My long expected weekend is about to begin. I have booked my trip to Aurangabad and the sightseeing daytrips to Ajanta and Ellora to see the famous Buddhist caves, both on the UNESCO list of world heritage sites.
The plane is one hour late, which means I can stay for one more hour in the office. I don't mind, as long as I know that next morning I'll be away...
It is pitchdark by the time the plane takes off, so all I can see and enjoy is the view of the city and towns by night. Thousands of lights, shiny pearls in a chaotic arrangement. It looks like a bag of pearls had just flipped over and the pearls and beads have spread out randomly. You can still identify a few strings, brighter, but all the rest have rolled free to their current location...
We land on the Aurangabad airport which is basically a paved area leading to a shack like building - the airport. There, at the exit, my driver awaits me. His name is Ramesh and he seems a very nice and quiet guy, not very young. He's actually going to be my driver for the next 2 days, but I don't know that yet.
I arrive at the "Meadows" hotel, which is more like a resort with small bungalows around 2 nice and inviting swimming pools.
The alleys are paved and clean and there are lots and lots of blossoming trees and shrubs. The delicate fragrance of jasmine fills the air. It is not raining, and there's a breeze which only gains in intensity. My room is very big and nice, facing the swimming pool. On the porch is a chair I can sit on and enjoy the view and the fresh air. However there seem to be some mosquitos around and so I soon give up. It's very peaceful and quiet. The season is over and there's still a while till the start of the next season.
In the morning I get up early and explore a bit the garden. There are lots of birds chirping and singing beautifully. From the flier I learn that birdwatchers from all over come here to enjoy the diversity of birds the area offers. I can spot parrots and a few other birds whose name I don't know. In front of my bungalow is a beautiful tree with big white flowers that look like made of wax. They have a very delicate scent which you can detect only if you stick your nose into them. Later I learn they are called Chapa. No idea yet what their English name is.
I enjoy breakfast in the restaurant overlooking the garden and swimming pools, then it's time to go. The driver is already there and we start our trip. It is a 100 km distance to Ajanta, but given the road conditions and traffic it takes about 2.5 hours to get there.
The weather is unstable. It seems that I brought the rain with me, as it starts raining, then it drizzles, then it's sunny again and so on. We go North traversing the hilly region and then the flat countryside which is divided in farms - patches of land where the people grow sugarcane, corn and all the vegetables they need. Only the sugarcane farms are obvious as the plants are already knee or thigh high. The rest of the land is nicely worked and plowed, thirsty for the rain.
On the road we pass all possible vehicles. From big trucks, to bikes and old carts pulled by oxen. But also dogs and goats and cows and donkeys and, inevitably, people. Some cars are loaded way beyond their capacity. It is a risky job, travelling on these roads. A regular car is upgraded to the capacity of a bus, a scooter to the capacity of a regular car. And then the passing is another story which could traumatize a foreigner. But I've been through this before, I'm calm and trust Ramesh who seems to be a good and reliable driver.
There is this widely spread belief that foreigners can only travel in tight air-conditioned luxury cars, seating comfortably in the back and being helped in and out of the car. No way, I am not going to conform to this any longer as it builds up a barrier and it prevents me from seeing more and maybe capturing pictures. So, after asking Ramesh to stop a couple of times for me to take pictures, I eventually upgrade to the front seat. I put my seatbelt on and feel much better than sitting in the back. The only obstacle I still have to overcome is the air conditioning. Whenever I get into the car I start to freeze, it's at the other end of the scale in comparison to the outside heat. I am a foreigner, but I don't want to preserve myself at any price.
Sitting in the front is fun. I see a lot better and we also engage in an interesting conversation. Ramesh has read a lot apparently, has read the bible and other religious books and is a very open person. He's a Buddhist but, as he remarks, the ground principles of all religions are the same. He' s a quiet and patient man. Of course he's being paid for that, but he's not just so because he's being paid.
We arrive at the cave area parking lot around 10 am. As soon as we stop we are surrounded by beggars and street vendors and other helfpul people offering to guide me or sell me something. I've been warned so I stick to a guy that apparently is a government employee.
That's what I've been told - to take a government guide. Well, it's not really clear how to differentiate between these and the others but at least I manage to get rid of all the others. He is not pushy, that's one thing I like and appreciate.
After getting on the shuttle bus that takes you from the parking to the entrance to the caves, we start going up towards the caves.
Is it a big gorge we are in and at the end there's a waterfall that's supposed to be quite impressive later in the rainy season. When the caves were discovered in the 19th century they were all overgrown by the jungle vegetation. Now there are paved alleys and steps and obviously a lot of effort has been put into preserving them.
There is a total of 30 caves here, some more interesting than others, dating from the 2nd century BC to about the 8th century AD. Some are finished others are left unfinished.
Each wall of these halls is dotted with tiny entrances to the monks' cells. Tiny rooms with one or two sleeping areas. Nothing else would have fit in there.
The older caves are simpler, with no representations of Buddha, the later ones however abound in beautiful paintings and sculpture. The paintings are astonishing in details and colors. Of course, not all are well preserved. It is mainly because of the humidity and mildew that they deteriorated in time. Restoration work is in progress. Flash photography is prohibited and there's a guardian watching in every single cave.
As you enter each one of the caves you feel intimidated by the huge Buddha statue in the niche right opposite to the entrance. A praying, benevolent Buddha. A teaching Buddha.
A few of the caves are monasteries, huge rooms with vaulted ceilings and beautifully carved pillars around the stupa. There is also a huge cloister where the monks could get together for meetings and mass prayers. Apparently Buddhist monks only lived in these caves during the rainy season. They must have been very bored to fill up their spare time with such sysyphic work. It is unimaginable for me how they could carve all these caves out, with how much patience and determination. For how many years, how many people? Without much tools or proper light.
The paintings illustrate scenes from the life of Buddha and the details and colors are fantastic. But the pictures, I know, will not be fair because of the bad light.
In one of the caves, cave no 26, there's a huge unique statue of a reclining Buddha - 7 meters long. Below him the people are mourning and crying because of his death. Above, in heaven, they are happy, celebrating since they reached Nirvana.
After the hired guide finishes his presentation I do the tour again in reverse order to see all again at a slower pace, to take pictures and take all in. My "guide", Raju is very knowledgeable and points out a lot of details the "real" guide did not. At some point I stop to take a lunch break and insist on sharing my lunch with him. Some bananas and cheese. He's telling me that he is very poor and never attended school. His English is very good though. Well, he's been doing this stuff for 28 years now, and he's helping a British trekking company organize trekking and camping trips in India. He has a good reputation and worked with the company for many years now. This is how he learned English and some French and Japanese. He has 5 children, a wife, brother and parents to support.
After about 3 hours and some 250 pictures we head back to the exit. I pay Raju and find my driver sipping chai. I resist the persuading vendors and we head back to the car. By now the weather had switched several times from rainy to sunny and back.
When I get back in the car and the air conditioning starts blowing I manage to convince Ramesh to turn it off. Finally, this hurdle solved.
It is early afternoon, and the farmers are all in the fields working the land. Women dressed in colourful sarees are planting the seeds.
Men are driving the oxen to plow the land or spreading out fertilizers. It is a beautiful picture, and I feel like getting a glimpse through a window back in history. Remote and ancient looking. And yet so vibrant and anchored in everyday's reality.
Back in Aurangabad we go visit a traditional weaving centre. 2 men sit at their looms weaving. The looms aren't much more than a wooden frame structure with lots of thread rolls dangling down. They look like a total mess and require a lot of skills.
The most expensive sarees made of very thin silk thread take one person 8 months to finish.
1 cm a day - a lifetime demonstration of patience and skills.
Back to the bungalow I can read outside on the patio before going for dinner.
As I sit at my table overlooking the swimming pools and the garden, I feel spoilt like a queen. Only minutes later I realize though - they are trying to kill me.
The dish I have ordered, the least spicy according to the waiter, is so hot that my lips, tongue and throat become numb. Thank God for the roti, and the Mirinda, and the second Mirinda. And then my revenge - an ice cream, which finally manages to take the pain away...
Next day - my last day - is going to be full as well. First, on the way to Ellora I can visit the old fort of Daulatabad. After Ellora, on the way to the airport I can visit Bibi-Ka-Maqbara, also called "mini Taj Mahal" because of its close resemblance to the Taj Mahal.
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