The Westside Story IX – Ellora

Music ushered in a new day as we were getting ready for another day of touring at Aurangabad. We were more excited about the breakfast (the food served at the mess was just fab ) than the day that lay ahead :P We had yummy veg patties and tea for breakfast and headed out at 1030 hrs, quite unknowingly, for what was going to be one of the best days of our trip so far in terms of the quality of content, pound for pound!! Read on…

Ellora is at a distance of 34 km from Aurangabad. We called upon Abdul, the cab guy who’d taken us to Ajanta yesterday and reached the caves of Ellora by 1100 hrs. We were lucky enough to spot Amod Basole, a Govt. of India approved guide and asked him to show us around. A well read person, this choice of the right guide made all the difference in our tour of the Ellora caves !

The monoliths of Ellora exhibit the architectural influences of three religions – Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism, perhaps not necessarily in that order.
We headed, first, towards Cave No. 26 – The Kailash Temple. This temple supposedly took around 200 years to build. That’s around ten generations of artisans, planners and perhaps even the The vision, the planning and the patience that perhaps went into the building of this temple is unimaginable in the human scheme of things. But as we witnessed, it apparently is possible. The artisans of those times, as explained by our guide, followed two approaches of monolith design – “cut-out“ and “cut-in”. The Ajanta caves are an example of the cut out style, where a vertical surface of the rock is exposed and the interiors are carved out of this rock by cutting into it. The Ellora caves, on the other hand are an example of the cut in design, i.e. carve out the entire structure top down. This apparently is more complicated than the cut-out style and the reason why Ellora caves are more awe inspiring than the Ajanta caves, though both of them are monolithic structures. The Kailash temple is a magnificent example of the skill and intelligence of the artisans of those times ! An intricately designed chariot carrying the Shiva Linga symbolizes the presence of Shiva on the mountains of Kailash. Tales of Ramayana and Mahabharata apart from carvings of animals like the elephants, lions. etc. are etched on the monolithic stone.

Our interest growing now, we visited the various Buddhist caves and our guide gave us a brief insight into Buddhism and its founder Gautam Buddha. The Viharas here, were mainly halls meant for meditation and teaching with adjoining rooms for the gurus to stay. Cave no. 14, which is a Chaitya, has a huge statue of Buddha in “Pralamba Padasana” (Seated with legs stretched out) position. Apart from being the marvellous piece of architecture that this Chaitya is, its most interesting feature is its acoustics. As Amod (our guide) chanted Buddha mantra, the Chaitya was filled with a soothing calmness… The Imagineering, if I may call it so, is a perfect example of the intellectual and artistic abilities of the people from those ages… makes you wonder…”what are mikes for when well designed acoustics can do the job ?”

The Jain temples, located at a distance of around 2km from the Ellora caves, are another exhibition of fine craftsmanship of those times! A characteristic feature of all Jain temples is the presence of 2 assistants of Mahaveer…a man on the left called Mathanga sitting on an elephant and a woman on the right called Siddapara sitting on a lion. Some of the carvings show a blend of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain cultures.

This concluded our tour of Ellora. We paid Rs.600 (the rates are mentioned on the back of the ‘guide’ ID card) and I must say it well worth the money!!! So, 2 things to keep in mind here – always take a guide along unless you’re are a learned history student/professor yourself and choose the right guide! :D

We then had lunch at the Ellora restaurant and headed towards Daulatabad. On our way, we decided to peep into a Himroo handloom shop. The prices were outrageous and after showing them a bill of our previous buy at Painthani weaving centre, we managed to get a saree at our price with a reduction of Rs.1000 ! J

Aurangabad still has the essence of the Mughal kingdom of India what with so many ‘Darwazas’ or fort entrances flanking the entire place! One of the forts that has still survived is the Daulatabad fort. Another awe inspiring and a must visit place !

The Daulatabad Fort is an excellent example of the defensive strategies and township planning of those ages. The fortress is a maze of pitch-dark alleys, hidden traps and steep staircases (of course with more than a pinch of bat stench added to it). The trek uphill was a bit tiring but well worth the effort. The view from the top of the hill was breathtaking.

After this we headed out to see the tomb of Aurangzeb, the last Moghul in Khuldabad. An interesting piece of trivia here, though he was the shehenshah of Hindustan, he lived a very simple life. Never took one penny from the royal treasury, almost bordering on an obsession with simplicity, he ordered that his tomb be constructed out of the money that he had earned stitching skull caps(that’s 14 rupiah and 12 annas) and that he be buried at the feet of his spiritual guru. Some lesson in simplicity and humility this. As Amod says, problem with history is that it paints a person either in black or in white. All that we knew of Aurangzeb was that he was an emperor not fit enough to be in the shoes of his predecessors. As we know it now, it apparently isn’t entirely true and his tomb stands testimony to this fact.

In stark contrast, his wife’s tomb, the Bibi ka Maqbara, that was constructed by his son, Ahmed Shah Zafar resembles the Taj (built at an expense of around 3 crore rupiah), if not in the enormity, the spirit. Though only the dome and front door of the monument are made of marble, rest being plaster, the beauty and serenity of the place stands out !
This tomb was built at a cost of around 5 lakh rupiah. Couldn’t help but wonder that if you are a man, the spending doesn’t just stop when your woman dies. :-P We did not have much time left to spend at the Bibi ka maqbara as I had to catch a bus to Bombay and the rest of the gang had to catch the 21:35 Nandigram express. So we told the girls the train was at 9:00 in an effort to get them to hustle. The plan worked to a T but when the girls did find out about it they were furious with Danish and threatened to get back at him (these included threats of physical violence directed against him as well) when the opportunity would present itself. So much for a day filled with messages of non-violence and peace. :-P As I boarded the bus to Mumbai, the Buddha chants kept resounding in my head and if not for the bed bugs and the 3 hour traffic jam, I would have reached Mumbai at 7:00 am the next day.

In spite of all the trouble in the bus, It was a day well worth it! Am told the rest of them had a much faster and comfortable journey back to Mumbai.

(By Anonymous Traveller 2)