Better Together

“There are dreamers and there are realists in this world. You'd think the dreamers would find the dreamers and the realists would find the realists, but more often than not the opposite is true. You see, the dreamers need the realists to keep them from soaring too close to the sun. And the realists...well, without the dreamers, they might not ever get off the ground.”

- Cameron Tucker, Modern Family S3E9, Punkin’ Chunkin’

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And Jack Johnson, saying it his way.

Depth

I had a birthday earlier this week. I'd been mentally prepared to see it slide into obscurity given that it coincided with Diwali, and that the husband wasn't here to make a big deal of it. I'd had no expectation from the day, and been reluctantly ready to let it go by, without announcement.

But I guess every once in a while, life hands out presents in bounteous, joyful measures, and people surprise you in ways you never expected.

Amid the zillion phone calls wishing me a happy birthday that morning, one friend - more precisely, my brother's friend - wishes me the same, then insists on taking me out to lunch when he hears I have no definite plans for the day. I think he's kidding. Turns out, he's not. And so, I get treated to a fabulous lunch at one of my favourite restaurants in the city, in the company of another friend who joins in too, making the day shine a little brighter! The afternoon spins by with the excitement of shared stories, laughter and a delectable feast, culminating in a celebration involving a very delicious chocolate cake and an enthusiastic, yet slightly out-of-tune birthday song.

After having envisioned reheated leftovers for lunch, had in front of Masterchef reruns on the tube, this could only be described as a dream. And all it took, for the day to turn out differently, was a little thoughtfulness, a generous spirit and some heart.

So it's true. Every once in a while, people will surprise you. They'll step out of that circle of expectation you've drawn around them, and extend beyond the roles you've confined them to, showing you a side to them, that you never knew existed. And in a world that's turning too fast to care, it's moments like these that you'll remember and hold dear, long after even they, have forgotten.

Pataleshwar Caves

You wouldn't think it possible to find a quiet, oasis of calm in the heart of Pune, but that’s just what a friend and I discover at the Pataleshwar Caves, located along the busy JM Road.

A small, insignificant gate leads the way in, and a smaller, obscured-by-plants board assures us that we are at the right place. We find ourselves facing a large, open space, in the centre of which stands a huge Banyan tree creating a beautiful green canopy above us.

Further along, the path takes us to the site of the caves, sunk a few feet below where we stand. Wide, gently sloping stone steps take us down to a circular, pillared Nandi mandapa carved entirely from stone.

  

Another stone-carved Nandi sits forlornly in a corner, while a shrine occupies space under a Peepal Tree, atop a platform built around it. 

 

The Nandi mandapa faces the 8^th century, rock-cut Pataleshwar cave temple, which by its name, indicates that it is dedicated to Lord Shiva. We take off our shoes and enter a pillared sabha mandap or hall.

In the inner sanctum sanctorum we find a Shivling, with a gilded snake’s hood rising over it. Another stone Nandi mutely faces this.

The outer hall contains other deities, of which I recognize Lord Ram, Lakshman and Sita. Among this profusion of Hindu gods, I find the time to send a quick prayer to my own God, to watch over my shoes and keep them from getting stolen.

The caves extend on either side of the inner sanctum, and circle back to connect through a passageway behind it. This passage is pitch-black, but we capture some great silhouettes where the light finally shines through!

 

The caves at the back are incomplete and not properly carved, hinting that the caves may have been left incomplete for whatever reasons.

The Archeological Society of India, which maintains the caves and grounds, does not provide any information about the caves, so we’re in the dark about its history. But the Pataleshwar Cave Temple does afford a glimpse into the architectural genius of a bygone era and the religious sentiment of people today, who continue to worship here.

We step out of the gates, and are swallowed by the busy crowd that walks and drives past these caves, perhaps completely unaware of its existence.