"In between rocks the stone age carvings are well enough to confirm the existence of the Neolithic man and prehistoric civilization"
The two places we had missed in our last visit to Wayanad were Edakkal Caves and Banasura Dam. We had experienced the true essence of Wayanad, spice plantation, enchanting waterfalls, evergreen forests, beautiful landscapes, and much more.
We wanted to be at the base of the Edakkal caves as early as possible, but back then we were not as disciplined as we are now. Yes, this was four years ago. We had to drag ourselves out of bed, literally. By the time we arrived at the site sun was blazing heavily down on us and a huge crowd beat us down in that part too.
After parking the vehicle our ascending started. Ticket cost was 20 Rs per person and 30 Rs for camera. The plastic bottle we were carrying got a sticker after depositing 20 rupees. The money will be returned to us once we return the sticker. It is a very good measure to avoid people from littering the place.
Edakkal means "in between rocks". There are two caves one atop the other. The upper cave is supported by lower cave. One had to climb around 300 odd steps to reach the upper cave. The ascending literally became an uphill task for us. We climbed, stopped many times to catch our breath. In the process we had to make way for fellow climbers. The steep steps and humid weather tired us in no time. Completely soaked in sweat we were inch away from getting dehydrated. It was the time to retrospect about our physical fitness.
Our fatigue disappeared the moment a wisp of cool breeze hit us. And we know we are in the upper cave where most engravings are done. Accommodating capacity of the caves is limited, so allowing number of visitors at a time is restricted too.
F. Fawcett, the Superintendent of Police of the Malabar district had written an article about "Edakkal" in the journal Indian Antiquary in 1901. It is safe to say it was unearthed first by this British officer during his hunting expedition. The signs are believed to be dated back to as early as 6000 BC. This confirms the existence of the Neolithic man, prehistoric civilization or settlement. The Stone Age carvings of Edakkal are rare and are the only known examples from south India.
It is said some of the newly found figures are comparable with sign and symbols reported from various Chalcolithic and Bronze Age sites of the subcontinent. Human figures depicted in different styles are the most important items among the drawings. The engravings signifies various objects used in the ancient time. It also tries to tell us the cultural signs of the bygone era. The best part is the human figures carved in different styles. It looked like most of them were wearing some type of headgear. Along with these comes the rock paintings of animals, letters, numeric signs, wheels, carts, trees, symbols.
Legend: And how can a place of this stature not have a legend? It is said the caves are created by the arrows fired by Lava and Kusha, twins of Lord Shree Rama.
The signs discovered had shown its connection between Indus Valley civilization. Tamil and Brahmi script can be seen along with the pictorial carvings. Unique in existence these rock arts are invaluable treasures to the world heritage. Hence it draws attention of historians as well as archaeologists from across the globe.
Ascending took almost an hour while descending completed in 15 minutes. Despite out initial fatigue and weariness, we wouldn't have it any other way.
Entry Fee: Rs 20
Camera Fee:30
Parking Fee: 30
We were very sure about including Bridge Over River Kwai in our Thialand itinerary. Hence the research led us to the movie "Bridge on the River Kwai." It is a screen adaptation of Pierre Boulle's book "Bridge Over the River Kwai. We don't know why they have changed the name even slightly.
Plot: "The Bridge on the River Kwai" begins in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Burma in 1943. Protest comes from British office Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness) when the Japanese commander, Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa) commands that even the officers must work on the project. Under the Geneva Convention, officers are exempted from forced manual labour. Slapping the legal document across Nicholson's face, Satio subjects various officers to gruelling torture. He even contemplates shooting Nicholson, but dissuaded by Major Clipton (James Donald), the British medical officer, telling Satio there are too many eyewitnesses to get away with the murder.
The construction work goes in a snail pace due to non-cooperation from POWs. Satio is under tremendous stress to finish the project in assigned time period. Failing to do so he will be forced to commit suicide as a ritual. On the occasion of anniversary of Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War he releases Nicholson and other officers from manual labour. To boost the morale of his nationals Nicholson decides to take over the project with the help of military engineers. Down the road he is consumed by the desire to built the bridge to the perfection forgetting it will help Japanese to win over the allied forces.
On the other hand United States Navy Commander Shears (William Holden) was successful in escaping the prison camp, but severely injured. Native villagers help him to flee in a boat and he reaches Ceylon. Intervened by British Major Warden (Jack Hawkins) in Ceylon, Shears is now intimidated to join British commando mission to destroy the bridge. He was chosen because of his knowledge about the terrain.
Will Nicholson be able to complete the bridge? Will Shears and troupe be successful in blowing up the bridge? That is the grit of the story.
A gripping, flawless movie with excellent performance. It is a story of two men saddled by pride, fear, obsession, and total madness. We didn't even know about this film a few days back, oblivious to its actors. Throughout the film we were wondering whom to root for. It is hard to say who was right and who was wrong. This is where we heard the remarkable whistling of "Colonel Bogey March". Directed by David Lean the film was released in 1957, almost six decades ago. We thought we could have watched this movie back in school, no? As they say it is never too late. This timeless classic aptly bagged seven Academy awards. If you're a big war movie buff like us, then it definitely is a must watch.
We wouldn't have missed a chance to see the "Bridge Over River Kwai" for anything in the world. And it seemed like a good plan to escape the hustle bustle of Bangkok. So, according to that we mapped our journey. This bridge played a very important role in World War II. We believed walk over the bridge will give us a glimpse of infamous death railway which wasn't taught in school.
A War Museum was right beside the bridge. Since we opted for the guided tour we were given a time limit of 30 minutes to see both museum as well as walk through bridge. If it wasn't for this we would have spent at least 2 hours here. This museum is maintained by a family who was once part of WW2 we were told. Two-storiedmuseum mainly exhibits artifacts of WW2. Various pictures, weapons, uniforms, relics were on display. Few vintage cars, helicopters, wagons were paraded outside too. The intention was to educate on what transpired amid the construction of death railway. It is kind of a tribute to both Japanese and allied forces. Torture and sufferings endured by each and every individual is sickening.
The idol of Lord Ganesha, the elephant and the emblem of India are placed in this museum as a mark of respect to those thousands of Indian soldiers who died in the World War II.
Info: Japanese army wanted to build a railroad of 415 km long to bring troops and supplies which connects from Rangoon, Burma to Kanchanaburi, Thailand. They used 61,000 Prisoners Of War (POW) as well as 200,000 Asian forced laborers. Around 13,000 POW and 80,000 Asian laborers died along the process. Exhaustion, starvation, and dreaded disease of that time, Cholera were the main cause of death. POW camp and length of the railway lines became the burial grounds for those departed souls. Once completed the bridge was bombed by the allied forces.
After taking the customary photos we walked through the bridge. Enthusiastic fellow travels were scattered all around the place.
It is difficult to describe how we felt. It is totally an uncanny experience. Well, what can one expect from a war of that magnitude. Someone wisely said, "One death can mobilize a community, even a nation. But if death tolls were too high to comprehend people become immune". We just hoped knowing a chunk of history made us a litter wiser and better human beings.
