Saturday was the day that the group finally made a trip to Ramanaidu Film Studios. Since our first week here, we collectively have been wanting to tour the studio; but it was far from being as exciting as we had imagined. Although, that could have been different had we been there while a movie was actually being filmed.
After our quick tour, we drove another few kilometers to see the ruins Thotlakonda, an ancient Buddhist Complex that was said to have "flourished" 2000 years ago. About 20 years ago excavations began after it was sighted during an aerial survey by the Indian Navy in preparation for construction of the nearby Naval Base. Thotlakonda is on top of a hill that overlooks the Bay of Bengal, with a few small buildings, most of which looked like they used to be round structures. I should have brushed up on my Buddhist culture and architecture so I could know what each of the buildings could have been for, and better imagined what the buildings might of actually looked like. Oh well.
Hilary exploring the ruins of Thotlakonda
Graves at Colonial cemetery in Bimli. Note the fleur de lis, and the skull and crossbones above the marking.
Boys outside Convent in Bimli
Nun at Convent in Bimli
I loved this old lady. I wanted to be best friends with her.
This week looks like it will be filled with a lot of reading in preparation for our 5 day trip to Kakinada and Rajamundry next week. Excited for reading? Not so much. Excited for Hindu Cemetery? Hell yeah.
After our quick tour, we drove another few kilometers to see the ruins Thotlakonda, an ancient Buddhist Complex that was said to have "flourished" 2000 years ago. About 20 years ago excavations began after it was sighted during an aerial survey by the Indian Navy in preparation for construction of the nearby Naval Base. Thotlakonda is on top of a hill that overlooks the Bay of Bengal, with a few small buildings, most of which looked like they used to be round structures. I should have brushed up on my Buddhist culture and architecture so I could know what each of the buildings could have been for, and better imagined what the buildings might of actually looked like. Oh well.
Hilary exploring the ruins of Thotlakonda
After Thotlakonda, we made our last stop in Bimlipatnam, another coastal city, at the base of the hill that
Thotlakonda is on. Bimli is home to another colonial cemetery, and although my research doesn't really involve studying the Christian cemeteries anymore, I was keen on seeing the old graves. I don't know if headstone would be the word I would choose to describe the structures, because they are roughly eight feet in height. The headstone pictured below had markings in french, and fortunately for us, Hilary spoke enough french to understand that it is likely a family grave, saying something like husband, wife, and child.
Thotlakonda is on. Bimli is home to another colonial cemetery, and although my research doesn't really involve studying the Christian cemeteries anymore, I was keen on seeing the old graves. I don't know if headstone would be the word I would choose to describe the structures, because they are roughly eight feet in height. The headstone pictured below had markings in french, and fortunately for us, Hilary spoke enough french to understand that it is likely a family grave, saying something like husband, wife, and child.
Boys outside Convent in Bimli
Nun at Convent in Bimli
I loved this old lady. I wanted to be best friends with her.This week looks like it will be filled with a lot of reading in preparation for our 5 day trip to Kakinada and Rajamundry next week. Excited for reading? Not so much. Excited for Hindu Cemetery? Hell yeah.
No comments:
Post a Comment