This online medium creates an immersive experience of the historic Elephanta Caves for people

In the latter half of 1968 just before he returned to Mexico the poet Octavio Paz and his wife visited the Elephanta Island The Nobel Prize laureate would later write in his book In Light of India ldquoI entered a world made of shadows and sudden brightnessrdquoHaving researched for years to unearth the historical past of Mumbai environmental archaeologist and researcher Andre Baptista is now part of a team that seeks to bring the islandrsquos ancient past out of the darkness into virtual light The Elephanta tapestry by CyArk launched last week captures a walkthrough of the historic islandrsquos Cave 1 with inputs from experts insights on its art architecture history and even residentsA team member photographs the Ravananugraha panel at the cavePicking the spotAt the heart of the project is CyArk a San Franciscobased nonprofit organisation using technology to document ancient heritage sites since 2003Kacey Hadick director of programs and development CyArk explains ldquoThe project came about when we were looking at the impact of climate change on cultural heritage We found Elephanta to be a good candidate where we could interview community members about the architectural and cultural elements as well as about climate changerdquo It was also the first time that they chose to add an interactive tapestry mdash narration inputs and details mdash to the walkthrough experienceKacey Hadick and Andre BaptistaIn 2022 supported by Iron Heart CyArk took on India Study Centre Mumbai INSTUCEN as the local partners for the project The team then set out to navigate the bureaucracy for permissions It took them over six months to acquire permission for shoots with LiDAR Light Detection and Ranging mechanisms and photography ldquoThe paperwork would make for a book by itselfrdquo laughs Baptista project director for the local team ldquoThey donrsquot show that on Indiana Jonesrdquo Hadick addsA primary reason for INSTUCENrsquos interest in the project was the innovative use of technology shares director of school of archaeology INSTUCEN Kurush Dalal ldquoThis is fundamentally the next level of technology in research It has never been used in India before We stepped in with providing support in terms of research facilitating for the crew on the groundrdquo he sharesThe team mapping out the cavesShoot on sightWith limited time for shoots the crew focussed on the complex of Cave 1 at Elephanta Baptista says ldquoCave 1 is the most elaborate It has a subsidiary shrine and there are panels and a Shiva shrinerdquo These include the sculptures of Ravananugraha the eightfoot tall iconic trimurti of Sadashiva and other structures such as cisterns and the sanctum sanctorumThe use of LiDAR adds another dimension to this tapestry Hadick explains ldquoIt uses lightemitted technology to create an accurate point cloud These are then overlain with thousands of pictures to create a very high definition and accurate modelrdquoA moment from the virtual reality walkthroughTapestry of talesThe result brought out some astonishing details even for researchers Baptista shares ldquoFor instance if you visit the cave the Sadashiva can only be viewed from the base angle With this technology I can see features that have otherwise escaped attentionrdquoDalal agrees saying ldquoI have been visiting the caves since I was 18 years old but I have never seen them as clearly If we repeat this exercise once a decade a simple glance can help us preempt or detect micro damage to these heritage structuresrdquoKurush DalalWeaving this imagery with inputs from archaeologists and historians like Dalal subject matter experts like professor AP Jamkhedkar and the sarpanch and deputy sarpanch of the villages adds texture to the virtual experience With Hindi and Marathi soon to follow the interactive tours are shaped to suit a large audiencePointing out the platformrsquos use case as an educational tool Baptista adds that it can also be used by researchers and archaeologistsEye on the futureldquoElephanta is isolated from the sea The material they are made of basalt is very hard Also the community has responded very well to the siterdquo Hadick observes Baptista adds that while the rising impact of tourism to the site has resulted in issues with water it is not yet a worryldquoIn addition to documentation we also wanted to introduce a global audience to the concept of temple architecture and what it symbolises how these temples became centres of storytelling places to translate philosophy ways of thinking and made them accessible to the massesrdquo Baptista notes The technology he reiterates can function in a similar way by making researchbased information accessible to the layman through a simple and interactive formatHaving started with the first the team will now take time for the next one Hadick shares that they are currently set to work with CEPT Research and Development and the Centre for Heritage and Conservation on a different project around Jaigarh Fort in Rajasthan ldquoStructures can make for great personal storiesrdquo he sharesLOG ON TO tapestrycyarkorg