December 21, 2009
I think I'm done with cave temples. Between Ajanta's 26 and Ellora's 34, I visited 60 Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain cave temples. Even accounting for a few that were closed and a few more that I couldn't find, that's a lot of holes in the ground.
After two days of feeling unwell, it occurred to me that Ajanta might be too ambitious, but I wanted to see the caves in chronological order and that meant starting at Ajanta.
Health wasn't really a problem but it was a very long day. I caught the 9:00am bus from the central bus station. It was civilized enough but I didn't reach the caves until almost noon. I barely finished before the site closed at 5:30pm. Then it was an extended wait for the bus and I didn't reach the hotel until past 9:00pm.
Ellora was only supposed to be 45 minutes away. That was mostly right but the bus, unlike the one to Ajanta, is not civilized. It was a crush mob forcing themselves onto the bus and then seating was every family group for themselves. On the second day, I saw a Western couple forced out of their seats. One family member after the other climbed in on the window side until the Westerners were left standing in the isle. I never managed to sit coming or going on either day.
The caves at Ellora are newer, larger, and more elaborate than those at Ajanta, but most of the paint is gone. You can see color here and there but at Ajanta whole scenes play out on the painted pillars and ceilings.
From the earliest cave at Ajanta until Hinduism finally takes over at Ellora, 1100 years later, the history of Buddhism in India is told. The early temples are simple with no images of the Buddha. At the end, there are sculptures of people who don't see be Buddha as well as scenes of the Buddha surrounded by adoring goddesses. I wonder if the artists simply go bored. The early Buddhist caves are a bit repetitive and Hinduism provides a greater selection of subjects to carve.
The Hindu temples are quite amazing. One of them is an enormous complex that took 200 years to carve out. Note: I said carve, not construct. Each temple and cave temple is carved from a single stone. Every wall, ceiling, pillar, and plaza are one unified sculpture.
My favorite, though, is cave #30 of the Jain set. It isn't the oldest. It isn't the biggest or most elaborate. In fact, it is relatively plain. What sets it apart is that it is set apart. It is a sort of hike to there from the other caves so most tourists don't. My only company was a few cows near the front entrance. They didn't come in. They emitted no sounds, not even the quietest moo.
I wish I could say the same for the Indian family groups that plague Ajanta and Ellora, but especially Ellora. They are big. They are noisy, and they seem to have no respect for the site or anyone else trying to enjoy it. I even see them patronize hawkers selling trinkets inside the temples.
On my last day, I took a rickshaw to the ruined fort of Daulatbad. This was expen$ive but not colossally so. It was bad timing. The site was packed. It was a Saturday and there was some sort of festival going on. It made a few colorful photos but I could not reach the citadel. I left early.
And with an intervening night an and early morning bus, ended up in Pune.
There are few good reasons to come to Pune. Most people come here for other reasons. I came to collect my ATM card. Didn't quite go as planned.
I was sure the card would arrive early in the week. But after five days wandering the Koreagon Park area and two days hanging out with Upendra there was still no card. I booked passage to Goa.
The Upendra linkup is a sampling of the kind of thing that more gregarieous types often believe to be the very purpose of travel. I met one of these in Aurangabad. She was concerned that if she went back to Mumbai to catch a train to Ahmedabad, she would get caught up Mumbia's social scene again and lose another week.
Ideally, I would have sent this during the weekend, but it was just too busy. I'm in Baga, Goa until just after Christmas. It is unpleasantly hot and humid. I have managed to book diving for Christmas Day but otherwise, I don't quite know what to do here. Baga is a sprawling beach town with lots of overpriced restaurants, motobikes, and taxis.