W for Wonders!

Welcome to the "Believe it or Not- That's Incredible India!" series. India is home to some of the most astonishing wonders in the world. The rich culture, heritage, food, scriptures, architectural marvels and scores of known and unknown facts come together to create this multicolored melange that is India. Throughout this month, read about the various believe it or not facts about India and know what goes into the making of this incredible country!

                                       *************************************

Travelling through the length and breadth of the country, one gets to marvel at the wonders of architectural marvels that adorn our places of culture and heritage. Huge free standing structures with elaborate carvings, painstakingly sculpted artifacts, symmetry in design and complexity of the structure is what makes these wonders stand apart.

Describing all of them will be impossible for paucity of space and time! So here are a few wonders that will leave you spellbound.

Ellora and Ajanta Caves-

The Ellora caves in Maharashtra are not natural caves but one of the most amazing wonders of what man can achieve. The mammoth 85 m long and 30 m high Kailashnath Temple is nestled in the caves and is arguably the most amazing creation here. This free standing structure is extremely complex and created from a single rock with utmost precision and planning. 

source

More than 200,000 tons of rock were cleared and carved to create this temple! Imagine the advanced technology that was in use thousands of years ago which helped in this large scale planning and execution of the project. The temple is said to have been built over a period of 18 years which means over 5 tonnes of rock were carved every day. Was this humanely possible? Many people believed that these caves could not have been built by man and it could have been the handiwork of aliens! Some even attribute this to some special powers held by our ancestors!

If the Ellora caves are stunning, the Ajanta caves are not far behind. These are 29 rock cut caves made in the 2^nd century BC. The incredible aspect of these caves is that there are cave hall arenas which are as large as basketball fields and have been standing completely unsupported for over 1500 years!   

Belur temple-

Belur in Karnataka is home to the temple of Lord Channakeshava. The Hoysala architecture in the temple is undoubtedly mind blowing but what’s astonishing is the Narasimha pillar inside the sanctum. This carved polygonal pillar with umpteen intricate carvings was once capable of rotating around its axis! Even today, a thin sheet of paper can easily pass through its base leaving you wondering what kind of unsurpassed talent the craftsmen of those times possessed!

Truly a wonder, isn’t it?

Believe it or Not – That’s Incredible India!