The Caves of Ajanta
The Caves of Ajanta in India are in a horseshoe-shaped valley where 29 Buddhist temples, shrines and monasteries were carved out of the stone cliffs between 200 B.C. and 700 A.D.
In my mid-50s, I spent six weeks riding the trains with a British travel group in India and seeing most of the major sights, among them the ancient Caves of Ellora and Ajanta. Both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, worth your attention if you find yourself between Bombay and Agra.
Although I will continue to use the designation "cave," the use of the word is misleading because these structures, some three stories high, are hand-carved out of rock. They are temples, shrines and monasteries and are filled with religious carvings, statues and paintings.
One of my journal entries reads:
"I’m surprised at how light I’m learning to travel. The clothes on my back, razor, toothbrush, soap, towel, sheet, camera and medicine, a book to read and my notebook. Oh yes, a small water jug. On this trip I didn’t need the sheet or the towels. One can travel here for four or five days with just stuff in your pockets." Actually, traveling light was a necessity since my checked suitcase did not reach me until I was ready to leave the country.
"We caught a bus to Ellora Caves and spent the rest of the day exploring them. Getting on the bus when it arrived was certainly a mad rush - one had to forget one’s gentlemanly impulses if you’re to compete for seats. Many people stood for much of the four-hour trip."
I found the Caves of Ellora impressive. They are hewn out of solid stone, with large hallways and intricate carvings and pillars. They are in three groups, 12 Buddhist, 17 Hindu and five Jain. Even if modern tools and explosives had been available, these would still have been tremendous undertakings. It is hard to image making monuments of this size with only the hand tools available 350 to 700 A.D., when they were carved out.
To me the most impressive was No. 16, a Hindu temple that took 100 years to chisel out of the stone and has columns three stories high. It is twice the size of the Parthenon in Athens and is filled with statues of a variety of gods.
My journal the next day says:
"Well, here I am in Ajanta. I’ve really lucked out in getting to see both these and the Ellora Caves. ... This is a remarkable setting; we’re in a horseshoe-shaped valley, and the caves are along the base of the horseshoe. The 29 caves at Ajanta are older than those at Ellora, having been carved out of the cliffs between 200 B.C. to 700 A.D. These caves are exclusively Buddhist, and as a result the stories painted on the walls were more interesting to me than the Hindu works in Ellora."
The caves had been lived in until 650 A.D. by Buddhist monks, scholars and students. When rediscovered by the British in 1819, they were clogged with debris.
"Each of the major caves had a man assigned - who was supposed to guide visitors for no tips, but the guides tend to ignore the Indian visitors and focus on foreigners and really work you for a tip. Less than one rupee seems unacceptable."
Some caves were quite dark, and in some, the guide could direct sunlight off a reflector to highlight objects. Things have improved, and visitors today can purchase a lighting ticket, which when presented to the guard has him turn on the lights so the paintings can be seen.
Rocks were a big thing at Ajanta. Salesmen were all over, aggressively selling various unique rock forms. I’m sure the rocks were valuable, but I wasn’t about to carry rocks home. The last guide at Cave 24 produced one for me cheap - he wanted only 10 rupees. As I turned to go, he dropped the price immediately to one rupee. I had a terrible time convincing him I didn’t want it even at that price.
