Vikramkhol Manikmoda Phuldungri Jogimath Bhimamandli Ulapgadh Tongo Khaprakhol Sargikhol Pakhanapathar Lekhamodas
Silent
Rocks Eloquent Testimony - A Journey into
Rock Shelters of Orissa.
Sun rises here too, but the bright rays do not penetrate the deep foliage of the robust Sal trees nor the dark crevices of the lofty rock faces where lies buried an enigmatic past of Mankind. close to six millennium back in time man lived here but who that man was? Why did he choose to live here? What was his vocation? His ways of communication? Recreation? What was his life style? That man of the past cannot be called back for testimony. He has only left behind traces of his existence on these rock faces. Where Rocks speak in eloquent silence.
Innocent rivulets flow by mud tracks lead to villages and beyond to may be nowhere. It is that nowhere where. Hemagir Road is a small Railway Station of the South-Eastern Railways in the Howrah - Bombay trunk line. Hemagir otherwise known as Kanika is a small hamlet around which is spread over a hundred square Kilometers, these rock shelters where dwelled man in the primitive time. From Hemagir starts the journey towards the forbidding rocks the best among them is Vikramkhol, 8 Kms East of Kanika.
The
authors of the past era not only left their rock steady creations to ponder over
by their progenies. They have left behind their stylus easel and brush for probe
by posterity into the realm of their creativity. The discovery of a large catch
of microlith, fragmented potteries, several tools and implements during benign
excavations throw meaningful light on the creative process of these authors who
have left the indelible imprints over rock faces and have caused time to freeze
in eternity.
Innovative
man has searched its own modern shelter, the concrete jungle. But all men are
not alike. Some still love the tranquillity of nature as at Babamatha. The Sadhu
and Sanyasin have deplored the modern habitat and have preferred the serene
surrounding of a cave dwelling
this justifies the rock shelter modified and made habitable in current
times. Babamatha was an ancient rock shelter now transformed into a monastic
set up. Past has been washed off. No traces of old paintings are visible. Could
there be some? But the present state justifies that man could live underneath
isolated rock shelters.
Modern
man is pining for material excellence and technological advancement.
Sophisticated industries are coming up to sustain humanity on this planet. Mines
and industries are burgeoning. Coal deposits around Hemagir have escalated
mining activities. This has resulted in industrial vandalism. Pleasure seekers
have visited rock shelters and defaced primitive paintings. Indifference has
ignored heritage. Past is getting buried deeper in lost human memory. Who shall
salvage us from this quagmire?
The inscriptions and artistic depictions look like wrinkles on an old man's back. They need preservation, documentation and interpretation. Who has to preserve our heritage our lost past painfully peeping through the creeks of these Lokhamoda rocks ‑‑ is it you? Is it us? This is the time-now or never.
