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Published by dale, 2017-01-16 11:53:17

Leakey - India - Handbook

Leakey - India - Handbook

INDIA
JANUARY 28- FEBRUARY 9, 2017

page  2

CONTENTS

Map of India .............................................................................................. 5
Saturday, January 28.................................................................................. 7
Map of Rajasthan ..................................................................................... 11
Sunday, January 29 ...................................................................................13
Monday, January 30..................................................................................17
Tuesday, January 31 ................................................................................. 23
Wednesday, February 1 ........................................................................... 27
Thursday, February 2 .............................................................................. 33
Map of Madhya Pradesh ......................................................................... 39
Friday, February 3.................................................................................... 41
Saturday, February 4 ...............................................................................49
Sunday, February 5 ...................................................................................51
M a p o f M a h a r a s h t r a ....................................................................... 53
M a p o f M u m b a i ................................................................................ 55
Monday, February 6 ................................................................................ 57
Tuesday, February 7 ................................................................................ 61
Wednesday, February 8........................................................................... 65
Thursday, February 9 ..............................................................................69
General Information on India................................................................ 73
Hotel and Staff Contact Information .....................................................80
Hotel and Staff contact information...................................................... 83
Participants List ...................................................................................... 85
Notes........................................................................................................ 87
Notes ........................................................................................................ 88
Notes ........................................................................................................ 89
Notes ........................................................................................................90

page  3

page  4

Map of India

page  5

page  6

Saturday, January 28

 Individual arrivals into Delhi throughout the day.
 Private car and driver for the 30-minute transfer from the

airport to our 5-star hotel, Taj Palace.
 Check-in time at the hotel is 2:00 pm today.
 Day and evening at leisure to rest and adjust to the time

difference.
 Overnight: The Taj Palace, Delhi.

page  7

Delhi

Delhi, the capital of India, is also its third largest city, with a
population of about 16 million. Its strategic location along the north-
south, east-west route has given it a prominent position in Indian
history and many great empires have been ruled from here. The
monuments and ruins of these empires are scattered throughout
the city, often cheek by jowl with modern structures and high rise
towers.

The vast urban sprawl of contemporary Delhi is, in fact, a
conglomeration of several distinct enclaves, chief among which are
Old Delhi, with its 16th and 17th-century Mughal-built monuments
and congested souk-like bazaars, and New Delhi, with its wide
avenues, grand vistas and colonial mansions built by the British in
the 1930s as their imperial capital. New Delhi has government
buildings and also houses the Diplomatic Enclave where all the
embassies are located. The picturesque 12th-century ruins of
citadels built by the first Islamic rulers can be seen in the Qutb-
Mehrauli area, and the affluent new middle class suburbs of South
Delhi lie close by.

Slums and shanty towns dot the outer fringes of the city. All the
contradictions and contrasts of India are particularly visible in the
capital with denim-clad youngsters rubbing shoulders with robed
sadhus (holy men), and bullock carts traveling alongside the latest

page  8

luxury cars. Adding to Delhi’s fascinating diversity is the fact that it is
largely a city of migrants. After the violent partition of India and
Pakistan in 1947, millions of refugees, mainly from West Punjab,
flocked here in search of a new life. Since then there has been a
steady influx of people from all over India. Yet each regional
community has retained its distinct cultural identity, making Delhi
less a melting pot than a thali (platter) whose offerings may be
savored singly or in interesting combinations.

page  9

page  10

Map of Rajasthan
RAJASTHAN

page  11

page  12

Sunday, January 29

 Breakfast served from 7:00 a.m. in the hotel restaurant, Capital
Kitchen.

 9:00 am. Following breakfast we depart for Agra by private
coach on the new Yamuna Expressway. Transfer time about 4 ½
hours.

 Upon arrival in Agra, we check in to the 5-star Marriott
Courtyard close to the Taj Mahal.

 1:30 p.m. A late lunch before heading out for the afternoon.
 3:00 p.m. This afternoon we visit Agra Fort.
 Return to the hotel at the end of the afternoon.
 7:00 p.m. Gather at Momo restaurant in the hotel for a relaxed

dinner.
 Overnight: Marriott Courtyard, Agra.

page  13

page  14

Agra

Agra was the capital of the Mughal court during the 16th and 17th
centuries and its sublime monuments date from that era. The
emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jehan governed their vast
empires from here. Being prolific builders, artisans from Persia,
Central Asia and other parts of India were attracted by their
patronage. The resulting luxurious palaces, tombs, forts and gardens
dot the picturesque region along the Yamuna River. The two most
famous monuments are the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort, both of
which have been declared World Heritage Sites.

Agra Fort

Situated on the west bank of the Yamuna River, the imposing red
sandstone fort was started in 1565 by Mughal Emperor Akba and is
surrounded by a crescent moat construction along the riverfront.
The fort encompasses a huge complex of courtly buildings reflecting
the varied styles of each Mughal Emperor.

Additions to the fort were made, particularly by Shah Jahan, using
his favorite building material – white marble. The fort was built
primarily as a military structure, but Shah Jahan transformed it into
a palace, and later it became his gilded prison for eight years after
his son Aurangzeb seized power in 1658.

page  15

The Yamuna River originally flowed along the straight eastern edge
of the fort, and the emperors had their own bathing ghats here. It
contains a maze of buildings, forming a city within a city, including
vast underground sections, though many of the structures were
destroyed over the years by Nadir Shah, the Marathas, the Jats and
finally the British, who used the fort as a garrison. Event today,
much of the fort is used by the military and so is off-limits to the
general public.

page  16

Monday, January 30

 Breakfast served from 6:30am in the hotel’s MOMO Café.
 Please have your bags ready for pick-up at 7:30am.
 8:00 a.m. Depart from the lobby to visit the Taj Mahal.
 10:00 a.m. Following our visit to the Taj Mahal travel east

towards Jaipur.
 Stop after 1 ½ hours to visit the World Heritage Site complex of

monuments known as Fatehpur Sikri.
 Continue on 30 minutes by coach to lunch.
 1:30 p.m. Lunch at Hotel Laxmi Villas Palace Bharatpur.
 2:30 p.m. Following lunch, we continue our drive to Jaipur.

Transfer time about 3 hours 45 minutes.
 6:15/30 p.m. Upon arrival in Jaipur, check-in at our hotel, the 5-

star Jai Mahal Palace.
 7:30 p.m. Dinner at the hotel restaurant, Cinnamon.
 Overnight: Jai Mahal Palace, Jaipur.

page  17

page  18

Taj Mahal

Poet Rabindranath Tagore described it as “a teardrop on the cheek
of eternity”, Rudyard Kipling as the “embodiment of all things pure”,
while its creator, Emperor Shah Jahan, said it made “the sun and the
moon shed tears from their eyes”.

The Taj Mahal was built by the emperor Shah Jahan for his third (and
favorite) wife Mumtaz, who died giving birth to their 14th child in
1631. Construction of the Taj began the following year and, although
the main building is thought to have been built in eight years, the
whole complex was not completed until 1653. Not long after it was
finished Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son Aurangzeb and
imprisoned in Agra Fort where, for the rest of his days, he could only
gaze out at his creation through a window. Following his death in
1666, Shah Jahan was buried at the Taj Mahal alongside Mumtaz.

Set behind a reflecting pool inside a courtyard defined by 4
minarets, the imposing main building features a massive dome and
intricately carved white marble inlaid with precious stones. Built
with the work of some 20,000 people, it is indisputably one of the
world’s most iconic buildings and a breathtaking experience to see.

page  19

Fatehpur Sikri

Built during the second half of the 16th century by the Emperor
Akbar, Fatehpur Sikri was the capital of the Mughal Empire for only
10 years. The complex of monuments and temples, all in a uniform
architectural style, includes one of the largest mosques in India, the
Jama Masjid, still in use today. Akbar also built three palaces for
each of his favorite wives one of a Hindu, one a Muslim and one a
Christian. The city was an Indo-Islamic masterpiece, but erected in
an area that supposedly suffered from water shortages and so was
abandoned shortly after Akbar’s death.

Jaipur

Jaipur is named after its founder, the great warrior-astronomer Jai
Singh II (1688-1744), who came to power at age 11 after the death
of his father, Maharaja Bishan Singh. Jai Singh could trace his lineage
back to the Rajput clan of Kachhwahas, who consolidated their
power in the 12th century. Their capital was at Amber, just northeast
of present-day Jaipur, where they built the impressive Amber Fort.

The kingdom grew wealthier and wealthier, and this, plus the need
to accommodate the burgeoning population and a paucity of water
at the old capital at Amber, prompted the maharaja to commence
work on a new city in 1727 – Jaipur.

page  20

Northern India’s first planned city, it was a collaborative effort
combining Jai Singh’s vision and the impressive expertise of his chief
architect, Vidyadhar Bhattacharya. Jai Singh’s grounding in the
sciences is reflected in the precise symmetry of the new city.
In 1876 Maharaja Ram Singh had the entire Old City painted pink
(traditionally the color of hospitality) to welcome the Prince of
Wales (later King Edward VII). Today all residents of the Old City are
compelled by law to preserve the pink façade.

page  21

page  22

Tuesday, January 31

 Breakfast served from 6:30 a.m. in the hotel restaurant, Marble
Arch.

 Please have your bags ready at 8:00 am for pick-up.
 8:30 a.m. Following breakfast, we transfer 30 minutes to the

famous Amber Fort.
 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. Visit Amber Fort.
 Transfer 10 minutes to Brigitte Singh shop for a demonstration

on wood block printing and weaving. We will have an
opportunity here for shopping.
 12:00 p.m. Lunch at Hotel Taj Rambagh Palace.
 More shopping opportunities after lunch.
 Continue to visit the opulent Maharaja's City Palace.
 5:00 p.m. Transfer 20 minutes to the Jaipur Airport for our 1
hour flight to Delhi leaving at 7:10 pm and arriving at 8:10 pm.
 On arrival, we are escorted to our hotel, The Taj Palace. ETA 10
p.m.

page  23

 Overnight: The Taj Palace, Delhi.

page  24

Amber Fort

Amber, the former capital of Jaipur state, was built by the
Kachhwaha Rajputs who hailed from Gwalior, in present day
Madhya Pradesh, where they reigned for over 800 years. Maharaja
Man Singh, the Rajput commander of Akbar’s army, began
construction of the fort in 1592.

The Amber (pronounced “amber”) Fort is largely made up of a royal
palace, built from pale yellow and pink sandstone and white marble,
divided into four main sections, each with its own courtyard.

Brigitte Singh

French by birth, Brigitte Singh first visited Jaipur during the 70s to
study miniature painting. Here she met her husband and
subsequently made her home in Amber, the old capital, near Jaipur.
Brigitte became fascinated by the rich heritage of the textile
industry, in particular the art of wood block printing, which had
flourished in India in the 18th century.

By the early 80s she had set up her own atelier in Amber where she
began to produce an exquisite range of furnishings, clothing and
accessories. Many of Brigitte’s designs are based on traditional
Moghul art and everything from the carving of the wood blocks to

page  25

the final hand stitching and pressing takes place under her personal
supervision.

City Palace
The City Palace was the seat of the Maharaja of Jaipur, the head of
the Kachwaha Rajput clan. The Chandra Mahal palace now houses a
museum but the greatest part of it is still a royal residence. The
palace complex, located northeast of the center of the grid-
patterned Jaipur city, incorporates an impressive and vast array of
courtyards, gardens and buildings. The palace was built between
1729 and 1732, initially by Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber. He
planned and built the outer walls, and later additions were made by
successive rulers continuing up to the 20th century. Despite the
gradual development, the whole is a striking blend of Rajasthani and
Mughal architecture.

page  26

Wednesday, February 1

 Breakfast served from 7:00 a.m. in the hotel restaurant, Capital
Kitchen.

 9:30 a.m. Depart the hotel by coach.

 This morning will feature a visit to Old Delhi, previously known
as Shahjahanabad. We will travel on foot and via rickshaw
through the chaotic and bustling markets of Chandni Chowk,
where trading continues in the maze of shops as it has done
over the centuries. We will start at the largest mosque in
India—the magnificent Jama Masjid—which was built by Shah
Jahan in the 17th century.

 Noon: Lunch at Veda, at Connaught Place featuring a variety of
local specialties.

 2:00 p.m. Afternoon visit to Humayun’s Tomb, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in Nizamuddin East in Delhi.

 Return to the hotel at the end of the afternoon. ETA 4:00 p.m.

 7:00 p.m. Dinner in the hotel’s restaurant, Masala Art.

 Overnight: Taj Palace Hotel, Delhi.

page  27

page  28

Old Delhi (aka Shahjahanabad)

Old Delhi was founded as Shahjahanabad by Mughal Emperor
Shahjahan in 1639. It remained the capital of the Mughals until the
end of the Mughal dynasty. It was once filled with mansions of
nobles and members of the royal court, along with elegant mosques
and gardens. Today, despite having become extremely crowded and
dilapidated, it still serves as the symbolic heart of metropolitan
Delhi.

The Bazaars of Old Delhi
Old Delhi’s bazaars are legendary. An English visitor over 100 years
ago wrote in praise of the “cashmere shawls, gold and silver
embroidery, jewelry, enamels and carpets” found here. Today, the
great wholesale bazaars of Chandni Chowk still retain a souk-like
quality. Their narrow streets are lined with shops, whose goods spill
out onto the pavements. Each lane specializes in a commodity.
Dariba Kalan, for instance, is the land of jewelers and silversmiths,
while Kinari Bazaar sells a bewildering array of tinsel and sequins.

page  29

Jama Masjid

Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built the Jama Masjid between 1644
and 1656, enlisting more than 5,000 workers to construct the
mosque. The construction was done under the supervision of
Saadullah Khan, wazir (or prime minister) during Shah Jahan's rule.

About 25,000 people at a time can pray in the courtyard and it is
sometimes regarded as India's largest mosque. The mosque is
commonly called "Jama" which means Friday.

The British, after their victory in the Revolt of 1857, confiscated the
mosque and stationed their soldiers here. They threatened to
destroy the mosque to punish the people of the city, but due to
opposition faced, the demolition was not done.

Humayun’s Tomb

Humayun’s Tomb is the first of the grand dynastic mausoleums that
were to become synonyms of Mughal architecture with the
architectural style reaching its zenith 80 years later at the later Taj
Mahal. Humayun’s Tomb stands within a complex of 52 acres.

Humayun’s Tomb was built in the 1560s, with the patronage of
Humayun’s son, the great Emperor Akbar. Persian and Indian
craftsmen worked together to build the garden-tomb, far grander

page  30

than any tomb built before in the Islamic world. Humayun’s garden-
tomb is an example of the charbagh (a four-quadrant garden with
the four rivers of Quranic paradise represented), with pools joined
by channels. The garden is entered from lofty gateways on the south
and from the west with pavilions located in the center of the eastern
and northern walls.
Humayun’s garden-tomb is also called the ‘dormitory of the
Mughals’ as in the cells are buried over 150 Mughal family members.
The tomb stands in an extremely significant archaeological setting,
centered at the Shrine of the 14th century Sufi Saint, Hazrat
Nizamuddin Auliya. Since it is considered auspicious to be buried
near a saint’s grave, seven centuries of tomb building has led to the
area becoming the densest ensemble of medieval Islamic buildings
in India.

page  31

page  32

Thursday, February 2

 Breakfast served from 7:00 a.m. in the hotel restaurant, Capital
Kitchen.

 9:00 a.m. Please have your bags ready for pick-up in your room.

 9:30 a.m. Depart for a cultural and historical overview visit of
New Delhi taking in Rajpath, a two-mile long avenue originally
the focal point of British India, India Gate, Parliament House,
Rashtrapati Bhavan, Raisina Hill, Lutyen’s 20th Century
architectural masterpiece now the President's official
residence.

 Visit to the National Museum. Our guided tour with Seema will
focus on the museum’s collection of Indus Valley objects,
bronzes, and miniature paintings.

 1:30 p.m. Late buffet lunch at the Oberoi Gurgaon.

 3:15 p.m. 15-minute transfer to the airport.

 5:20 p.m. Flight arriving into Bhopal at 6:35 p.m.

 Continue to our hotel.

 Check-in on arrival and dinner directly to follow.

page  33

 8:00 p.m. Mughlai Cuisine dinner in the Under The Mango Tree
Restaurant of our hotel.

 Overnight: Jehan Numa Palace, Bhopal.

page  34

New Delhi

The official Indian capital since 1911, New Delhi stands on the
Yamuna River on the western end of the gigantic plain in Northern
India. Continuously inhabited since the 6th century, Old Delhi and
New Delhi are no longer separate cities but are now a seamless,
vibrant entity with many layers of history and culture.

The city plan of New Delhi (the area surrounding Rajpath) was made
by the British architect Edwin Lutyens. Rajpath (Hindi for ‘King's
Way’) was of central importance to the plan. Lutyens wanted a
panoramic view of the city of Delhi from the Viceroy’s palace. The
view from Raisina Hill runs unhindered across Rajpath and India
Gate and is obstructed only by the National Stadium. Most of the
buildings surrounding Rajpath, were designed by Lutyens and
Herbert Baker.

Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens

Architect Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944), President of the Royal
Academy from 1938-1944, was commissioned to design India’s new
capital in 1911. With his colleague, Herbert Baker, it took him 20
years to build the city in a unique style that combined Western
Classicism with Indian decorative motifs. The result is an impressive
and harmonious synthesis, with Neo-Mughal gardens and grand

page  35

vistas meeting at verdant roundabouts. The project was delayed by
both World War I and quarrels between Baker and Lutyens and
subsequent spiraling costs and declining Indian revenues. Ironically,
the British lived here for only 16 years after it was finished.

Rajpath

Rajpath is the ceremonial boulevard in New Delhi. The avenue is
lined on both sides by huge lawns, canals and rows of trees.
Considered to be one of the most important roads in India, the
annual Republic Day parade takes place here on January 26.

Rajpath contains many key buildings and monuments such as India
Gate. Built in 1921, the gate was designed by Lutyens and
commemorates the 70,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives
fighting for the British Army during World War I.

Raisina Hill houses India's most important government buildings,
including Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the President
of India, the main palace building of which was formerly known as
the Viceroy’s House. A vast copper-clad cupola soars over this
elegant beige and red sandstone building which covers an area of 5
acres. The pièce de résistance is the circular Durbar Hall, situated
directly beneath the dome, where all important state ceremonies
and functions are held.

page  36

National Museum

Established in 1949, it houses over 200,000 works of art from India
and the rest of the world, covering more than 5,000 years of cultural
heritage.

The blueprint for establishing the National Museum in Delhi was
prepared by the Maurice Gwyer Committee in May 1946. An
Exhibition of Indian Art, consisting of selected artefacts from various
museums of India was organized by the Royal Academy, London
with the cooperation of Government of India and Britain. The
Exhibition went on display in the galleries of Burlington House,
London during 1947-48. It was decided to display the same
collection in Delhi, before the return of exhibits to their respective
museums. An exhibition was organized in New Delhi in 1949, which
inspired the creation of the National Museum.

Bhopal

Split by a pair of lakes, Bhopal offers two starkly contrasting
cityscapes. In the north is the Muslim-dominated old city, a
fascinating area of mosques and crowded bazaars. Bhopal’s
population is 40% Muslim – one of India’s highest concentration of
Muslims – and the women in black niqabs (veils) are reminders of
the female Islamic rulers who built up Bhopal in the 19th century.

page  37

North of here is a reminder of a more recent, tragic history – the
Union Carbide chemical plant, site of the terrible industrial disaster.
South of the two lakes, Bhopal is more modern, with wide roads,
shopping complexes and upmarket hotels and restaurants nestled
comfortably in the Arera and Shamla Hills, which overlook the lakes
and the old city beyond. The central district here is known as New
Market.

page  38

Map of Madhya Pradesh

page  39

page  40

Friday, February 3

 Breakfast served from 7:00 a.m. in the Shahnama restaurant.
 8:15 a.m. Please have bags ready in your rooms for pick-up.
 8:45 a.m. Check-out and departure for Madhya.
 1 ½ hour drive to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the

Bhimbetka Rock Shelters.
 10:15 a.m. 2 hours spent visiting the shelters here.
 12:30 p.m. Vegetarian lunch at a simple, government-run

restaurant in Bhimbetka.
 1:30 p.m. 2-hour drive to Adamgarh rock art site.
 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. Visit of the site.
 4:30 p.m. We carry on two hours to our deluxe jungle lodge

hotel on the edge of the Satpura Tiger Reserve.
 ETA arrival at the lodge: 6:30 p.m.
 7:30 p.m. Gather for drinks and dinner in the lodge.
 Overnight: Forsyth Lodge, Satpura National Park.

page  41

page  42

Bhimbetka

Excerpt from the Bradshaw Foundation:

The Bhimbetka rock art sites, about 45 kilometres south-east of
Bhopal, have become famous: they are the ones that are always
mentioned whenever Indian rock art is alluded to. They were
discovered and revealed to the world by V.-S. Wakankar from 1957
onwards. Bhimbetka, set in the Vindhyan range of central India, is
about ten kilometres by two. On seven hills more than 500 painted
sandstone shelters are known in an environment of forests,
nowadays threatened by population increase and pressure. Some of
the painted sites are very minor, with a few images only whereas
there will be hundreds in others. They were put on the World
Heritage List of UNESCO in 2003. Fifteen or so of the most
spectacular ones, in an environment of convoluted cliffs on the top
of a hill with a large vista, are open to the public.

Excavations carried out at Bhimbetka have revealed occupational
deposits ranging from the Acheulian to Historical times. As to the
art, the three main periods recognized by most Indian researchers
(Mesolithic roughly 12,000 to 5,000 BP, Chalcolithic (roughly 5,000
to 2,500 BP) and Historical, from 2,500 BP onwards) are present on
the shelter walls. The first impressions one has of the art have been
graphically described:

page  43

"If one visits a painted shelter, one is confronted with two types of
drawings - one very clear, bright and fresh looking, while the others,
underlying them are faded, fragmented and hardly visible. The fresh
ones feature mainly bands of marching and fighting soldiers,
cavaliers being chased and aimed at by masked hunters equipped
with bows and arrows and barbed spears. In between these two
types of figures sometimes we find a third category … These are of
long-horned cattle, other domesticated animals and men engaged in
activities which can be associated with a primary stage of civilization
- the beginning of sedentary life" (Mathpal 1998: 10).

Adamgarh Rock Art Site

Dr Meenakshi Dubey-Pathak

Adamgarh is a long series of rock shelters. Adam means early men
and garh means place to stay by the community.

It is 55kms far from Bhopal and 3 kms south of Hoshangabad
towards Itarsi.

Most of the shelters are painted with red, white and yellow. But
over a period of time the early paintings are badly faded and
overlapped by the later period images. Out of 18 painted shelters

page  44

only number 4 to 12 are in a good condition. Historic period is
clearly visible. This site has been frequented by the people of
different times. It is a good example for the superimpositions.

RV Josi excavated it in 1964. He disclosed pieces in a layer of black
soil. It was dated 5500BC. The hematite pigment suggests that the
fragments of pigments was used and dropped earlier. Also found a
large number of microliths.

Shelter no 10 is containing images of different period from Early
Mesolithic (10000 BC) to Late Historic (12-13 AD). On the top of the
wall a big drawing of a buffalo 3meters long and 1.8 meters broad
with double red lines without in filling have been depicted here.

Two Sāmbhar or Stags are superimposed the buffalo. Below them is
a drawing of an elephant, which is again over painted with a few
lines. Right and left side is painted with long neck horse (giraffe) and
a man riding a long necked horse. Lower down to right side an image
in red of buffalo with incurved horns and thin legs.

Other images of the archers can be seen in the lower part of the
wall.

Shelter no. 9 is containing an image of a Stag with head raised is
depicted on the ceiling in white.

page  45

Other shelters are also having images of different periods and styles.

These shelters have been used for a ceremonial purpose till a few
hundred years back!

Satpura National Park

Satpura National Park covers an area of 326 miles² and, along with
the adjoining Bori and Panchmarhi wildlife sanctuaries, provides 887
miles² of unique central Indian highland ecosystem. The animals
inhabiting the area here are leopard, sambar, chital, Indian muntjac,
nilgai, wild boar, bear, black buck, fox, porcupine, flying squirrel and
tigers.

INDIAN ROCK ART & ARCHAEOLOGY

By: Dr. Jean Clottes

Despite the excellent work carried out by my Indian colleagues in
the past quarter of a century, Indian rock art is not as well-known
abroad as it should be. And yet it is both extremely abundant and
spectacular. It has often been said in the recent local literature that
India shares the privilege - with South Africa and Australia - of
possessing one of the three largest concentrations of rock art and
petroglyphs in the world. Be that as it may, it is certain that the sites

page  46

with paintings and/or engravings are exceptionally numerous all
over the country, particularly in its centre.
This is why, when an International Rock Art Congress was organized
in Agra (Uttar Pradesh), south of Delhi, in November/December
2004, and I was invited to participate in it, I immediately agreed and
registered on two of the after-Congress field trips to see some of the
surrounding rock art. The Congress was the Tenth Congress of the
International Federation of Rock Art Organizations (IFRAO), the first
of its kind to be held in India, and it was organized by Dr. Giriraj
Kumar on behalf of the Rock Art Society of India (RASI).

page  47

page  48

Saturday, February 4

 Breakfast served in the hotel from 6:30 a.m.
 5:30 a.m. Wake-up call with tea and coffee.
 6:15 a.m. Departure from the lodge.
 8:45 a.m. Breakfast upon arrival at Churna.
 Explore the cave sites.
 1:00 p.m. Lunch en route.
 Continue visiting the rock art sites and wildlife through the

jungle around Churna Ghundi.
 Late-afternoon return to our lodge.
 7:00 p.m. Bonfire dinner at our jungle lodge.
 Overnight: Forsyth Lodge, Satpura National Park.

page  49

Pachmari
Madhya Pradesh’s only hill station is surrounded by waterfalls, cave
temples and the forested ranges of the Satpura Tiger Reserve.
Explorer Captain J. Forsyth ‘discovered’ Pachmarhi as late as 1857
and set up India’s first Forestry Department at Bison Lodge in 1862.
Soon after, the British army set up regional headquarters here,
starting an association with the military that remains today.

page  50


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