This time last week, travel withdrawl was beginning to set in. It had been too long since I’d lost my balance on the Indian toilets of a moving train and I was forgetting the fiery goodness of channa masala in a newspaper spoon. Our trip to Aurangabad took care of that.
After our 15-hour train ride was delayed three hours from stopping every 20 minutes or so along the way, we realized the difference between passenger trains and express trains. Apparently an express train would have landed us in Aurangabad in a mere 8 hours. Live and learn, eh?
So we had to alter our plans a bit, as we arrived just before five and the cave sites closed at six. Michele had taken care of accommodations beforehand and booked us a five-bed room in the Natraj Hotel for less than $3 each per night, which even included a complimentary ride from the train station (which ended up being maybe a 3 minute walk…but that’s not important)! The staff was extremely helpful, friendly and accommodating and the room was by far the cleanest and most comfortable we’ve had yet. (10 points, Michele)
So the first night, we rushed to see a temple in Aurangabad before night fell, called the Bibi-Ka-Maqbara, nicknamed the mini-Taj. The BKM was built in 1679 by a Mughal emperor in memory of his wife. If you check out the pictures of the temple, you can see why they call it the mini-Taj. After the sun went down and the mosquitos came out, we (well, our driver) found some biryani and Manchurian at a classy little joint called Smily’s (restaurant names here are hit-or-miss, and usually a miss.) It was a valuable experience, as I discovered Rasgulla is nothing like Gulab Jaman—my favorite dessert. Instead, it’s freakishly similar to Styrofoam, soaked overnight in simple syrup. It’s funny though—how stingy one becomes here! For a moment, I found myself genuinely distraught at wasting 12 rupees (24 cents) on a failed dessert. Pathetic. Again, I blame dad. Anyway, moving on…
After dinner (and some ice cream, of course), the driver we hired for the night decided to take us to a local weaver’s shop (drivers here do this all the time—either as a favor to a friend or because many of them get commission for bringing business). This one was a winner though—the art of Himroo weaving is rooted in the region of Aurangabad, dating back to 2nd century BC. The art died out but was revived some 100 years ago by a local family—the one whose shop we visited. One of the owners showed us around and explained the weaving processes and the different styles they specialize in; the pashminas, saris and wall hangings were absolutely gorgeous, especially in light of the time and effort put into them on the handlooms.
Because of the train delay, we were left with one day to see both Ellora and Ajanta (the cave sites). Ellora was some 30 km from Aurangabad and Ajanta was a good 160 km, so we hired a driver (as we had been recommended to do anyway) and took off at 7am on Saturday.
The cave temples of Ellora are particularly interesting because they were constructed to serve three religious systems—Buddhism, Brahmanism and Jainism. The Buddhist caves are the oldest, dating back to 500 A.D.
Most of my pictures from the Ellora caves were taken in either the Kailasha or the Indra Sabha. The Brahmanical Kailasha, or Shiva’s “mountain abode” was carved out of the mountain in the 8th and 9th centuries, quarrying some 3-million cubic feet of rock. When you look at the pictures, keep in mind that the entire temple, with its massive depth and dozens of prayer halls, shrines and carvings, is one singular sculptural piece.
The Indra Sabha, or the Assembly Hall of Lord Indra, king of the gods, is a Jain excavation, and I paid a guide a dollar to show me around for an hour. It was definitely worth it, as I got to learn about how the Jains conducted their daily worship. I was shown where the priest stood and led the worship, and got to practice his chants from a location where the entire temple could hear. The Jains would gather in large prayer halls and chant together, breathing in one another’s energies. They would then stand face to face and press their palms together, chanting and channeling energy through their palms. Finally, they would hug tightly and chant again, sharing energy through the vibrations in their chests.
There are 24 saints in Jainism, and this temple mainly had carvings of the 23rd and 24th, Parasnath and Mahavira—the founder of the faith. I really enjoyed being led from room to room, listening to the stories behind each sculpture and painting.
We spent the majority of the day at Ajanta, a collection of 30 caves carved along the side of a mountain. The interiors of the caves varied; some with murals and painting, others with carvings, but all of them devoted to the life and teachings of Buddha. One of the most acclaimed caves contains a reclined Buddha, depicting him just before he enters a state of Parinivana (see photos). The vastness of the string of caves and the intricacy of the paintings was definitely breathtaking, but after a couple of hours and 100 photos, the Buddha statues do start to all look the same.
Sadly, the day was somewhat marred by the entrance to Ajanta, teeming with obnoxious vendors in a collection of 78 stalls. The harassment ruined a bit of everyone’s mood, with a persistence ten times worse than anything we’ve seen in the city. The moment we stepped out of our car, vendors were at our side, shoving souvenirs in our hands and begging us to promise to remember their faces and visit their stalls after our visit. And when it came time to make our way back, they certainly recognized us. This was the only time I’ve been genuinely disturbed at the behavior of vendors. It was sickening—how they swiftly separated us and led us into different shops, where they sat us down, brought us chai and bombarded us with dozens of over-priced little carved things, all the while throwing in quick guilt-trips about the poverty of their families or the slowness of their business. The little boy I refused to buy stacks of postcards from looked like I’d killed his puppy, and I think we all left Ajanta feeling terrible—like the wealthy privileged white people they assumed us to be. (When in reality, we all have more debt in school loans than they can probably comprehend.)
After an excellent meal by the hotel’s cooks, however, we felt much better. Indian food is veeery therapeutic. Then Michele and I decided we hadn’t filled our daily quota of sugar, so Hakon and Banks accompanied us through the nightlife of Aurangabad (a very rural South Indian city) to a sweets shop, where we sampled everything we could find and chased it with some sugared chai (Or rather, liquid sugar with tea and milk flavoring). If you couldn’t tell, I’m floored by the sugar consumption here; everything that isn’t super-spicy has at least a cup of sugar in it. Consequently, I am now addicted. Around 9am (just after a breakfast of banana flatbreads covered in chocolate sauce and honey) I find myself wondering what dessert they’ll serve us for lunch. Sigh.
Anyway—back to Aurangabad—Banks ended up making a poor breakfast decision on Sunday morning and spent the rest of the day doubled over, so Hakon, him and I found a nice diner and chilled till it was time to board the train (which of course, left nearly two hours behind schedule). The girls—Michele and Justina—found a local beauty parlor where Michele covered herself in henna and Justina got an interesting trim (the stylist meant well…). The train ride home was surprisingly quick and full of new friends—from the family who shared their dinner with us to the group of young men who insisted on taking numerous photos, buying us chai, giving me a bracelet, and of course, leaving a list of phone numbers. For a good time in Aurangabad, look no further. I can hook you up.
It’s now two in the afternoon and I’m almost finished digesting the sugar from lunch, so I think I’ll stop here. I have my agricultural economics course from 3-5, then I was invited to sit in on a play rehearsal in the theater department at 6, so that should be interesting. I also met some girls who are forming a Praise and Worship team at their church just outside of campus, and they asked me to come and join—so I’ll hopefully be meeting up with some of them before Sunday to talk about that. It’ll be nice—something familiar! Most of my free time this week and next will be devoted to studying, though. I have three internal exams, a term paper and a backlog of French homework that I’m chewing through, now that I’ve finally received the textbooks. Wish me luck(!!), thanks for reading, and keep the updates coming…I miss you all and greatly, greatly enjoy hearing how you’re spending your days. Love, Alison
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