Travel to the Bhimbhetka Rock Shelters, one of Indias most unique archaeological sites. By Kushan Mitra
Where should one start with the story of Bhimbhetka, because it is a fascinating one. An hours drive south of Bhopal, the earliest evidence of human civilisation in the country is accessed through a narrow road that crosses the main north-south rail line across a lovely little railway crossing. The hill where the rock shelters are located is a lovely drive up in Indias most popular new premium hatchback, the Hyundai i20 which makes it a pleasure to steer up this winding, narrow, twisty road after dealing with the brilliant new highway connecting the capital of Madhya Pradesh to this site. You can see the unique structure of the rock shelters as you approach it, lying on top of a hill that rises 100 meters from the surrounding countryside.
This is what allowed renowned archaeologist Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar to notice the hills from a passing train which seemed very similar to other rock shelters he had noticed in Europe while visiting sites there. Not one to wait around, he promptly got off at the next station and went straight to the site. What he found was remarkable. Wakankar had discovered evidence of the largest prehistoric human settlement in India and over the years he worked painstakingly, along with colleagues and students from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and what you can see today is his lifes work.
And what you see inside the Bhimbhetka rock shelters, would make any inquisitive Indian ask some very pertinent questions. About who the earliest Indians were, where did they come from, and what were the flora and fauna of the time. In fact, some of the oldest skeletal remains of early humans were found in the town of Hoshangabad, which is a few kilometres away, dating back some 50,000 years. When Wakankar excavated the site he found a burial site of a male, who might have been a chieftain of sorts, but he was found with ostrich eggshells.
While inside many rock shelters the ochre and white paintings on the wall have faded into history, they are remarkably well preserved in others, even though at some you do have to strain your eyes to notice the finer details. The ochre colour is a result of the iron rich soil of the local area whereas in others like Shelter number five, you have intricate paintings in white.
Some of the paintings are believed to be as old as 10,000 years ago while others depict scenes from wars with calvary and infantry with spears and swords, such as in Shelter number five, which is evidence that these natural shelters provided a place of rest until at least 500 AD. The earliest ones though, such as at the famous ‘Boar’ shelter, clearly are older, because not only are the paintings more rudimentary but they are also very similar to paintings found in similar shelters and caves in Europe and elsewhere.
One can continue writing about Bhimbhetka, but genuinely seeing a site like this in India is a tremendous privilege and an eye-opener as well as a lovely drive. Seeing the rock shelters brings history alive and if you are a naturally inquisitive person, it is a place that you must visit and you must drive there, because India is indeed a great country with amazing sites to see and discover. At the end, I must also thank the Bhimbhetka and Bhojpur travel guide from Madhya Pradesh Tourism, produced by GoodEarth Publications which is, in my opinion, essential reading.
