Well, this group of young shutterbugs comprising of collegians and working professionals, is going through rocky hills, dense forests and obscure village roads to reach the lesser known caves in the state. Their sole motive – to generate more awareness about the less celebrated, but equally important rock art heritage in these cave walls. What started as a community of like-minded photographers, capturing the routines of the city and areas around it with night-walks and city-walks, transformed soon enough into a group of individuals driven towards making a difference with their photo documenting. Bhopal Walk – as the group is called, has been hiking, driving off road and trudging through dense thickets in the forested areas in and around the cities to highlight cave shelters from Mesolithic period other than the well-known Bhimbhetka. We got in touch with these photo walkers to know more about their undeterred will towards cave conservation.Led by photograpy enthusiast Anil Gulati, the group of 12 photographers start off early on Sundays with their armour comprising of camera, varied lenses, water bottles and first-aid kit. After assembling at a common place inside the city, the group travels at least 20 kms one side by road and then begin the hike up to these caves on foot. “We have been to four caves so far, and all of these places are inaccessible by road. You have to park the vehicle at the nearest village and hike up some 5-8 kms through hills, rocks and grasslands. We are accompanied by a local guide from that area who knows the exact path up to these caves” informs Anil. For safety and better concentration on the welfare of each group member the number is restricted to 10-12 people at the max. “Not all walks are easy, especially the ones through wild growth of thorny bushes and climbers that are present in the jungles of Kolar and Raisen” shares Varun Namdev another freelance photographer who has been a part of the walks. For the city bred millennials though it’s an experience to remember. As Neeru Diwakar, a college student exclaims, “We city folks miss all these experiences of walking through wheat and mustard fields, looking at mud huts and chulhas burning with coal to cook food. Besides learning about the history of the caves, we get a good experience on the path to it too.”The trek and hikes of several kilometres is not just to capture the history of Mesolithic age in their pictures, but also to create sensitisation about these relics that have been long forgotten by departments like Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Krishna Nand Pathak, another student who has been going on these cave walks shares, “It is sad to see that these rock art caves are slipping into oblivion because of the difficult path here. We should take cues from our close neighbour Maharashtra where many such structures like Bhaja caves, Kalvantin durg which are deemed inaccessible, are being explored and talked about by youngsters. After personally going through these roads less travelled, I feel it is much easier.” Others in the group also feel that they can make a difference by letting their followers on social media know about the existence of these structures. “There is so much history down there, so much to learn about how our ancestors lived in that age. Their battles, their dances, their hunts – all that is depicted through these cave paintings. We want to bring them in the spotlight too, so that these caves like Reechenko in Satgiri, Firangi Chabutra, Ramchhajja in Raisen and Chudail daant in Samardha get equal attention like Bhimbhetka or Vidisha caves” explains Namdev. After all this work, the group is planning to create a photo document with all their experiences and photographs pooled in together. The document will act as a guide for interested individuals to take up these adventures, and also a plea to the ASI for some conservation work around these heritage sites. “One of the primary reasons of involving youth on these walks is to create a sense of ownership for their heritage. Every time we get new requests through our social media pages, from people who want to take these walks with us to experience these new places. And every time, when we take 70% new members to a new cave, and they come back with new learning, we know we are on the right path, and about 60% of our work is done” opines Anil Gulati.Pics: Varun Namdev

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