A baby elephant toddles along, followed by another one, probably its brother or sister being ridden by a mahout, a calf hungry for milk running towards her mother, a tiger facing a man with a menacing spear in hand, dozens of oxen and cows, a humped bull and a row of horned Mysore bulls and a boat.
The sight of seven arrow marks understood as symbols of ‘Saptamaatrikas’ – seven goddesses bestow as many kinds of blessings and wealth too, a deity with a ‘trishul’ in hand as a man, probably a priest stands adjacent to an ox, reminding the viewer of ‘ox sacrifice’, a practice that is found even in this modern age by Koya tribals in forests.
These and more visuals were discovered a few months ago by a historian, Dyavanapalli Satyanarayana in ‘Aksharaalaloddi’, that literally translates as ‘Valley of Letters’, about 30 km away from Palwoncha in Khammam district that borders Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Interestingly, it was just the name ‘Aksharaaladoddi’ that drove this historian to the site that falls in Nallamudi village of Mulakapalli mandal of the district, some 220 km away from the State capital.
The site itself is awesome for the discerning eye, comprising a complex of two small hillocks with caves inside. Since there are seven caves, it appears to suggest the name of the village Nallamoodi - Naalugu and Moodu in Telugu mean four and three. These caves in the past were used as shelters by making the floor floor, packing it with soft soil and covering gaps on the roof too. Pottery pieces found in them indicate that people did live there.
Beside the animals mentioned above, a boat indicates that trade and commerce happened. Lines of petroglyphs (rock carvings, especially pre-historic) filled with ochre colour that till now were seen only at one site in Odisha, apart from South Africa and Spanish Cantabria in the entire world. This supports the theory that Telangana had contacts with other parts of the world, says Mr. Satyanarayana.
Number of rock art sites in Telangana now four:
Mr. Satyanarayana says that till a year or so ago, 18 rock art sites were discovered in all, with 16 of them located in the present Andhra Pradesh. Now with this historian having stumbled upon two more – Rachakonda and now Aksharaalaloddi, this makes it four sites in Telangana State.
Officially acknowledged by Government:
The department of Archeaelogy is understood to have officially acknowledged in its report to Government that the said rock art sites were discovered by him, says Mr. Satyanarayana adding that he had in his own report of the discovery to the Government, suggested the area be given some sort of protection including a basic fence.
Once the fencing was in place, the site could be popularised through the Department of Tourism too by listing it in their brochures, he feels. Considering that the art showcases human activity, of primitive tribals, Gods and Goddesses, wildlife - all estimated to be about 2,000 years old, it could be of interest to school and college students, researchers, archaelogists and more sections of society.
