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![]() ![]() Searching for a 'short-cut' back, as I had gone far from my starting point, I climbed straight up to the summit of the 'mountain'. But I discovered it was a huge plateau, with a beautiful sunset behind it and finished my film before following some stray cattle as darkness swept across the land. Finally I found where I was supposed to be, 300 feet straight down 4 gentlemen where chit-chatting at the entrance to a cave. I asked them how to get down and they said: "jump", but when asked a second time they recommended the right hand path, which allowed me to descend safely, carefully scrambling down to their level. Then they offered me a ride on their motorcycles, for which I was grateful as it saved me a long walk of 3 kilometers back to the city. Since they saved me this walk, I walked through the whole city home, enjoying the scenery and people. ![]() The next day I spent the whole day at the Ajanta caves: a world famous location which consists of a horseshoe shaped canyon and arrayed around the curve are a magnificent set of 30-odd Buddhist caves. The caves were rediscovered by a British hunting party when their tiger 'disappeared'. Inside are preserved 'frescoes' of painted Buddhist devotional scenes created with natural mineral paints over a thousand years ago! In addition to paintings, each cave is a monumental architectural beauty, with carved pillars and a Buddha figure surmounted by angels & guarded by bodhisattvas. These caves were magnificent! I was truly impressed and pleased to visit them for hours. ![]() Finally near the end I ran into a group that shouted "SHYAM!", I recognized a large family but couldn't remember from where I knew them. They were from my rail car from Bhopal to Nasik!! I finished my visit with them, and instead of having to take a bus back I got to ride in their car with their sons and daughters in the back compartment. It was fun and I really enjoyed their company and friendship. We had a good time together and they invited me to their house near Delhi the next time I come there. (edit: I still occasionally email their daughter). My final day in Maharashtra (the state in India which has Bombay and borders the south of Madhya Pradesh). I went to Ellora in the early morning by my own private rickshaw I rented for the day (all day, 60 kilometers give or take, $6-8 US and that's EXPENSIVE in India). Ellora is a cave complex (I know, enough caves already) but it out did all the others! It blew me completely away, I thought I would race through it, as I had 'seen it all' already, but boy was I wrong. ![]() Firstly, here there are Jain Caves, Hindu Caves, and Buddhist Caves. Secondly, they have been venerated continuously since construction, and not 're-discovered'. Finally, there are multiple-story and humongous cave complexes. From the Buddhist section, their crowning accomplishment is a 3-story solid-rock carved cave. I thoroughly enjoyed it and its bats as I meditated there for an hour, and explored every facet. After finishing my tour of the Buddhist section, I went to the Hindu side where I ran into a friendly guide I had met yesterday and who speaks English, Japanese, Spanish, and many Indian languages. Then while exploring I met a nice family of 3, parents and an only daughter, who I later discovered are Jains and with them I visited many of the Hindu Caves and the Jain ones which were also highly decorative, detailed, beautiful works of art. Really I cannot impress enough upon everyone reading this, that this place, Ellora, is a *MUST* see in India. The main attraction I will now examine: ![]()
![]() That evening after taking my new friends (thats 4 people total) cramped into a rickshaw (thats a motorcycle front with a back bench seat for 2-3 people) back to Aurungabad, I flew to Delhi, my flight was delayed an hour, and I raced to make my connecting overnight train to the Himalayan foothills, I made it by just 3 minutes, and slept soundly that night. The next day I was to journey to Baba Kalyandasji's Ashram near Almora and Nainital in the Eastern corner of India's Western-Himalaya s, or near the South-West corner of Nepal... But that's another story. |