It’s an overcast day when I join a group of other journalists to stand at the Ajanta Caves viewpoint and peer down at the 30 rock-cut Buddhist monuments that were painstakingly carved from the basalt and granite rock of the region. Gazing at them as the lush foliage all around me bursts with vivid green hues thanks to the monsoon rain, the caves appear as anthills in a horseshoe-shaped plateau with their tiny inhabitants—visitors like me—scurrying in and out of them.
As I lurk behind the group, the mise-en-scène of grey clouds bearing down on us and the ringing tones of a bird I cannot recognise somewhere to my left bring to mind the final stanza of Austrian poet and novelist Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem “Widening Circles”:
I circle around God, around the primordial tower.
I’ve been circling for thousands of years
and I still don’t know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?
Making my way down the trail towards the Ajanta Caves, cautiously placing my feet so that I don’t step on any critters, I hear about their history from our guide, Sanjay Vaswani. Versed in Indian art and architecture, he shares how the complex was built in phases, first between the second century BCE and the first century CE and then again in the fifth century CE.
We stop at a clearing where we are much closer to the caves than our previous vantage point. Here, with a gushing waterfall to my left and the caves in the centre and to my right, the view is spectacular. All of this was once overgrown forest, Vaswani says, until the day British officer John Smith followed a tiger he was hunting into the area.
The year was 1819, and Smith, upon discovering Cave 10 thanks to a local shepherd, convinced the villagers to make a route to it by cutting down the tangled overgrowth. After marvelling at the stupa in the middle of the cavern and the beautifully painted columns and ceilings, he scratched his name over the painting of a bodhisattva—evidence of his vandalism can still be seen today.
We start from Cave 1 and make our way westward, stopping at notable grottos as Vaswani regales us with his knowledge and stories of the cave architecture and decoration. The paintings on the walls and ceilings feature colours like green, red and brown, all of which were found locally. The odd brushes of blue come from the lapis lazuli mineral in Afghanistan, so they were used sparingly.
The Ajanta Caves are split into chaityas (temples) and viharas (monasteries)—the latter had small rooms and spaces where monks could spend the night—and they were built from the top down. This means that the engineers, architects and construction workers of yore had to work their way through tough basalt rock starting from the ceiling while ensuring that the specifications of the cave—how much of a block of rock to leave for the stupa, the spaces between the floor and the roof, etc—remained intact and accurate.
I struggle to wrap my head around this feat of human ingenuity, my mouth slightly agape and my eyes wide. When we reach Cave 17, a vihara with a porch, main hall, cells, an antechamber and a shrine to the Buddha, I sit on the cool floor and don’t want to get up. I have a strong desire to lie down and admire the painted ceiling for hours on end. That same feeling strikes when we do the rounds of Cave 19, which has an ornate carving of the Buddha on the stupa.
Being at Ajanta, I realise, necessitates a slowness and deep engagement that goes against the grain of many tour itineraries today. One needs to be present with one's breath and in tune with all of one's senses, an experience many of us are more accustomed to finding within the practise of mindfulness meditation than during a holiday.
This way of being in the moment finds its fullest expression when I visit the Ellora Caves the next day, a collection of over 100 Hindu, Buddhist and Jain caves that are 105 km from Ajanta.
The Kailasha temple is magnificent, of course (did you know that it has been carved from a single block of rock and features on the latest INR 20 note?), and the myths depicted on its exterior and interior walls are fascinating to learn about. But, it is the first place in the complex that Vaswani takes us to that arguably became the highlight of my entire trip: the Vishvakarma cave, also known as “the Carpenter’s Cave.”
This is the only chaitya of Ellora, and I loved it for a simple reason: its acoustics. Chanting a simple melody, Vaswani’s lone voice ricocheted off the walls and ceiling, echoing and lingering before fading away. Then, the voices of my female companions vibrated across the space one by one, their hums and susurrations making the skin on my arms prickle. Feeling the depth of history and the fact that female voices would have been a rare sound to hear in these male-dominated spaces moved me to tears. The minutes spent in the Vishvakarma cave stretched uninterrupted before the rustle of entering visitors broke the spell and compelled us to move on.
We proceeded to do a round of the Hindu and Jain caves, where I encountered exquisitely carved Shiva, Parvati and Vishnu statues flanked by their attendants and vanquished foes in the former, and the rigid postures of the Tirthankaras (supreme preachers) in the latter. The presence of a colony of bats hanging from the ceilings of these places added to their charm, though many members of my group stayed as far away from them as they could.
Grateful for the two days I had spent in the company of artisans who had left behind their skills and talents for us to admire aeons after they had died, we got back in our car and swapped stories about our highlights till we reached the farmstay we were staying at.
On my final day in Aurangabad, I visited Malik Ambar’s tomb, the Bani Begum Garden and the Tomb of Aurangzeb himself in the township of Khuldabad.
The former is of a piece like the Ajanta and Ellora caves as it is made entirely out of the basalt rock of the region. I asked the guard on duty whether the place received many visitors and he gave a non-committal answer. As we were the only visitors there at the time, we soaked in its peaceful ambience and admired its latticework and simplicity on a cloudy morning that hid the sunlight.
The Bani Begum Garden was similarly deserted, allowing us to stroll across its refreshing landscape at our own pleasure. But it was the visit to Aurangzeb’s tomb that stayed with me long after I had left its bounds.
His simple open-air grave in the township was created as per his wishes until Lord Curzon surrounded the site with marble screens as befitting the final resting place of a Mughal emperor. The space invites visitors to reflect on his complicated legacy, an occasion we rarely get in today's digital world where we are vehemently concerned with categorising people as “good” or “bad” for eternity.
As we wandered back to our car, I thought back to the experiences I had in Aurangabad over three days: the intelligence of humans hands and imagination; the restorative sounds of birds, laughter and chants in an enclosed space; the wind moving through the trees; the vivacity of the more-than-human landscape; the concept of bodhisattvas, who delay their own liberation in order to compassionately help other individuals reach it first; and the melding of curiosity and awe within and among people.
There was no conscious thought or “meaning of life” that occurred to me. All I found was presence.
October to February is the ideal time to see the ancient caves because of the comfortable weather. However, the monsoon season from June to September, which attracts fewer tourists, is perfect for those looking to explore Aurangabad's historic sites at a relaxed pace and amid a lush green landscape.
Take a flight to Aurangabad Airport (IXU) or the train to its railway station. You can book a private tour operator, go on a bus tour by the state government or hire a local taxi to take you to the caves. Khuldabad is 27 km from Aurangabad and can be reached by taxi.
The entry fee to see the Ajanta and Ellora Caves is INR 40. Foreigners have to pay INR 600. Children under 15 years of age can enter for free.
Entry is free at Malik Ambar's tomb, the Bani Begum Garden and Aurangzeb's tomb.
