Forgotten Footnotes in History - 3: Bhimbetka Rock Shelters

Tucked inside the forests guarded by the Vindhya hills and bordered by the Betwa basin, the Bhimbetka rock shelters exist as an ode to human existence over a hundred thousand years. 

Perhaps the oldest evidence of human settlement in India, the Bhimbetka rock shelters lie an hour and a half from the city of Bhopal. I was visiting Bhopal for my friend's wedding and a plan for a day trip to Bhimbetka was made.

The rock shelters of Bhimbetka have witnessed human settlement apparently from when man was homo erectus, the precursor to homo sapiens. Through the various rock paintings preserved by nature over the ages, Bhimbetka rock shelters give an insight into the stages of human evolution.  

Bhimbetka derives its name from Hindu mythology - it means the sitting place of 'Bhima', one of the heroes in the Mahabharata. Of course, since the rock shelters predate the Mahabharata by quite a few thousand years, no one knows what it was called for ages, or how this name came about. 

The Bhimbetka rock shelters witnessed human settlement from about 100,000 B.C. to even after 1,000 A.D. To the prehistoric man, the caves provided a natural protection from wind, rain, sun and the animals. 

The caves of Bhimbetka contain paintings depicting aspects of nature which appealed to the imagination of painter-settlers throughout the various stages respectively. They also, quite instructively, demonstrative how the way of life changed over the years - the tools used, the social life, food habits, religious beliefs and the interaction of  man with nature. 

Possible depiction of war. The painting is high up on a two-storeyed inaccessible rock, so I couldn't get a closer look

We get to see a little song and dance procession here. Music has no script, only depiction

The photograph probably belongs to a later age - since we see a Goddess on a mythical creature, possibly in combat with another such creature. The Goddess has been a symbol since pre-Vedic religion though

The hues are both red and white. The view is hazy but is possibly depicting a hunting scene

Depending on the age, the mixtures and colours used to paint the figures are seen to have visibly undergone a change due to the material used in the mixture. These colours often help the archaeologist to predict the age of the painting, and thereby analyse the social life in that age. 

The painting above is one of the most famous ones at Bhimbetka. It belongs to a prehistoric depiction of possibly a bison. It is only left to imagination as to what the real-life inspiration for the painting could have been. A closer look at the painting reveals that a man is sneaking away in front of the bison. The scale of the man to the creature reveals the gigantic size of the bison that the painter wished to portray. 

There is another, very famous painting that Bhimbetka shelters would urge you to see. This. 

The 'Zoo Rock' at Bhimbetka is almost a collage of paintings of various animals - from elephants to bison to deer. I'm told that this rock has about two hundred and fifty animals and human figures. There are various poses and various interpretations - these animals may have been used for hunting, for war, or for agriculture. But to me, the painting in the scale it is in, stands for one thing - the acknowledgement of the communion between man and other animals. 

Almost all the paintings depict humans, or human-shaped gods, along with animals. This itself evidences a recognition of the ecological balance that man seems to be forgetting today. Gaudí once said, "Nothing is art if it does not come from Nature." 

Bhimbetka could possibly have survived so well only in Madhya Pradesh. Thankfully, even today, one-fourth of the state's land is covered by jungle. I read recently in a travel magazine column that in 'recent years, (Madhya Pradesh) has seen a surge in boutique, eco-conscious properties geared towards making visitors fall in love with the jungle.' That's good. Bhimbetka though, through its caves preserved in a raw fashion, makes you thank the jungle, wonder about history, and (for that bit of the tour at least) make you fall in love with the human being. Man - the survivor, the artist, the wanderer and the discoverer. 

Post-Script:

An aspect of Bhimbetka which I didn't mention before, and which has no relation with the paintings really. When we went on a trip to Bhimbetka, I was with two of my closest college friends. After years. We had all been running at various paces in life, and continue to do so. Visiting Bhimbetka perhaps make me realize the futility of all this running. Here was evidence of the human race over thousands of years, existing at its own pace. 

We sat on one of the rocks overlooking the caves, the jungle, the vast tract of green and one of the Betwa tributaries in the distance. Bhimbetka made me thank it for those few moments when I could sit with my friends to take in the view and feel, "I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to."

It is then that I realized why one should visit Bhimbetka. To be belittled by time, to know of one's insignificance compared to human history that continues to exist.