A middle-aged Indian guide stops a newly-married couple in the middle of their trip to Elephanta. She shows the bangled wrist of the bride to her foreign charges: "Her honeymoon will end when these glass bangles are all broken. That day she will start cooking, cleaning and doing other chores at her husband's house," the guide points out to a chorus of oohs and aahs from her audience. The bewildered oldees -- with a seemingly European appearance -- want to confirm whether the beautiful young bride will willingly submit to this apparently odd fate for an educated, modern-looking woman. She smiles and in immaculate English answers in the affirmative. The tourists are baffled.

Centuries ago, some Portuguese visiting this small island, about 10 kilometres off the coast of Mumbai, must have been similarly surprised at what they had stumbled upon. It was a gigantic stone statue of an elephant, or Ganesh, the Hindu god of good beginning. The island was all set for a new role as a popular tourist destination. The cast-in-stone elephant now resides in the heart of Mumbai metropolis but the name of the island where it was found still carries an unmistakable reference to its existence and discovery.

What the name fails to register is a bewildering array of caves -- full of Hindu deities, religious symbols and mythological characters -- all hewn from solid rocks.

Who carved the caves and the myriad reliefs inside them remains unknown. What is certain is the fact that they could not have been built in a day. Dating back to somewhere between 8th century AD and 12th century AD, these caves were declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1987.

Rather than any elephant, divine or mundane, it's the caves, a well-conserved thick forest teeming with monkeys and a short sea voyage that make Elephanta Island what it is. It's an exotic place brimming with spirituality, wildlife and a strong sense of having travelled back by many centuries.

This journey to the past does not take place on a time machine, though. It also happens along milestones having nothing to do with fantasies of a scientific mind. They are real, very real, emblems of contemporary and not-so-contemporary India. Between Nareeman Point on one side and Gateway to India on the other, these milestones cover British Bombay as much as they represent modern Mumbai, stretching into antiquity resting serenely in its pristine glory on the green hilltop of Elephanta Island. A short walk from Nareeman Point, the costliest piece of land in Mumbai where skyscrapers seem to rest against each other standing tall on land reclaimed from the sea, to the Gateway of India, built to commemorate the arrival of King George to the Jewel of His Crown, it's a veritable journey through time. Elephanta Island takes it only to eternity.

The means for this transportation are pretty ordinary, though. A small motorboat, with basic seating facilities and charging extra for travelling at the vintage point of boat's roof, chugs slowly to cover 10 kilometres in one hour to carry its passengers from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island. Then the travel becomes even more slow on a mini-train that hardly overtakes those who prefer to walk from the jetty to the start of the stone staircase that leads to the ensemble of the caves.

The numerous black stone stairs are lined by shops of all kinds, selling food, beverages and handicrafts. Much before the stairs end, monkeys start making their frequent appearances becoming even more frequent as the entrance to the caves approaches. For someone unable to take the physical burden of climbing the steep stairs, palanquins are also available, thought at a forbidding price. Even the old Western ladies can be seen haggling, sometimes even quarrelling, with dark and lanky palanquin-bearers.

A full circle around the caves takes much more than one hour and a lot of energy, found only among the very young and very sprightly. The ageing and the aged take a shorter trip, still managing an almost complete view of what the caves have on offer.

Why are journeys back from places like Elephanta Island, steeped in spirituality and antiquity, so much more silent than the ones towards them is hard to explain. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that a round trip to Elephanta Island takes almost half a day and is quite tiring, leaving the visitors with reasonably lower levels of energy. Or maybe it owes something to the spiritual, emotional and mental shift from the soothing serenity of the old to the baffling bustle of the new.

centenary

An international two-day archaeology conference was organised in Peshawar on January 8-9 to mark the first centenary of the Peshawar Museum. Experts from around the world were invited to participate in the conference.

Formerly known as the Victoria Memorial Hall, the building is a fine piece of Islamic and Curzonian architecture. It was built during the term of Lord Curzon as the Governor-General of British India at the turn of the last century. In its early days, it mainly served as a place for social gatherings and official balls. Initially, when the Archaeological Survey of India began excavation work in northern India, objects recovered from here were packed away and sent to the British Museum, and museums in Calcutta and Delhi for display. Following larger-scale archaeological discoveries around Peshawar, it was deemed necessary to convert the Victoria Memorial Hall into a museum in 1906. The building has witnessed many important events. The Viceregal Durbar was held here in 1932 under Earl Willingdon and in 1933 the first Legislative Council took its oath here.

"Peshawar Museum is one of the oldest museums in the country," says Professor Fidaullah Sehrai, the former director of the museum. "The entire life story of Buddha, starting from his birth to his enlightenment and eventual death and cremation is depicted by stone imagery; a hallmark of Gandhara art. Following Buddha's cremation his relics were distributed and one of them was discovered in a casket at a site in Peshawar called Shah Ji Ki Dehri in the last century. The casket is now displayed at Peshawar Museum along with 74 stories carved in stone statues depicting Buddha's life which make up the single largest Buddhist Gandharan collection in the world." Often described as a 'melting pot of civilizations' and the 'crossroads of Asia', the vale of Peshawar also lay at the heart of Gandhara which at one time, extended up to Jalalabad in Afghanistan and beyond Taxila. The Gandhara Civilization flourished between 1st and 3rd century AD and survived with diminished vigour until 6th century AD. The school in Buddhism that equates Buddha with divinity actually began in Gandhara and spread to other parts of the world from here such as Tibet, Ceylon, Burma, Java, Central Asia, China, Japan and Korea etc.

The first day of the international two-day archaeology conference was chaired by Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani, who declared: "I want to quash this misapprehension that we are against any belief or religion." He also stated that the land in which we live has thousands of years of history behind it and the nation must take pride in it. "Whether our heritage belongs to the Buddhist, Hindu or the British period, it is the responsibility of my government to safeguard it as it is our identity and we are proud of it."

Prof Ihsan Ali, an archaeological expert, in his address cited NWFP government's successes and informed that the province now had several museums in various districts. "Apart from the old museums at Peshawar, Mardan and Chakdara -- Dir, the provincial government has built additional museums at Gor Khutree (Peshawar City Museum), Pushkalawati Museum -- Charsadda, Chitral Museum/ Kalash Valley Museum -- Bumburet and Hund -- Swabi, from from 2002 onwards." He added, "there are plans to build another one in Bannu in future as well."

Prof Ihsan Ali was critical of the Federal Archaeology Department, which has its headquarters in Karachi, for "completely ignoring NWFP in the past," and thanked the provincial government for extending help and providing funds for preservation of archaeological treasures in the Frontier. The provincial Minister of Culture, Hussain Ahmed Kanju demanded return of all Gandharan relics to Peshawar Museum lying in museums around the world. On the second day of the conference Governor NWFP, Lt Gen (Retd) Ali Muhammed Jan Aurakzai who was chief guest on the occasion inaugurated a new ethnological Tribal Gallery, showcasing regional cultural themes.

Peshawar with its 2600 year old documented history is now officially the oldest living city in South Asia, according to experts. Be that as it may, the fact is that the city is sadly also losing its tangible and intangible heritage at an alarming rate. Evidently, the squabbles between the Federal and Provincial Archaeology Departments over the issue of ownership of historic sites in the past have not done much good to the cause of heritage preservation in general. Many sites have been robbed of their wealth or fallen pray to gross neglect. The biggest and immediate threat comes largely from the construction mafia. In spite of existing legislation, such as the Federal Antiquities Act 1975 and Provincial Antiquities Act 1997 and local municipal laws (which clearly define any built structure more than 75 years old as ancient and hence 'protected' under respective legislation) many sites have gradually hit the dust.

Within Peshawar, some of the monuments, sites and buildings that have disappeared in recent times include: Sikh and British-era walls and gates of the old city, countless 18th century homes, traditional bazaars, teahouses in the Kissa Khwani Bazaar, caravanserais and historic gardens etc. The British era Dean's Hotel, Hastings' memorial (Chowk Yadgar), Mackeson Memorial (Company Bagh), Victorian cemetery in Saddar (present site of State Life Building) and British cemetery outside Kohati Gate (earliest cemetery from 1849) and several private bungalows and buildings in the cantonment area associated with famous personalities of the past are now non-existent. Resultantly, the unique elegance and charm of Peshawar of yore has vanished.

Moreover, a 2000 year old site of Hindu worship, the Panch Tirath -- traced back to the five sons of Pandu the heroes of Mahabharata -- became the place for fisheries centre and has now been converted into an amusement park. The Asamai Temple, Hari Singh ka Burj, Masonic Lodge, Solomon's Jewish Serai and Synagogue near clock-tower (the last mentioned site was demolished and converted into a shopping plaza) are a few buildings among hundreds that have disappeared.

It would be a good idea if all surviving historic sites and buildings in the NWFP are declared 'protected under law' after being documentated. According to Mahmood Aslam of Sarhad Conservation Network, "proper implementation of existing legislation is essential, as is being done in the case of buildings and heritage sites in Karachi and Punjab. This needs to be done urgently before our heritage becomes extinct."

Artist and social activist Nasim Rauf Khan offers more food for thought. "Study the graceful buildings and aesthetic creations of the Gandhara period, the Mughals, and the British era etc. Now compare those to what is presently being constructed. All we see around these days are hideous looking shopping plazas and concrete monstrosities. What exactly are we going to leave behind for our future generations as heritage?"

Mecca, October-November 1326. At the time of my arrival there, the title of Amir of Mecca was held by two brothers, Rumaytha and Atayfa, sons of Abu Numayy Quitada, all descendants of the Prophet through Hasan. Rumaytha, although older, insisted that Atayfa be named before him in the Friday sermon at the mosque, because of the latter's widespread reputation for justice. Atayfa's home stands to the right of the Marwa Hill: Rumaytha lives in the hermitage of al-Sharabi, near the Shayba Gate. Drums are beaten outside their doors every morning.

The generosity and good manners of the Meccans are outstanding. Not only do they give food to the poor before they start a feast; they invite them in and serve the food themselves. Meccans routinely give a third to a half of all their bread away. They are particular about their dress and usually wear white. The men wear perfume, darken their eyes with kohl, and frequently carry toothpicks made from the branches of a local tree. The women are beautiful. They also use scents and unguents liberally, and some go without food in order to buy them. When they perform the tawaf on Thursday nights, their perfumes fill the mosque and remain behind them long after they leave.

During the week, the first of the four imams to recite the daily prayers is the Shafi's imam. The majority of the Meccans belong to this rite and he is appointed by those in authority. He performs his prayer behind the Station of Abraham, in an admirable enclosure made especially for him. It is formed by beams joined in the shape of two ladders affixed to a plaster pedestal. A top beam supports many rows of glass lamps hanging on hooks. When the Shafi's imam has finished his prayer, the imam of the Malikites prays in a separate oratory facing the Ka'aba's southern angle; the imam of the Hanbalites prays along with him, facing the eastern wall of the shrine. Lastly, the Hanafi imam prays, facing the roof spout of the shrine. He stands in an enclosure quite similar to the leader of the Shafi'ites. This order of prayer remains the same for four of the five daily prayers. At the sunset prayer they pray in unison, each imam leading his own congregation. One notices some distraction among the people at these times, Malikites bowing in time with the Shafi'ites. Hanafites prostrating with the Hanbalites. You can see the people listening with great attention to the voice of their particular muezzin, in order to avoid confusion.

At the Friday sermon the imam enters dressed entirely in black, with a turban and a muslin veil hanging down his back, furnished by the King of Egypt. He walks at a dignified pace between two black flags borne along by two of the muezzins who will call the prayer. A chamberlain precedes him carrying a tall stick, the farqa'a, with a thin twist of cord tied at one end, which is cracked like a whip as a signal to everyone that the imam is coming. First he goes to kiss the Black Stone. Beside him comes the senior muezzin of Zamzam, dressed in black, bearing a sword on one shoulder. Then the two flags are placed on either side of the pulpit, which stands very near the Ka'aba, close to the wall between the Black Stone and the northern (Iraqi) angle of the shrine. At the imam prepares to mount the steps, the muezzin gives him the sword, and the imam strikes the first step with it. This draws the attention of the crowds. He does the same with the other steps and strikes a fourth time at the top. Next, he prays in a low voice, facing the Ka'aba, then turns to the public, bowing to his right and to his left. The congregation returns the gesture. At the very moment that he sits down, the muezzins begin the call to prayer, standing on the dome of the Zamzam Well.

The imam prays for Allah's prophet many times, then for the Prophet's family; his uncles, Hamza and Abbas; his grandsons, Hasan and Husayn; Fatima, their mother, and Khadija, his first wife, too; then for Malik al Nasir of Egypt; for the Sultan, Nur al Din Ali; for the two amirs of Mecca; and for the Sultan of Iraq. After his sermon he prays again, then returns the way he came, and the order of his departure is the reverse of his arrival.

(Selected by Sarwat Ali)