Fantabulous

Lately, the task of moving has been eating up much of my time, not to mention the process of packing away books, papers and various other source material. Thus, I have not been posting here.

In my free time, I continue to research my way through India and China, and am sad to say there is less on the internet regarding either than I would wish. However, working my way through Sichuan Province (old Szechwan), I ran across this:



Amazing. This is the Leshan Giant Buddha, which measures 233 feet. According to wikipedia, "Construction was started in AD 713, led by a Chinese monk named Haitong. He hoped that the Buddha would calm the turbulent waters that plagued the shipping vessels travelling down the river."

Note the stairwell next to the Buddha. I'd love to see this as a battleground, which is my nature. But the image is pure inspiration.

Wouldn't it be interesting to have the Buddha rise (a hundred-times stone golem) and quell a flood just before it destroyed the river vessel of the party. Would the party be grateful, I wonder?

India

When I research areas for my maps, to identify the various kingdoms circa 1650 and how they are mastered, I can't help but stumble into profound things--including yesterday's pic. Here's what I've found today:

Found this associated with the city of Pathankot within the region of Nurpur in northern Punjabi.



Wikipedia: "Fought for 18 days, the Battle of Kurukshetra involved almost all the Kingdoms of the known world. Shown here is Lord Arjun, the ancestor of the Pathania dynasty and his cousin, and charioteer Lord Krishna between the two warring armies."

This associated with the Northern Areas, Pakistan:



Wikipedia: "There are more than 20,000 pieces of rock art and petroglyphs all along the Karakoram Highway in the Northern Areas, concentrated at ten major sites between Hunza and Shatial. The carvings were left by various invaders, traders, and pilgrims who passed along the trade route, as well as by locals. The earliest date back to between 5000 and 1000 BCE, showing single animals, triangular men and hunting scenes in which the animals are larger than the hunters. These carvings were pecked into the rock with stone tools and are covered with a thick patina that proves their age."

I love pictures like this, from Alwar, Rajasthan:



Yes, that appears to be some sort of fortification on the top.

Almora is a city at 5,400 ft elevation in the Himalayas; this picture was taken in 1860, of the town bazaar. The city was founded in 1568. I doubt the bazaar had changed much:

Battle Settings

Cliffs overlooking the Hunza Valley in northern Pakistan. Simply incredible.