Bhimbetka Gets World Heritage Site Status

ET&T Staff - Delhi

UNESCO has acknowledged the priceless treasures of the rock shelters of Bhimbetka by granting it World Cultural Heritage status. With Bhimbetka, India now boasts of 19 cultural heritage sites and five natural heritage sites. Incidentally, the acknowledgement was a shot in the arm of the tourism and culture ministry as it came when the Taj heritage corridor controversy was making headlines.

Located in the foothills of the densely forested Vindhyan mountains in Madhya Pradesh within massive sandstone outcrops, the five clusters of natural rock shelters have paintings that appear to date from the Mesolithic period right through to the historical period. Five hundred of the 754 shelters are painted. The paintings show armed men riding horses, a man with a bow and arrow, large walking birds like emus and ostriches, a threatening scorpion and a plumed man examining feathers in his hand. The cultural traditions of the inhabitants of the 21 villages nearby bear a strong resemblance to those represented in the rock paintings.