THE MOGALRAJPURAM CAVES

I watched the caves since my childhood; they stood as though rising from the earth like a huge rock mushroom, haphazardly fenced by the archaeological department. The whole city grew the high-rise structures jamming around the rock-cut caves. For many years none bothered to care for the 2000-year-old monument when left to the vagaries of nature and the onslaught of human irresponsibility.

Popularly known as the Mogalrajpuram caves, they sit like an uncrowned king uncared by the public, though hundreds of vehicles pass by the historical monument day in and day out as they nestled grandly in the city’s heart (Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh in India).

As I entered the monolithic structure that dates back to the 5th century AD the architectural beauty seemed impressively intact and well-guarded. There isn’t much to explore inside the caves since it is dark; whatever the carvings possibly depicting the religious figures remained defaced and eroded, showing the decades of disrepair – the human neglect and the weathered effect.