Wednesday, December 31, 2014

SANDS OF TIME












I stand rooted…
            awed by the Red Sand Dunes
            of Erra Matti Dibbalu
            The alchemy of geology
            frozen in space
                                          …in Time
At once:
            A moment in perpetuity
   Eras in ephemerality 

I walk through…
           labyrinths of plinths
           viharas of Thotlakonda
           where lamas breathed
           in the spirit of Buddha
                                     …prehistory
At once:
             Humankind in motion
             Enlightenment in elusion

I grapple... 
Sand slipping through my fingers
Standing on the threshold of time


Dated: Threshold of 2014-15           






NOTE: 

Erra Matti Dibbalu are hillocks that look like Chambal Valley ravines, only are of far lesser dimensions. This million years old site of red sand dunes - a geological marvel and scientific storehouse - situated between Visakhapatnam and Bheemunipatnam is tagged as a geo-heritage site by the Geological Survey of India. 

Thotlakonda  are hilltop ruins - structures that once were viharas, chaitya grihas, and stupas of a Buddhist monastery. Coins from the Satvahana period and Buddha pada (Buddha's footprints etched in stone) recovered from here are housed in Visakha Museum. This vihara was known to be active from the period 3rd century BCE - 3rd  century AD! Cyclone Hudhud took its toll on this heritage site which is on the outskirts of Vizag. 








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