Day 1
The day was hot and sunny, and my family of three could have checked into some luxury hotel with a nice pool to just chill (not unlike this rickety laptop that I'm using now. Approaching it's fifth birthday and giving me hell with its lack of energy). Don't you dare blame me, you're not the one who had less than an hour of sleep in twenty four hours. Not to mention the blabbering auto driver who took us to the bus stop. This was only to be expected as our overnight train from Hyderabad had reached Aurangabad before the crack of dawn. Our destination was the Ajanta Caves T point which was a hundred kilometers away and we were to cover this stretch by bus.
Anyways, we got off at the T point after an hour and a half of sitting in an ancient bus zooming along a freshly paved 4 lane highway. A brief walk followed to our home for the next two days, the Ajanta T Point MTDC hotel. Our plan was to explore the Ajanta Caves, a UNESCO world heritage site, then travel back to Aurangabad to see the Daulatabad Fort and the Ellora caves. I loved the hotel at first sight: we had booked one of the 5 villas in the property. The place was serene with birds calling and hills in the distance. It was hospitable and not luxurious with the kind caretaker letting us freshen up even though we had reached hours before the check in time. We were all set and raring to go!
A scenic, two kilometer bus ride over the hills of Ajanta got us to the base of the climb we had to make to reach the caves. Despite the fact that we were travelling to Ajanta in the beginning of May, the landscape was green. Not exactly lush, but soothing enough to save us from the shocking sunlight. Although not green enough stop my bare feet from sizzling. To continue, we had a striking blue sky, shimmering sunlight and streaks of white clouds under lay a hill of buff rocks covered with scrub vegetation. Between the two hills there was a sparkling stream called Waghora which becomes a full fledged river during monsoon.
At the ticket counter was a map presenting the layout of the Ajanta caves in landscape. The stream makes a big 'C', forming a valley. On one side of the valley are 32 caves, cut out of the rock face by the Buddhist monks, who mysteriously as is their way, chose this place in the middle of nowhere to create these stunning masterpieces. If you climb up the rock face you get to rolling meadows on top, where you can find a stunning view of the whole valley. In fact, if you stood on the top at the edge of the drop with the caves right below you, you would not even know that they exist, unless you look down at the opposite rock face! Flights of steps lead up from the base of the river to each temple. At the time they were created, this was the only way of reaching the temples. Today, there is a path winding up to the level of the temples which allows us to reach all of them at one go. This was the path that we were taking now.
After some time of climbing, the 'C' curved away providing a panorama of the temples ahead, their ornate pillars standing out from the background. Even from a distance, the sculptures of the farthest caves caught the eye, while seeming very much in place with the craggy rocks.
Mesmerized, I walked on. The best part of coming to Ajanta in summer was that you could admire the palash trees sprouting at every corner. Bright orange palash flowers combined with bright sunlight can be as vibrant as a peacock fluttering its feathers in your face. After a while, we reached the first cave. A bored entry guard waved us in.
When I had thought of writing this travelogue, at the beginning of the trip, I had assumed that describing the place would be an easy enough job. Now that I am doing it, I confess words fail to capture the grandeur of the place. The path leading up widened and to one side stood, pillared and bejeweled, the first cave of Ajanta. Cave No. 1, which I had seen only in pictures, looked majestic as ever in real life, with the carvings and sculptures, mainly of various stages of Buddha's life popping out. Inside, warm, dim lights illuminated the masterpieces in muted softness. Despite the scant lighting, the paintings were bursting with vibrant colours, depicting idyllic scenes of nature, motifs and various figures in all their glory. Who could have imagined, that even after fifteen hundred years of ruin, weathering, destruction, and most of all, vandalism, the work of these unknown artists still radiates such vibrancy? When I stood in the serene company of those life-like paintings, I felt honored to be at a place where so many great minds, albeit unknown, yet true geniuses had tread upon, creating works of art that still stun and awe people. The faces in the painting reflected raw emotions of serenity, love, and sorrow in different scenes. The depth and feeling that a mere painting, that too ages old, can hold, rooted me to the spot.
Well, I'm losing myself praising these paintings. Let me help you visualize them. The piece de resistance was at the farthest end of the temple, where a statue of Buddha stood. The paintings that many of you would've admired in the blurry picture of a history textbook stood out in the faded surroundings. Although smudged at the edges, the colour diminished, one can clearly make out a perfect figure. Two, in fact, on either side of the statue. Both identical, with different colours. It is a depiction of Bodhisattva Padmapani, which means the lotus-bearer, a figure related to Buddhist compassion. He sports only a loincloth, with a crown of gold and bangles hanging from his graceful body. The skill with which the paintings were made shows us a face, serene and thoughtful and these were the same emotions that reflected in my heart when I saw them. He had many men and beasts surrounding him. Although it may not be very clear in the picture below, this single painting speaks a million words of the way of life and the beliefs of those days, and the people in them. The paintings I saw that day at Ajanta are uncannily apt for the following saying: a picture speaks a thousand words.
The statue that stood between the two Padmapani paintings was an alcove, where stood a statue of Buddha. His eyes closed, his lips curled ever so slightly in a smile, his hand held up, Buddha was an image of peace and calm. When I think of all the landmarks, temples, statues, or any expression of art, I'll always remember the little caves stowed away in the valley of Ajanta.
The day passed in a blink. Given a chance, I would have camped there and spent the night with the
monks and their handiwork. We walked on, passing caves with sleeping Buddhas, stone spheres with paintings, pillars and rocks which, to the credit of the craftsmen who came here, I would have found no difference if the statues were adorned with precious stones instead of the carvings. We walked past and even missed some caves, since the heat was, as I had colorfully described, like the inside of a buffalo's rear. It was approaching noon and we would have dropped dead if tried visiting each and every cave. We also had plans for reaching the viewpoint (the one from where the whole valley could be seen) but the best thing to do was what we did, by trekking to the viewpoint the next day.
So we ended the day by taking the bus back to our little cottage. Near the MTDC area there was a bazaar plaza. This place is deceptive if you're not careful and I mean it. At least fifty stores lined up, selling the same, I mean EXACTLY the same touristy kitsch. And if you are naïve and don't play your cards right, you will fall prey to these pros and be left a few thousand rupees lighter. Trust me. These shops sell you replicas and cheap jewelry, mostly useless, at twenty times their worth. But I admired their dedication and their yen for salesmanship. My mother on the other hand, is a pro at dealing with such folks. She is adept at dealing with them. If Maa wants something, she gets it at a tenth of the quoted price at the most. After a bit of haggling, Maa names her final figure, and if the seller so much as flinches, she walks away without hesitation. And so the shopkeeper is forced to run after her, pleading "fine madam, please take it, I'll give it to you for a hundred rupees". He then swallows his pride (and his profit) wraps the item, sulking all this time and hands it to my mother. I can't even think of going near these places without her!
This is where we had lunch, with the shopkeepers calling out to me to buy stone elephant replicas and color-changing globules. This time it was as hot as the inside of a pressure cooker, with tarpaulin sheets covering the whole plaza and baking the place.
Let me tell you more about where the cottages are. The setting of the place was beautiful, perfect for relaxing. I sat out on the cane swing outside and admired the hills beyond, with jackals calls echoing from inside the scrub jungle. There was plenty of place to just wander about, and I had a great time soaking in the sights and sounds of nature while walking through the hills.
Day 2
By ten we were on the bus and a few minutes later, found ourselves at the base of a seemingly endless flight of steps - rocky, steep, and cruel. To me at least. I am not afraid of heights, but climbing up or down steep rocky steps has a paralyzing effect on me. I have never slipped or fell but I always find myself peering down on the next step, and trembling. My mind races and I imagine gory thoughts of my foot disobeying orders from my brain and missing a step, and this is my favorite, me toppling over for no apparent reason!!!
Nah, I'm joking. It was none of the above, except from the first sentence onwards. It wasn't rocky or anything, nor cruel. Maybe a bit too steep. But I made it. As for my dad - he raced through it. We were on top in twenty minutes. Throughout the climb we were greeted by lovely views of the caves. I suppose the following will need its own little paragraph:
The top of the hill was covered with a layer of beautiful, velvety green grass. There were undulating meadows and a bushy little forest in the distance. And who would've known what was in store just a few steps ahead - a gorgeous gorge (pun not intended). It was not a valley, since the edges of the meadows suddenly dropped off into a steep cliff, with an idyllic waterfall trickling down in stages of little bowl-pools. At the bottom of the waterfall a bright turquoise lake streamed into Waghora. And between streaks of soft brown and creamy buff rock, there stood the caves in all their glory, the rays of the sun washing them in bright light and bringing out their grandeur. Our jaws dropped down into the valley below. We lost track of time, just soaking in the beauty of everything around us.
The place deserved a lot more exploring. There wasn't a single person around except for a chap selling lemonade and I couldn't get enough of the place. The sun however was scorching and drove us for cover soon after. In the distance were soft, rolling hills where, as my dad rightly predicted, a number of villages lay. As the icing on the cake, we sat in the rundown little shed with open sides and benches and had the most terrible lemonade of my life. Just perfect.
We came back from our adventure refreshed and had lunch at the baking pan of a plaza (and you thought Ajanta was an oven) Later in the evening we took a relaxing walk to the nearby hills with the breeze, cooled by the small lakes lapping our face. And guess what! For dinner, we polished off a spicy chicken curry with hot chapatis to end an absolutely perfect day! Yippee!
Day 3
The fort was huge. From a distance I could see that the structure was built on top of a rocky bluff, raising it above the surrounding landscape and making it impregnable. And like the sky and land around it, Daulatabad was vast.
But unlike most other forts I have visited, I felt that the Daulatabad fort relied more on the terrain for her defense. No moat, no high walls, no nothing. She appeared daunting because of her size. A lot like the fat boy from fifth grade who couldn't walk fast more than twenty metres metres without huffing and puffing in exhaustion, but you had to be crazy to take him on and come out with your limbs intact.
As for the aesthetics of the structure and the craftsmanship, I have nothing to complain about. The place was atmospheric, with its deep red rocks weathered by the passage of time and copper colored domes piercing the azure blue sky. Its mysterious courtyards, pillared and finished with perfection, held the lovely smell of old bricks and felt cool in the way ancient structures do designed to keep the heat out. The air outside however was red hot with the stifling, baking heat. The sun beat down relentlessly and the rocks radiated heat. Whenever someone gives me a sympathetic smile at me and says hey Joyee, you've got a tan, I think of the sun in Aurangabad.
As we ascended the fort from the inside, there was a maze or a bhoolbulaiyya, as the guides called it. They kept chattering about the very dangerous, yes madam, the deadly maze that is the path through which one could reach the upper reaches of the fort. It was deadly, yes, for stairophobics like me. Although even I admit, it wasn't as scary as it was draining. As we read on a board inside, this set of stairs was meant more as an obstruction for invading armies than as a usable passage. In fact, it wasn't a passage at all. Half of the stairs were plunged in darkness but for a few windows here and there. The steps were uneven and many led to dead ends, and there were sudden openings in the passages which were actually cliffs. All this, as we learnt, was built to confuse enemy soldiers in the darkness, and drive them out of a lovely looking exit which actually led to sheer drops of a hundred feet into watery graves of the moat below. It was all very fascinating and I imagined armour clad villains plunging into the water below with their limbs flailing. I made a mental note to be extra careful on my climb down.
But for all practical purposes, it wasn't needed. The size and natural protection of the place was enough. Plus the enemy would've been a stupid bunch if they tried to take over the place by raiding it. I know I don't have evidence to prove this, but most forts sport these legends about them of boiling oil and deadly drops, which I think are little more than made up stories to discourage those planning a little invasion. The terrain of most forts provide enough natural defenses. All I have to say is, the Daulatabad Fort wasn't all that dangerous and spooky. But the view of it when you approach it from a distance is to die for.
We couldn't make it to the top. The second half of the climb was in the harsh glare of the unrelenting sun and here we were, emerging from the darkness, thinking we'd reached the top already. Going further would've been madness. I waved goodbye to Daulatabad fort and moved on to the next stop on our list.
Next up was Bibi-ka-Maqbara. I guess this is just as stunning as the Taj, built forty years before it. There is almost no difference between the two masterpieces but for the size. Some monuments are more popular because of the hype around them, that does not mean that the others can be skipped. If anything, the lack of promotion means less crowds of visitors.
Although most of you can already guess what it looks like, I will describe some of it for you. Since it's an exact replica of the Taj, I wondered at first why this one wasn't as well known as the original (duh) but I found out once I entered. Bibi-ka-Maqbara was smaller and not very well looked after - your usual, not very subtle vandalism (Kudos to the unknown idiots who carved hearts on the loveliest stone I've seen). In addition, the tomb itself, down below from the circular viewing pavilion, was covered with coins and notes. I guess people think that the tomb of Aurangzeb's wife is a holy shrine. According to Wiki, the Maqbara was a poorer cousin of the Taj mainly because of a lack of marble and technical flaws. None of which, of course, I could notice. So we spent some time exploring the grounds around this lovely monument. The marbles bear engraving which make the stone look as soft as clay. The "jaali" type carvings made into the exterior walls are surreal. I can still hear the clinking sound of dropped coins ringing in my ears.
Next on our itinerary was the Panchakki. This seventeenth century water mill was, I confess, underwhelming, for me at least. I rather enjoyed soaking in the mellowed air of the six hundred year old Banyan tree just next to the younger Panchakki. The watermill is in front of a mosque. The visible stuff is a lake with a spout. Nothing much to look at, unfortunately. So why was it a stop for us? The fascinating part is that it has an ingenious system for bringing water from a lake far away. As you can imagine, in a water scarce area during the medieval period, this was a unique feat of engineering to provide clean drinking water to the inhabitants. The complex itself was peaceful and cool with the mosque and the nearby purification pool providing a relaxing backdrop.
It will be incomplete if I did not mention our mode of city transportation for the day. Local cabbies charge 1500 rupees for a day tour of Aurangabad including Ellora. We had already decided that the fort and Ellora on the same day would be too much as so my dad had a brilliant idea of hiring an auto to ferry us around. We managed to flag one down near the hotel and after much haggling we struck a deal for the fort, tomb and water mill for 600 bucks. The autowallah reluctantly agreed and was sulking throughout the trip. I thought it was a good deal as the whole trip did not last for more than 4 hours. It is not everyday that you get a good bargain with local drivers and the father was super chuffed!
So, that is how we ended the day. We came back to the hotel and I fell asleep as soon as soon as my head hit the pillow. Goodnight!
Day 4
The penultimate day started with a search for breakfast. My dad has a nose for finding eateries which serve local fare and is also light on the pocket. So he sniffed out a joint which does local Marathwad cuisine, which is essentially a lot of fried savories. This joint only served quick eats and it was my first time having missal pav. As a Bengali, chana chur or a savory mixture is a staple in my family. Missal pav is the ultimate combination of two epic Indian dishes: curry and Chana Chur. In a roadside eatery having lovely pieces of bread with the ultimate combo of two of my favorite dishes, I call it a perfect way to start a day.
With our tummies full, we headed to the local bus stop as we had figured out that direct buses serve Ellora and was the most cost effective way to get there. We soon found our ride: a neat and compact city bus with our pick of seats! The route to Ellora is the same as the fort which we will cross on our way.
Pictures of Kailash temple is what most of you probably see in vlogs, videos, and articles on Ellora. It's a perfect example of Ramayana and Mahabharat related art. Usually ancient-to-medieval Hindu art is about these two epics, so this is pretty well known. The crowds we saw that day at the temple complex prove that much, since in the middle of May, you don't expect to see so many families and especially little kids (ugh) to be roaming around in the sun, making their usual ultra irritating racket. I'm grumbling here when all we saw that day was a fraction of we would have seen in the tourist season. Who likes crowds anyway?!
Apart from the fact that the weather was the usual butt burning heat, the day was really nice. The most astounding fact about the Kailash complex was that the whole temple was a cut out of a monolith, which gave it a compact feel, unlike most ruins. The elephants, the lions, tiger and birds which laced the walls made me feel like in a stone forest. I especially liked the little alcoves stowed away in unexpected places, little treasures hidden inside, waiting to be explored.
This was the first 'cave' in the cave complex of Ellora, spanning a little over 2 kilometers. There are 34 caves in all, which we explored mostly on foot with a brief golf buggy ride to the other end which cost us twenty-five rupees each.
We skipped a few caves on our walk back, passing many Nandis, Rams, Hanumans and many more thanks to the dreaded sun. The way back from cave 34 to Kailash is breathtaking, skirting a lake with the daunting rock face looming on one side. We took many pictures including one which had Maa, our leader, pointing the way! All those planning to visit Ellora during the summer season, ALWAYS carry a water bottle, a hat and some sun screen with you. There aren't too many water stops during the hike and the heat can get to you but it was worth it. For those who love art, culture and history, your experience is incomplete without a trip to this place. The landscape of Ellora is just stunning. Picture a long canyon, a little lake with trees on one side and a rockface on the other. Just perfect. Without terrible lemonade this time :)
I'll end day four here. We returned to out hotel in the afternoon and had a yummy lunch, again at a local joint which did a mean dal rice and yummy buttermilk. The next day, we took a train back home.
This concludes our memorable trip. I have tried doing the impossible, that is, to describe a place which defies all description. This is a place you have to see for yourself. But I will say this: if you're in India and haven't been to Ajanta and Ellora, you cannot begin to understand our great nation. It is worth traveling halfway across the earth to come here. I believe that visiting this part of India is equal to visiting an ancient Roman monument or Greek archaeological ruins. Exploring Ajanta & Ellora is a wonderful experience, where you don't have to be an artist to appreciate and be awed by this place. A lot can be learned here and I for one felt a strange sense of contentment throughout this trip.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Until next time:)
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