Saturday 18 February, 2023 - Tuesday 28 February, 2023
Total Cost:
S$3,800.00 (Member)
This tour is now fully subscribed.
THIS TOUR HAS GOT FULL ON DAY 1, but you may still sign up for the waitlist while passport pages & deposits are received from registrants and in the case of withdrawals or cancellations.
This study tour is designed around three premier Unesco World Heritage sites in Madhya Pradesh (M.P., India’s “Middle State”), a region historically known as Malwa. We will begin our journey in M.P.’s lakeside capital, Bhopal. First, we will visit India’s most important prehistoric site, Bhimbhetka, to see astonishingly well-preserved and unique 10,000 year-old hunter-gatherer paintings in Stone Age rock shelters which were discovered only 60 odd years ago. On the way, we will see the enormous, unfinished 11thc Bhojeshwar Temple, with perhaps the largest Shiva lingam in India, a relic from the time of Raja Bhoj and the Paramaras. In Bhopal, we will appreciate one of the country’s best archaeological collections at the modern State Museum, especially fine Hindu temple sculptures from across the state, and also the stunning Tribal Museum of art.
Next, we will travel deep into the historic Vidisha district to visit India’s single most ancient Buddhist stupa and monasteries complex that exists intact atop a hill at Sanchi, noted for its instantly-recognisable, great domed stupa and four exceptionally carved gateways recounting Jataka tales and stories of the Buddha’s life. Originally built of brick at the core by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd c BC, Sanchi’s main stupa and other monuments were clad in stone over centuries by later patrons, the Guptas of India’s Golden Age, and further expanded till the 12th c. The fine lion capital of the broken Ashoka Pillar stump by the stupa and several superb Gupta Buddha images will be viewed at the Sanchi Archaeological Museum near the site.
In Vidisha, we also will visit Chandragupta II’s 5th c. Hindu rock temple-caves at Udaygiri, renowned for late Gupta period relief carvings, notably the enormous, famed Varaha, boar avatar of Vishnu, and the 2nd c. inscribed Pillar of Heliodorus, dedicated to Vasudeva by a Greek Hindu from Taxila.
We will end our travels in the sacred town of Khajuraho, to visit its magnificent 10th-11th c Chandela dynasty Vishnu, Shiva and Devi temples with their legendary, mysterious erotic sculptures and carvings – among the finest temple art in the world.
A small Archaeological Museum, anchored by the well-known, wonderful Dancing Ganesha, will allow us to take a closer look at excellent sculptures from the various extant and once-standing temples which have not survived.
This tour has been planned to coincide with the acclaimed annual Khajuraho Dance Festival, and we will watch an evening performance of classical dance by internationally-known Indian dancers against the exquisite backdrop of the temples.
We will stay in the best posible hotels in Bhopal, Sanchi and Khajuraho. Transport vehicles will be comfortable and safe, and we will have good guides to accompany us. It should be a memorable journey for old India hands and general travellers alike.
The approximate cost is SGD $3,800 which includes airfare, twin-share accommodation, all meals, bottled water, transport, guides, entry fees, tips, travel insurance and a contribution to the FOM general fund. It does not include visa and personal expenses such as alcoholic beverages, laundry, camera fees or internet charges.
To register for the tour, please ensure your FOM membership is current.
- read, agreed to and signed an online FOM Release Form and Responsibility Statement;
- agreed to send a photocopy of the first page of your passport (containing relevant details) directly to the Tour Leader; and
- agreed to make an initial deposit payment of SGD$1500 to FOM by PayNow (UEN number: T04SS0218E) or PayPal or cheque made payable to “Friends of the Museums Singapore”.
If you wish to pay the deposit by cheque, kindly mail it to:
FOM Study Tours: Central India
Friends of the Museums
61 Stamford Road
#02-06 Stamford Court
Singapore 178892
PLEASE NOTE:
Cancellations incur penalties and at times we can accommodate only partial or no refunds, so please register only if you are sure you can travel next February.
Information and reminders re further payments will be sent out later with a detailed itinerary to registered participants.
Deposit: SGD $1500 SGD per person
Final payment: $2300 due by October 31, 2022
Notice for pre-travel meetings will be sent to registrants once all sign-ups are done.