Before I start my Baroda (Vadodara) travelogue, I must thank TIFR, Mumbai which made it possible for me to have such good friends like Sudhanva and Himadri. I must also thank IUCAA, Pune which made the reunion possible last December which cemented our friendship which if nothing goes wrong will be a long lasting one.
In Ahmedabad I had mixed pleasure with business. In Baroda, it was only pleasure and no business. I was to roam around in this historic city and taste its famous cuisines. We started from the famed Maharaja Sayajirao University in short MSU. If anybody sees the university buildings especially the Arts faculty building, he would never think it to be a college building. It is nothing short of a palace. The area the university encompasses is enormous and has campuses strewn across the city. It is the brain child of Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad III and has produced prodigies like M. F. Hussain and Sam Pitroda. The whole city was totally reformed by the great king and you can find his imprint on every nook and corner of the city. Truly it is known as Sayaji Nagari. The city is also called the Sanskari Nagari of Gujarat (Cultural capital). I generally take a few days to like a city. But with Baroda it was love at first sight. And the way Sudhanva explained Sayaji’s works; I have become a great fan of him as well.
From the palatial University we went to Sudhanva’s house. I had a brunch there and then went to Pratapnagar station to catch the train to Dabhoi, Himadi’s hometown. In the station itself I met her parents. The train was late (First time in many days!!!) and we were a little late in reaching Dabhoi. Dabhoi was the biggest narrow gauge railway station in Asia before the broad gauge made foray into the lifeline of Dabhoi. The town immediately made me miss Tumsar. It is an ancient city and is guarded by 4 bhagols (gates). I visited three of them namely Vadodari Gate, Hira Gate and Mahudi Gate. All of them are rich architectural heritages but Hira gate is the most exquisitely carved gate. Story goes that the architect, Hiradhar fell in love with a royal maiden and as a punishment was buried alive in the very walls of the gate he built. The gate is named in his honour. (Is Neelkamal, Raj Kumar’s film, inspired from here???).
I had a fantastic Gujarati dinner at Himadri’s house. There was the usual Sabji-Roti along with Aamras (Yummy!!! The taste still remains) and Idra (A form of Gujarati Idli). We had a walk outside and had an ice-dish. I and his brother, Nakul, slept in the terrace. It was the first time in my life and the experience was exhilarating. Open air AC is better than any artificial one ever produced my humans. I had a peaceful sleep and was woken up by Nakul at 7. Another disaster occured after my arrival. Their 15 year old refrigerator stopped working that day itself!!! Was I a panauti or something??? Himadri showed me around the town of Dabhoi and then we had the Dabhoi famous Bhajiyas. We left for Baroda soon after. I was unfortunate for not being able to travel in the rickety GSRTC buses.
We started from Irfan Pathan’s old house near Mandvi. From there on we moved to Nyay Mandir, the district and sessions court. It’s another spectacular specimen Sayajirao’s vision. It is the grandest court I have ever seen in person. Opposite to it is one of the biggest markets of Baroda. Here we started our cuisine testing spree. We started with Pyarelal’s Kachouri. To me it was total Bhel with a Kachouri base. After that we had cold-drink in Samrat. Here cold-drink means milk shake laced with ice-cream. Opposite to the market is the Sursagar Lake which has a huge Shiva statue in middle of it. From there we went to Kathiyawadi Khadki for having our lunch. Although a foodie myself, I couldn’t eat properly due to the immense heat. So, we had to leave our half-eaten lunch there itself.
We left for Kamati Baug (Sayaji Baug) which is near the station and adjoining MSU. It is another contribution of Sayaji to the city of Baroda. The park has a small zoo, a mini train (The song Chakke pe chakka from Shammi Kapoor’s movie Brahmachari was shoot here), an aquarium and the Baroda museum. A monkey did give us a torrid time in between our relaxation time. Due to lack of time I couldn’t visit the museum. Also quite a few food items remained un-tasted for now especially different types of soda in Ahmedabad, Chorafadi and Papdi no Lot in Baroda. Also couldn’t take Duliram’s pendes (pedha). The area is full of interesting facts. There is this guy Ketan who is an Mcom but sells tea near Dairy Den circle in front of MSU (He is quite famous there!!!). There is a clock which has a small garden as its dial in Sayaji Baug. And now the most intriguing one. There are at least 6-7 Jagdish sweet marts in a stretch of half a kilometre on a single road of which only one is good!!!
Himadri left at about 4 PM and then I went into the station to wait for the train. The train was little late. The journey was uneventful and we reached Pune early in the morning. By tomorrow evening, I will leave for home leaving Pune behind at least for now. It is worthy to note that we three have met twice after leaving TIFR. Hope something will make us meet again. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Thanks Himadri, Sudhanva and their relatives for this excited stay in Gujarat. A year ago, I had never thought about going to Gujarat in person but here I am missing those 4 exciting days of stay and keeping my fingers crossed to get another chance to go to Gujarat and hope I get to stay for a longer period this time around.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Hot & Mystic Gujarat - Karnavati (Ahmedabad)
18th of May was the last day of my Post Graduation. By 11 in the morning, I was done with my project viva and that ceremoniously ended two years of studies. Such a moment accounted for a celebration but that was not the case to be as I had to go to Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad for an entrance that very evening.
So, we (me and Chiti) left for Ahmedabad by the 07:50 PM Pune – New Bhuj Express. The journey was a pleasant one and we reached Ahmedabad 12 hours later. My friend Sudhanva came to pick me up at the station. I was to stay at his sisters’. Sudhanva was not able to get his way correct and after a slight trepidation we were able to spot Rahul B tower (Henceforth it was our landmark). It was easy to go from there to his sister’s house in the Anandnagar locality. His sister and Jiju received me warmly and for the next 2 days of stay I never felt to be in an unfamiliar place (Though I was afraid of his sister!!!).
His sister and Jiju went out for the day and we had the house to ourselves. We were to go visiting places in Ahmadabad but decided otherwise because of the immense heat. We slept the whole afternoon and it was only in the late evening that we went out to Vastrapur Lake after dinner. The lake is a beautiful spectacle and has a large following among the people from neighbouring places. Also being in Gujju-land it is surrounded by all kinds of eateries ranging from fast food joints to big hotels. We stayed there for almost an hour savouring the cool moist air of the lake and then went to see the famed IIM-Ahmedabad. We went back home and within an hour I slept to get ready for next day’s entrance.
Sudhanva dropped me at PRL in the morning. I was expecting Chiti to be early as she was staying with our senior in PRL itself. But she was late. As soon as I entered the lobby, I spotted a familiar maroon shirt. The shirt belonged to my friend from IIT-Guwahati, Shubhankar. He was equally surprised by my presence. Before we could properly exchange the hellos, we were ushered into the exam hall and the next 3 hours the only thought that crossed my mind was to crack the entrance. The entrance was simple and with the hopes of an interview call, I went to have the lunch. After lunch, we went to meet our senior with whom Chiti was staying. From there we went to the exam hall to find that the results were being announced. Both me and Chiti had cleared the entrance and so did Shubhankar. Even before we could get hold of the situation, we were sent for the interviews. Chiti and me were to face the same panel. Chiti was the second to go and she was the only one in the whole day to come back with an assurance of pursuing a PhD there. I was the last to go for the interview and had a so-so interview. Getting a call would surprise me more than anyone else!!!
I was again the culprit of spoiling the plan of roaming around (Last time I had done so during INAT). Now I was free to do the sightseeing. The first place we went was the ISKCON temple on SG highway. Though I am not a great fan of ISKCON, I did like the temple for its sheer grandeur and beauty. It was more beautiful than the one I had been in Mumbai. From here I went to meet Pinki, my friend of 11th – 12th whom I had not met for almost 6 years. Sudhanva and Chiti also accompanied me. I had a hell of a time with her. We had a bite at Wrappidos and then had Ice-cream. Sudhanva gave Chiti nice company which she surprisingly liked and hence I had more time with my old friend. We set out together for home and as soon as she took a left turn, the only thought that crossed my mind was that whether we will meet again!!!
The next day we left early for Sabarmati Ashram. The plan was totally mine and Chiti and Sudhanva came along. The new Ahmedabad was devoid of any architectural heritage. The buildings all looked alike to me and presented neither variety nor beauty at least to my eyes. But as soon as you cross the Sabarmati to the eastern side of the city, you start getting glimpses of the old city. We were to meet Chiti at the Lal Darwaza bus stand. This place itself has three beautiful structures in its surroundings namely Sidi Syed ki Jaali (Logo of IIM-A), a fort and the mosque of Sultan Ahmed Shah.
The transportation in Ahmedabad runs on CNG and hence has a far more clean environment than before. We reached the Ashram at about quarter to eleven. We were supposed to leave early as Chiti had to go to PRL and we two had to go to Baroda. But the quaint picturesque peaceful environment was hard to leave. No doubt in such an environment the great man could think about peace only. Even in these cool environs, we got politically charged and had one of those never-ending hot debates. Only one thing that I didn’t like in the Ashram was the shop in the museum. Bapu all his life advised people to lead a simple life but the shop didn’t seem to believe it!!! It had all souvenirs at exorbitant prices.
We bade byes to Chiti and left for Baroda. We travelled through NE1 which has only two exits at both ends. The journey was through hot Gujarat Summer and we both slept through the whole journey out of sheer tiredness.
We reached Baroda at about 4 in the evening. I stayed there for only 25 hours but those were one of the most enjoyable 25 hours of my life and my next blog will be dedicated to it.
So, we (me and Chiti) left for Ahmedabad by the 07:50 PM Pune – New Bhuj Express. The journey was a pleasant one and we reached Ahmedabad 12 hours later. My friend Sudhanva came to pick me up at the station. I was to stay at his sisters’. Sudhanva was not able to get his way correct and after a slight trepidation we were able to spot Rahul B tower (Henceforth it was our landmark). It was easy to go from there to his sister’s house in the Anandnagar locality. His sister and Jiju received me warmly and for the next 2 days of stay I never felt to be in an unfamiliar place (Though I was afraid of his sister!!!).
His sister and Jiju went out for the day and we had the house to ourselves. We were to go visiting places in Ahmadabad but decided otherwise because of the immense heat. We slept the whole afternoon and it was only in the late evening that we went out to Vastrapur Lake after dinner. The lake is a beautiful spectacle and has a large following among the people from neighbouring places. Also being in Gujju-land it is surrounded by all kinds of eateries ranging from fast food joints to big hotels. We stayed there for almost an hour savouring the cool moist air of the lake and then went to see the famed IIM-Ahmedabad. We went back home and within an hour I slept to get ready for next day’s entrance.
Sudhanva dropped me at PRL in the morning. I was expecting Chiti to be early as she was staying with our senior in PRL itself. But she was late. As soon as I entered the lobby, I spotted a familiar maroon shirt. The shirt belonged to my friend from IIT-Guwahati, Shubhankar. He was equally surprised by my presence. Before we could properly exchange the hellos, we were ushered into the exam hall and the next 3 hours the only thought that crossed my mind was to crack the entrance. The entrance was simple and with the hopes of an interview call, I went to have the lunch. After lunch, we went to meet our senior with whom Chiti was staying. From there we went to the exam hall to find that the results were being announced. Both me and Chiti had cleared the entrance and so did Shubhankar. Even before we could get hold of the situation, we were sent for the interviews. Chiti and me were to face the same panel. Chiti was the second to go and she was the only one in the whole day to come back with an assurance of pursuing a PhD there. I was the last to go for the interview and had a so-so interview. Getting a call would surprise me more than anyone else!!!
I was again the culprit of spoiling the plan of roaming around (Last time I had done so during INAT). Now I was free to do the sightseeing. The first place we went was the ISKCON temple on SG highway. Though I am not a great fan of ISKCON, I did like the temple for its sheer grandeur and beauty. It was more beautiful than the one I had been in Mumbai. From here I went to meet Pinki, my friend of 11th – 12th whom I had not met for almost 6 years. Sudhanva and Chiti also accompanied me. I had a hell of a time with her. We had a bite at Wrappidos and then had Ice-cream. Sudhanva gave Chiti nice company which she surprisingly liked and hence I had more time with my old friend. We set out together for home and as soon as she took a left turn, the only thought that crossed my mind was that whether we will meet again!!!
The next day we left early for Sabarmati Ashram. The plan was totally mine and Chiti and Sudhanva came along. The new Ahmedabad was devoid of any architectural heritage. The buildings all looked alike to me and presented neither variety nor beauty at least to my eyes. But as soon as you cross the Sabarmati to the eastern side of the city, you start getting glimpses of the old city. We were to meet Chiti at the Lal Darwaza bus stand. This place itself has three beautiful structures in its surroundings namely Sidi Syed ki Jaali (Logo of IIM-A), a fort and the mosque of Sultan Ahmed Shah.
The transportation in Ahmedabad runs on CNG and hence has a far more clean environment than before. We reached the Ashram at about quarter to eleven. We were supposed to leave early as Chiti had to go to PRL and we two had to go to Baroda. But the quaint picturesque peaceful environment was hard to leave. No doubt in such an environment the great man could think about peace only. Even in these cool environs, we got politically charged and had one of those never-ending hot debates. Only one thing that I didn’t like in the Ashram was the shop in the museum. Bapu all his life advised people to lead a simple life but the shop didn’t seem to believe it!!! It had all souvenirs at exorbitant prices.
We bade byes to Chiti and left for Baroda. We travelled through NE1 which has only two exits at both ends. The journey was through hot Gujarat Summer and we both slept through the whole journey out of sheer tiredness.
We reached Baroda at about 4 in the evening. I stayed there for only 25 hours but those were one of the most enjoyable 25 hours of my life and my next blog will be dedicated to it.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Awesome Ajanta-Ellora (Part II)
Next day i.e. on 26th, we started very early (4:30 in the morning), to catch the earliest bus to Ajanta (Ajintha to the locals). We got the 5:15 bus to Jalgaon. The morning breeze was coming through the window which soon became a cold current which became quite intolerable. But alas, the window had only one pane and it was insufficient to negate the current. The route from Aurangabad to Sillod is dotted with hills on both sides of the road. The sceneries compounded with the cool breeze had its effect and yours truly slept immediately.
The driver got late in Sillod and hence he decided to make it up. From Sillod to Ajinthagaon, he drove as if he was Schumacher. We made to Ajintha in good time. The caves are actually at the foothills. But before that the bus had to go through a ghat which was quite long and have lots of turns. Seeing the ghat, I was afraid that we will certainly meet with an accident given our drivers penchant for speed. But he surprised by immediately transforming himself from Dhoni to Dravid and guided us through every caution he had in his books.
By 7:15, we were in the MTDC reception centre of Ajanta Caves. We were informed that, the caves will open at 9:00 AM and the only means to reach there are the buses plied by MTDC which will cover the 4 Kms to them. So, we started at about quarter to nine for the caves. The road to the caves is laden with scenic beauty which would have been more green and watery if we would have come after the rains.
After securing the tickets, we set out for the caves. Unlike Ellora, here all the 29 caves are in a horseshoe shaped half a Km stretch. Below is the river which unfortunately was dry. The whole area is surrounded by green hills which would become greener after the rains. The hills are dotted with marks from the Waterfalls. There are several of them but alas nothing could be done in April. We plan to visit Ajanta at least for the waterfalls.
In Ajanta, almost half the caves are unfinished. But the finished ones are specimens of the art and sculpture of greatest expertise. The caves here date back to 2nd century BC. Both Hinayana and Mahayana form of Buddhism are well represented in the caves.
The first two caves are important as they have coloured wall paintings. Even the roofs are well painted. Every Mahayana cave has a garbhagriha(sanctum) in which Buddha is seated in different forms. The walls around the sanctum are surrounded by sculptures generally yakshas and rest is covered in paintings. If looking from front, on the left of the sanctum in cave 1 is the world famous painting of Padmapani and on the right is Vajrapani. The Buddha in both the caves is in Dharmacakrapravartana mudra (preaching attitude). The wall paintings are all different Jataka Tales. You can get only mesmerized seeing the paintings and do nothing but appreciate the art.
Cave 10 is an important cave as this was the cave whose huge arch was observed by a British officer, John Smith in the April of 1819. This led to the discovery of all the caves. Cave 17 is the cave in which the paintings are most preserved. You can make out human faces in the paintings. Traces of the huge wheel of life adorn the wall outside the cave.
Cave 26 is the most preserved cave of the lot. It has huge sculptures and the pradikshana around the rock-cut stupa with an image of Buddha in the front has wall carvings depicting different times of Buddha’s life. The pradakshina culminates with the most striking and prominent image of Buddha’s Mahaparinirvana on the right wall.
We were totally exhausted after our 3 hour voyage through the mesmerizing beauty and grandeur of the works of our skilled ancestors. Add to that the blazing Sun, we were in need of food and rest. We had already decided that we would make full use of our pass and get back to Pune through a roundabout route.
We first started for Jalgaon at about one in the afternoon and reached at about quarter past two. We had the cheapest and heaviest meal for thirty bucks there and started for Nashik. Nashik was some 250 Kms and about five to six hours away. I slept for the first two hours of my trip till Dhule. In Dhule, our bus conductor advised us to go in the next bus as it would skip Malegaon and we could reach about an hour early. But one of our primary reasons in boarding the bus was that we wanted to see the famed town of Malegaon. From Dhule to Malegaon, we again had a ghat section which was under construction and this reduced our speed to a nice extent. We were getting delayed but that was of no concern to us. We were just exploiting the riches of our long adventurous journey. Again in between Malegaon and Nashik, we had a ghat section which was equally beautiful in the fading Sunlight. On the curves two signboards caught my attention. One was, ‘BE SMOOTH ON MY CURVES’ and the other ‘JHOPLA KI SAMPLA’ (if you sleep you are finished). We reached Nashik at about half past nine after a six-hour journey.
We had our dinner and then started for Pune. We were told that we couldn’t board the asiad as our pass didn’t cover a conductor-less bus. So we had to settle for the Parivartan bus. The asiad’s driver had given an estimate of about 5 hours to Pune. The Parivartan bus’s driver just said that whenever we start we will reach Pune at 3 in the morning!!! So, we left at about quarter to eleven and reached Pune exactly 4 hours later. I just encountered his turbulent driving after reaching Pune. Barrel told me that he hadn’t spared the ghats en-route as well!!! We reached back to the hostel at about half past three and I slept within an hour.
I was feeling sad that such a trip had ended. Well every good beginning has an ending and the end was pleasant and soothing. The memories of the grandeur that I had seen in these two days will stay forever alive till I reach the final destination!!! Well now this has led to an addiction and my mind has started already wandering and exploring other beautiful and mesmerizing places spread throughout this great country of ours!!!
A final salute to all those sculptors and artists who worked day in and day out to make these magnanimous forms of artwork to see the light of the day.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Awesome Ajanta - Ellora (Part I)
Ajanta – Ellora was in our (Barrel & mine) tour itinerary for about a year or so. But some reason or the other kept us from going there. So, on 18th when Barrel suddenly sprung the idea we decided immediately that we were going there next Saturday. So, we started researching on the trip. Aradhana helped a lot in this and on her suggestion we got the 500Rs, ‘Like where you travel’, pass. This pass enables one to travel all around Maharashtra for 4 days without the need of any ticket!!!
We left Pune on 24th night at about 10:30 PM for Aurangabad. This was my first overnight ride in a state transport bus and surprisingly it was comfortable. We reached Aurangabad at about 3:30 in the morning. We waited for about an hour and a half and took our lodgings at Sai Palace. It was quite a costly place for the level of accommodation it provided. We left by 7 for Ellora. We were to take the bus to Kannad which goes via Ellora. The first bus was full even before it reached the allotted platform. It seemed next to impossible to board the next bus either as it was the only platform which was flooding with people. We were lucky to board the next bus and then we came to know about the reason for the crowd, a puja in Bhadra-Maruti temple near Ellora.
By 8:30, we were at the magnificent Ellora Caves (Verul Leni to the locals). The very view of Kailasha which is the first one to come in your view as you enter, takes the breath out of you. The magnanimity just awes you. We took an auto-rickshaw to see the caves from cave 17 to cave 34. These caves are spread over an area of 4 Kms and are difficult to cover by foot. We started with cave 29 (Sita Ki Nahani). When we entered the cave, we were spellbound and speechless for almost 5 minutes. These sculptures done in medieval India is just unbelievable and unexplainable. You can only feel if you stand in front of one. Even a photograph doesn’t give you the correct picture. A 2-D picture is just unable to hold these 3-D magnum opuses in them. I would try to give an insight but it is advisable to go there and visit in person.
The rocks are cut to perfection and figures of enormous sizes have been carved out of them. Even time and negligence has not been able to erase the beauty out of them. You stand there and lo you are beheld by the beauty. We are not connoisseurs but it was difficult for us to move from one sculpture to the other. It seemed that these rock-cut figures were pulling through an unseen strong force which made us glued to them.
The Jain caves are only two in number with 32 and 33 being the important ones. Incidentally both are double storey caves. Even though the numbers are less but the work done is no doubt as magnificent in the 18 Hindu and the 12 Buddhist caves. The caves are all dedicated to Mahavira. Traces of colour painting are also present in the caves. Among all caves these are newer and were built in around 11th century AD. Elephant is the most common animal in all the 34 caves. But the one in front of cave 32 (Indra Sabha) is enormous. It’s almost 15-16 feet in height (maybe even taller) and is the best preserved of all. After these caves, we went to the remaining Hindu caves and saw them quite quickly as most of them were empty.
And then we entered the largest monolithic excavation the world, KAILASHA. It’s hard to believe that the entire structure was built out of one single rock. If you come to Ellora and just see Kailasha, it’s as if you have seen the whole Ellora. Massive structures have been built around the whole temple complex dedicated to Lord Shiva. There are small caves and one of them has stairs leading to it which have never seen light ever in their lives. Various episodes from Mahabharata, Ramayana and Krishna’s life adorn the walls in the caves as well as the temple. To see it properly one needs to have around 2-3 hours in hand. We tried to absorb the beauty as much as we could. After about 2 hours we came out tired but exhilarated and mystified by the stupendous and magnificent beauty.
We were tired and took almost half an hour to recover. We again set into pursuit towards the Buddhist caves. They comprise of monasteries and chaityagrihas. Almost every cave had a shrine for Buddha. The worth mentioning are cave 5 (Maharvada) which is an enormously big monastery and cave 12 (Teen Tal). Teen Tal is a three storey cave full of carvings from Buddha’s life and has him in different mudras. We certainly couldn’t enjoy them in the same manner as before because of our extreme tiredness. This is one regret, I will carry from the tour.
After Ellora, we had lunch and I went to Ghushmeshwar, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. I went to pay my homage there. When I asked the purohit to do the puja, to my utmost shock, he instructed me to get rid of my shirt and vest before entering the garbhagriha. I obeyed him and the puja was done in matter of seconds. After it we went to Shahenshah Aurangzeb’s Tomb in Khultabad, some 3 Kms from Ellora. I was amazed to find that the dictator had a sense of evil and had instructed to make his tomb only from money earned from honest means. The only honest job he had done was writing the Holy Quran. Money from this proceeding was used in making his tomb. The tomb is a simple earth tomb which even doesn’t have a roof. What an ironical man Alamgir was!!!
From here we went to the Daulatabad fort also known as Devgiri. Three layers of walls guard the actual fort which is on the hill. The fort has Bhool-Bhulaiyas and dark dungeons and is said to be one of the most invincible fort of its time. Unfortunately, we were too tired to go up the hill and just had a look around in the foot of the hill only.
We reached back Aurangabad, had a light snack and hit the sack. Barrel dozed of immediately. I for that matter watched TV up to 10 and slept like something. It was going to be a peaceful sweet sleep initiated by the day’s tiredness but laced with the enticing things that I had seen the whole day. We were to leave for Ajanta in the morning and hence we had to get up early.
It’s time now to stop this tour report now.
About Ajanta ???
Well in the next post !!!!
We left Pune on 24th night at about 10:30 PM for Aurangabad. This was my first overnight ride in a state transport bus and surprisingly it was comfortable. We reached Aurangabad at about 3:30 in the morning. We waited for about an hour and a half and took our lodgings at Sai Palace. It was quite a costly place for the level of accommodation it provided. We left by 7 for Ellora. We were to take the bus to Kannad which goes via Ellora. The first bus was full even before it reached the allotted platform. It seemed next to impossible to board the next bus either as it was the only platform which was flooding with people. We were lucky to board the next bus and then we came to know about the reason for the crowd, a puja in Bhadra-Maruti temple near Ellora.
By 8:30, we were at the magnificent Ellora Caves (Verul Leni to the locals). The very view of Kailasha which is the first one to come in your view as you enter, takes the breath out of you. The magnanimity just awes you. We took an auto-rickshaw to see the caves from cave 17 to cave 34. These caves are spread over an area of 4 Kms and are difficult to cover by foot. We started with cave 29 (Sita Ki Nahani). When we entered the cave, we were spellbound and speechless for almost 5 minutes. These sculptures done in medieval India is just unbelievable and unexplainable. You can only feel if you stand in front of one. Even a photograph doesn’t give you the correct picture. A 2-D picture is just unable to hold these 3-D magnum opuses in them. I would try to give an insight but it is advisable to go there and visit in person.
The rocks are cut to perfection and figures of enormous sizes have been carved out of them. Even time and negligence has not been able to erase the beauty out of them. You stand there and lo you are beheld by the beauty. We are not connoisseurs but it was difficult for us to move from one sculpture to the other. It seemed that these rock-cut figures were pulling through an unseen strong force which made us glued to them.
The Jain caves are only two in number with 32 and 33 being the important ones. Incidentally both are double storey caves. Even though the numbers are less but the work done is no doubt as magnificent in the 18 Hindu and the 12 Buddhist caves. The caves are all dedicated to Mahavira. Traces of colour painting are also present in the caves. Among all caves these are newer and were built in around 11th century AD. Elephant is the most common animal in all the 34 caves. But the one in front of cave 32 (Indra Sabha) is enormous. It’s almost 15-16 feet in height (maybe even taller) and is the best preserved of all. After these caves, we went to the remaining Hindu caves and saw them quite quickly as most of them were empty.
And then we entered the largest monolithic excavation the world, KAILASHA. It’s hard to believe that the entire structure was built out of one single rock. If you come to Ellora and just see Kailasha, it’s as if you have seen the whole Ellora. Massive structures have been built around the whole temple complex dedicated to Lord Shiva. There are small caves and one of them has stairs leading to it which have never seen light ever in their lives. Various episodes from Mahabharata, Ramayana and Krishna’s life adorn the walls in the caves as well as the temple. To see it properly one needs to have around 2-3 hours in hand. We tried to absorb the beauty as much as we could. After about 2 hours we came out tired but exhilarated and mystified by the stupendous and magnificent beauty.
We were tired and took almost half an hour to recover. We again set into pursuit towards the Buddhist caves. They comprise of monasteries and chaityagrihas. Almost every cave had a shrine for Buddha. The worth mentioning are cave 5 (Maharvada) which is an enormously big monastery and cave 12 (Teen Tal). Teen Tal is a three storey cave full of carvings from Buddha’s life and has him in different mudras. We certainly couldn’t enjoy them in the same manner as before because of our extreme tiredness. This is one regret, I will carry from the tour.
After Ellora, we had lunch and I went to Ghushmeshwar, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. I went to pay my homage there. When I asked the purohit to do the puja, to my utmost shock, he instructed me to get rid of my shirt and vest before entering the garbhagriha. I obeyed him and the puja was done in matter of seconds. After it we went to Shahenshah Aurangzeb’s Tomb in Khultabad, some 3 Kms from Ellora. I was amazed to find that the dictator had a sense of evil and had instructed to make his tomb only from money earned from honest means. The only honest job he had done was writing the Holy Quran. Money from this proceeding was used in making his tomb. The tomb is a simple earth tomb which even doesn’t have a roof. What an ironical man Alamgir was!!!
From here we went to the Daulatabad fort also known as Devgiri. Three layers of walls guard the actual fort which is on the hill. The fort has Bhool-Bhulaiyas and dark dungeons and is said to be one of the most invincible fort of its time. Unfortunately, we were too tired to go up the hill and just had a look around in the foot of the hill only.
We reached back Aurangabad, had a light snack and hit the sack. Barrel dozed of immediately. I for that matter watched TV up to 10 and slept like something. It was going to be a peaceful sweet sleep initiated by the day’s tiredness but laced with the enticing things that I had seen the whole day. We were to leave for Ajanta in the morning and hence we had to get up early.
It’s time now to stop this tour report now.
About Ajanta ???
Well in the next post !!!!
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