precious little shade anywhere.  However the walk around the lake was thankfully not strenuous.  We passed several groups of local people – modern-day cave-dwellers? – engaged in ordinary activities like washing clothes in the lake.  It felt a bit like we’d gone from the spiritual to the mundane.  

Then just around the corner we came upon the incredible: a series of painted plaster groups of sculptures depicting the history of mankind, from cave man days through to Gandhi and the British Raj.  One tableau is of a group paddling a reed boat; another of hunting animals like deer and bison, their skins hung on a pole in front of some tepee-shaped homes.  All of the figures were larger than life, and all in action poses that gave a sort of Disneyish feel to the place. There were no signs to say who had created these amazing works or why they were there.  There was no charge for walking past them.  So we are left to wonder who made them – and why?  Ah, but it’s India, ‘Incredible India’.

We got to the base of the Badami Fort, where we were faced with an endless flight of stairs.  It was a long hot climb.  But fortunately were rewarded, at the top, with a fabulous view of the landscape below.  And... the fort itself was fascinating. It is a very ancient complex, dating back to 543 AD, so almost 2000 years.  Wow.  It’s been destroyed and rebuilt several times, and its structures are now in varying states of decay.  

Two fortified walls, which are surprisingly still pretty much intact, surround the fort. They’re constructed of huge blocks of tightly fitted red and ochre stone, reminiscent of the stonework at Macchu Picchu in Peru.  

The fort is now 'guarded', after a fashion, by a troupe of monkeys.  They let us pass unmolested, perhaps because we weren't carrying any food.  Once safely inside the fort we were able to explore a huge underground chamber, a large central mosque, and several temples.  The presence of some big old cannons were the only reminders of the number of times the old fort had come under attack – and survived.

 

The timing of our visit was perfect: both the red stones of the fort and the view of the city below were enhanced by the golden glow of the setting sun.  By the time we made it back to the bottom, and caught a tuk-tuk back into town, darkness was falling, and fatigue was overcoming our legs. 

Holi Festival – Purple Water Terrorists

 

The next day was the Indian holiday of “Holi.”  It is a celebration of spring, and in particular of the colours of spring. Like many Indian festivals, it’s a strange one, that involves splashing or spraying coloured water at family members and friends, or at anyone else you happen to see.  This likely started out as a fairly tame affair, but the Indian tendency towards exuberance and excess has made this day one that is dreaded by many, and in particular by tourists, who are the favourite targets of bottles and squirt guns filled with chemical-laden coloured water.  

 

There were a few articles in the newspaper in the days before Holi warning of the dangers of the chemical colours and encouraging people to try organic (and likely the original) alternatives, but the chemicals are much cheaper and much much brighter, so they’re the favourites.  

Evidently dogs are not immune to the Holi Purple Water Terrorist gangs

We awoke to find all of the restaurants and shops tightly closed (or “down-shuttered as they say here, referring to the metal blinds that can be unrolled down to cover shop windows and entrances when shops are closed).  A small group of tourists was sitting on the hotel balcony watching the street below.  Very few people were out and about.  Mostly it was gangs of young boys, adolescents, and adolescent-minded men who were roving around, bottles and squirt guns in hand, looking for victims.  

There was hardly a woman to be seen.

 

We were keen to move on, and the bus station was across the road, so we decided to risk it.  Aided by the hotel “doorman,” who was manning the gate, opening it only when necessary, and even then only when the coast was clear of Holi marauders, we made a dash for the bus station.  Once there, we found it was in fact a hub of Holi activities, but managed to protect ourselves, like cowards, by sitting next to a group of women who appeared to be immune from attack.  

 

Our bus ride was made somewhat more entertaining than usual by the number of times we were forced to stop by groups of young men brandishing their coloured water guns and balloons.  Each time he saw such a group on the road ahead, the “conductor cum ticket-taker” would yell for us all to close our windows, which unfortunately are the only ventilation on local Indian buses.  A few times water was thrown at the bus, and certainly it was liberally splashed with purple stains when we arrived at our destination, but we managed to avoid being doused.  

 

Throughout the entire day I saw not one woman involved in the “celebration.”  There were a few very young girls (under 10 years old).  Otherwise the women were, I guess, all at home doing dishes and laundry as usual – no ‘Holi-day’ for them!

If only we had someone to call!

 

For more information on Badami go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badami

 

For more information on the Badami cave temples go to:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badami_cave_temples

 

For more information on the Badami fort go to: https://www.karnataka.com/badami/badami-fort/

 

For more information on ‘Holi’ go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holi