dialogue between tourist guide and myself about elephanta caves?plz tell me about?
Answers
Dialogue between Tourist and Guide about Elephanta Caves
Guide- Hey I'm your guide whose gonna help you to explore elephanta caves today.
Tourist- Yeah sure.
Guide- Elephanta island and caves are located about 10 km from mumbai.
Tourist- Could you please tell me how and when this place is named as elephanta caves.
Guide- interestingly enough, the caves are named by the Portuguese who found a stone elephant at their entrance when they “discovered” the area in the 15th Century.
Tourist- I carved an entire day out of my schedule to see the site. We have to buy tickets also so from where we can bought the tickets?
Guide- Tickets are relatively inexpensive (~200R, or about 4$) and purchased at a store in a line of shops near the entrance to the Gateway of India.
Tourist- so when would we start with the journey.
Guide- The ferries leave on the half hour and are located directly behind the Gateway; just follow the crowds behind the huge structure and show your ticket as you get on the boat.
After an hour long journey you are let off at a pier, allowed to take a small train (10R) to the base of the island, then it’s another kilometer or so to the entrance of the caves through a gauntlet of souvenir stalls.
Tourist- When will the main cave start? I want to see the sculptures and statues.
Guide- The main cave will be the focal point of most people’s visit, and contains the majority of the sculptures and statues that the site is known for.
Tourist- What is these sculptures and statues include?
Guide- These include the Mahesh Murti (three-headed Shiva), Ravana lifting Mount Kailasa, and the main shrine with a Shiva lingum.
Tourist- We have spent allot time in the main cave lets went around and visit a group of smaller caves with more intimate shrines.
Guide- We have spent almost 2 hours with the sculptures. Now we are walking the paths to canon hill,along the way we will saw remnants of an old British fort, a few monkeys, and the weapons that the area is named after.
Tourist- Now its about four hours on the Island and its the time to board the ferry and travel back to mumbai.
Guide- okay! Lets go back.
Tourist- Thank-you !!
Overall I found my visit here impressive initially but that faded a bit in the ensuing days after visiting the Ajanta and Ellora Caves.
I know comparing sites like this on a trip is like comparing your kids: never advisable but almost always inevitable.
The caves are in a bit of disrepair, I believe due to natural aging in addition to the destructiveness of the initial discoverers and probably following admirers.
I would highly recommend a guide like you in this case, as even with reading beforehand I would have found the visit a bit confusing.
There aren’t many signs posted by the carvings and although you can buy supplementary materials at various points there is a natural descriptive dialogue that is necessary when you stand in front of the carvings and try to interpret or understand them.
For those just visiting the city and not making a trip inland, a visit here will suffice for your dose of religious grottoes in the country.
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