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A Mukherjee World View | ||
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Unexpected Treasures of Ajanta
Across the river the path led along the base of the hill facing the caves, all the way to the far end where the hill facing us culminated in a waterfall area topped by a box canyon. This little nook was an extremely charming, romantic and exciting place and it was a real pity that the waterfall was entirely dry. There was only a little trickle rolling disconsolately off the rock, as though from a leaky tap. There seemed to be a man-made arch in the rocky caves tucked away in the magical little box canyon above and behind the waterfall. This area would be idyllic in the rainy season. There were steps leading up this hill and a small lookout at the top. We panted up the 300-odd steps and were rewarded with sweeping views of the Ajanta caves, the dry waterfall and box canyon above it, the flat tableland at the top, and a bonus glimpse of an unsuspected cave sitting just above the main series of caves, apparently quite inaccessible. A trinkets salesman who was making his way down, after trying to sell us his wares (and failing), informed us that there was a path that led all along the top of the hill and came down near the ticket counter. We didn’t feel energetic enough to follow the path, so after we had gazed around sufficiently, we descended the same way and took one of three bridges across the dry river bed to the caves. There was much to see and admire, but what grabbed my imagination and held me spellbound was an unfinished cave. I had seen some unfinished caves at Ellora already, but this one was magnificent in its incompleteness. Huge blocks of rock rose off the floor, roughly hewn. The pillars were nothing more than chunks of rock connecting the floor and ceiling, with gaping holes separating them from other pillars. Cells had been hollowed out in the side walls – low, narrow doorways with small, scooped out cubicles inside. Orange light had been rigged up in unexpected crannies, and threw its burning flame of light up the walls and behind the pillars as though several fires had been mysteriously lit in secret recesses. Somehow, they made it seem not warm, but cold, at least in mood, if not in temperature. It was silent – the noisy tourist crowd was a world away. It felt ominous, almost evil. Was this the lair of some sinister power, or some terrible creature lurking in the depths casting deadly spells on me to lure me to my doom? I felt a great need to be silent, a great dread of going deeper in; yet I was drawn onwards irresistibly by a combination of fear and fascination. It was as though I was in a dream which was on the very verge of turning from an Indiana Jones style adventure story to a bone chilling, horror-filled nightmare.
Despite its many charms, Ajanta was not so easy to like. For one thing, the caves are open only between 9 and 5.30, so you can’t take advantage of the early morning and late afternoon light, the best light for outdoor photography. Indoor photography, of course, has its own limitations. Because Ajanta covers a much smaller area, it is much more difficult to get away from the tourist crowd and enjoy the place in peace and quiet. You can’t even hang around in the general vicinity of the caves after closing time, because you are dependent on the eco-friendly buses to get you back to the T Junction. You could, of course, try walking the 4 km back, but there didn’t seem to be much point in that, so we didn’t. There wasn’t much to do in the area around the MTDC hotel we were staying at. We found that there was an MTDC hotel right at the foot of the caves, where the eco-friendly buses drop you, inside the 4 km boundary, so if we had stayed there we could have walked around the area in the evening or early morning, but we had not known of it and had already checked in at the other place. So perforce we had to have a leisurely breakfast and a late start on the second day at Ajanta. We decided we did not want to spend tomorrow, the last day of our holiday here. Where could we go? We looked at each other, knowing what was coming but not wanting to be the first to voice the thought. Yes, we would go back to Ellora. We left Ajanta after a very late lunch at the pavilion near the T Junction. We had to offload some more pictures , so we caught a bus to Aurangabad around 4 pm. We reached Aurangabad around 6.30 and it was 8 pm before we returned to the bus stand to catch a bus to Ellora. By this time I was extremely prickly – I was tired and dirty and wanted a hot bath and a hot dinner and bed. The bus started late – the driver and conductor were wandering around engaged in sundry social activities. It was 9 pm before we reached Ellora. Luckily we had called and given notice of our intention to spend another night with them, or we might have found them closed. As it was, we only just made it to the restaurant in time for dinner. After eating a huge amount and taking a prolonged hot shower and shampoo, I felt almost human again - for all of 2 minutes and then I was asleep. |
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We had not finished seeing all the caves when they began locking up and shooing us out at 5.30 that evening. We went back to the T Junction and down the road to the MTDC hotel about 2 km away. We spent the night there and returned at 9 the next morning, paying the numerous fees and collecting several tickets as before. This time, we didn’t go up the stairs, but took a bridge across what would have been a river if there had been any water in it. 
One pillar among all the chunks of rock, was delicately carved, sublime, graceful, complete. It stood out like a fair maiden held captive in a land of demons. I thought of nothing so much as the ugly duckling – with the potential to become a proud, lovely swan, but waiting, waiting, waiting, for the chipping and carving of a thousand skilled hands to liberate it from its captive existence, a fate that alas is not destined to be.