When it comes to Caves, the first thing that comes to our
minds is Ajanta and Ellora Caves. Though I had never been to these before, I
decided to take this trip to explore these caves.
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| Ajanta Caves |
As I was fascinated with Ellora Caves, I decided to visit
Ajanta Caves located on the outskirts of the city.
Ajanta Caves are situated in Ajanta at a distance of 105 km
from Aurangabad. So I am guessing that it would take around three hours to
reach it. So three hours to go, three to comeback and two to see it. That means
an entire day is gone is viewing the caves. That did not stop us from visiting
the caves.
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| Painting in the Cave premises |
We asked a day before at the City Bus Stand regarding the
bus to board and the timing, so that we can plan the day accordingly. The
person sitting at the “May I Help You” board replied that we can board any bus
going to Jalgaon and alight at Ajanta to view the caves and those buses ply
every 30 minutes.
So the next morning at 630 hours we were at the Bus Stand,
we were lucky to get a place in the bus. The bus started off at 645 hours, we
got ourselves tickets at the cost of Rs.91 per head, Namrata told the bus
conductor to intimate us when we reach. We had also told the passengers nearby
to intimate us in case the bus conductor forgot.
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| Beautifully carved Pillars |
At 845 hours we were alighted on the road that leads to
Ajanta Caves, and our bus moved on to Jalgaon. From there we took a ticket at a
cost of Rs.10 per head to enter the market area.
The market area was full of small shops that cater to food
requirements and souvenir shops selling stones and ornaments.
Finally we landed at the bus stop to take us to the entrance
of the fort. Non AC buses charge Rs.7 and AC buses charge Rs.12 for the 20
minute journey to the hills. Note that no private vehicles are allowed here.
Private vehicles need to be parked near the market area. These buses are run by
the State Govt. of Maharashtra.
At the entrance we were greeted by cheap jacks selling
precious stones as they claimed and CD’s on Ajanta and Ellora Caves. Some of
them even had CD’s on the Khajuraho Temple. Wonder how he can make a sale of
those CD’s here in Ajanta.
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| Beautifully Carved Caves |
We got ourselves a ticket at a cost of Rs.10 per head plus
another ticket at a cost of Rs.5 for both to see the paintings within the cave.
The caves are open from 900 hours to 1730 hours. They are closed on Mondays but
open on National Holidays.
We started our climb up the stairs to reach the cave. The stairs
pressurize your knees till to reach the top, meaning the climb is difficult.
There are chair cars available at a cost of Rs.600 to see
the caves. We decided to take the services of our legs to see them.
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| Stupa |
The caves can all be seen from the start point. Meaning the
caves are built in a circular formation. Inner circle. There are 29 caves in all. Out of which the
last three are inaccessible to public. Some of these caves were built in the 2nd
century BC. These were built by the Buddhist monks for prayers and as
monasteries.
They were later abandoned. Later in the 18th century
they were rediscovered by the British who had come hunting there for a Lion who
took shelter in these caves. The British intimated the Nizam about the same, as
this area was under his rule and so started the exploration of the caves. As
told to us by the guide.
All the caves are numbered from the east to the west.
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| Paintings on the Cave Ceiling |
All the caves are beautifully carved out of the rock. Some
had beautifully carved pillars in them along with carvings of Buddha on the
walls and a huge Buddha sculpture carved in the middle. This was the phenomenon
in all caves.
Some caves had paintings on the walls and the ceilings too.
Imagine in that time they painted the walls and the ceilings and the paint has
survived for centuries. Look at the paint which we paint our houses from the
inside and outside, it needs to be changed every 5 years as it is spoilt by the
heat and water leakages. Maybe the paint manufactures should go back in time
and take tips from the monks who had painted these caves.
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| Caves |
I like Cave.26 the most has it has a huge reclining statue
of Buddha carved on the walls along with other poses of Buddha. It also has a
stupa and many beautifully carved pillars in its premises.
Some of the caves were so dark and so poorly lit that it was
difficult to take photos in it without using the flash, as flash was banned in
the caves. Flash spoils the paintings on the wall hence no usage.
The good news is that drinking water is available on the
cave premises and so are toilets available. These are usually missing all over
the historic sites in Maharashtra.
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| Beautifully carved Stupa |
Our guide told us that the Japanese Govt is investing in the
up keeping of these caves. To this I was ”What, Why”, is it that our Govt has
no money in the bank that they need to take the help of the Japanese to upkeep
the caves. This is ridiculous as Maharashtra is the richest amongst all the
other states and we still begging for help. That is ridiculous.
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| Carvings |
I guess we are more interested in making money that the
moment we found someone ready to invest we could not resist the offer. Any
which ways it’s good that the caves are being looked after. Though we are late
but still we can protect what remains.
The wooden bridge on the river Waghora, offers an amazing
view of the Caves. If you have a camera with a 14mm wide angle then you can get
the caves in a single shoot instead of sewing images together on a normal
camera.
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| Carvings |
A big thank you to the Japanese for investing in the up
keeping of the caves. Though I didn’t like the nets that are placed at the
openings in the caves. I guess the nets are placed to keep bats away from the
caves that stay there and have droppings all over the caves. The caves are home
to them, so I guess they should be kept the way they are.
I personally don’t like the new net covering for the caves.
The same is spotted even at Ellora Caves located in Aurangabad.
It took us around two hours to see the caves.
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| Ajanta Caves |
Again we boarded the Non AC bus to reach us to Ajanta Car
Park from there we landed on the highway to board a ST bus to take us to
Aurangabad.
Finally after travelling in the bus for three hours at 1600
hours we were at the City Bus Stand. Tired. Phew.
