Elephanta Caves and Hindu rock sculptures from 7th century A.D., dedicated to Shiva.
3-headed Shiva: creator, protector and destroyer, opposites and all-encompassing at the same time, much like what we find here in India.
Expansive cave, big country, huge aspirations.
The group that took the hot journey, in a packed motorboat, across the murky Arabian Sea harbor of Mumbai, to hike across a bridge over marshlands littered with trash and up tight, hot, steep stairs towards enlightenment.
We have been inspired by all that India is, in all of its imperfections and chaos.
We are amazed at modern influences.
We smile at the Indian attributes in contemporary forms.
Simply, there is hope.
An interesting 24 hours led us down (and up) some interesting steps. Several us moved from the hub of pop culture, watching rehearsals for the most popular show in India - Dance India Dance, to boarding a rickety old boat that took us across the murky, brown waters of this Mumbai's Indian Ocean to an island. There we hiked up (sherpa'd up, thanks to a tour guide who was in a hurry to get home) to the Elephanta Caves. WOW !!!! The first and most visited cave features a structure, replete with columns, built inside the mountain and features amazing stone carvings of Hindu's Shiva from early A.D. times. They sat in our minds in stark contrast to the hub of Bollywood, at the same time, both have brought/continue to bring a type of hope to the masses. While one is obviously spiritual and promises potential for improved life, the other is materialistic and yet also provides comfort and aspiration that ordinary people can make it.
I love India for the ability to create this kind of respectful co-existence. It lives with extremes and everything in between, and at times it feels like someone is taping an episode of the Amazing Race, only to turn the channel to Discovery on population, culture and history. In the end, we might want to agree that it is AN amazing race.
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