Ajanta

The fancy doorman at our hotel helped us into the car for the 100km ride to Ajanta, the second group of temples and monasteries carved into hill sides in a horseshoe shape around a river valley.

. When we got to the entrance we were offered a ride up for only 800 rupees.  That seemed like cruel and unusual punishment for the men who would have carried us so we hiked up the steps to the caves.

There are 27 caves in all, some date from the 2nd-1st century BC while others are from the 5th century AD.  

The carved stone architectural elements rival Ellora but these have the added richness of murals painted on plaster.  

The reason they have survived as well as they have is that the caves were abandoned in the 8th century and were not rediscovered until 1819 when a British officer on a a tiger hunt.  It seems the caves were a favorite shelter for tigers. There is damage from humidity and water but no vandalism or destruction by invaders as we saw at other sites.  Tourists take of their shoes, there is no flash photography and they run dehumidifiers and air filters inside the caves.

The murals are amazing in their richness of color (natural pigments from plants and ground minerals), detailed storytelling and facial expressions and the record of daily life they show us.  Our guide pointed out many different facial types (Mongolian, Greek, various Indian types and skin tones) and the voluptuous female forms.  This dark prince and fair lady (light skin color) on a bed drinking wine are even done in perspective.  When did perspective show up in Western Art? Not until the Renaissance 800 years later.  

Ali, our guide, called this portrait of Buddha the "Mona Lisa" of Ajanta.  His facial expression of compassion is delicate and evocative.  Just as the stained glass windows in gothic cathedrals conveyed teachings of the Bible to the congregants, these murals were meant to instruct followers and possible converts about the life of the Buddha and his teachings.  My photos don't really do them justice so Google-up if you are interested in them.

This apsara or celestial maiden is adoring the buddha.  Note the details of jewelry and headdress.

  The ceilings are decorated with a quilt work of images both human figures and botanicals.  There are also intricate mandalas.  I'm not quite sure what these two men are doing, but the detailed expression and straining muscles are representative of the artistic skill displayed all over these caves.

The 2nd century BC also have paintings but the figure of the Buddha is not represented as a god.  The main focus of the temple is a stupa, not a life-like statue.

The columns show  influences of Greek and Egyptian architecture and are also highly ornamented with carvings.

A few of the caves date from the 7th century.  This one contains a 23 foot-long reclining Buddha along with other smaller images of him circling the rest of the temple. In this pose (similar to temples we saw in Thailand and Sri Lanka, the Buddha has reached the state of Nirvana and dies in perfect peace and bliss.

Inside the caves it is cool and humidity controlled but outside it was 90 degrees so after couple hours we were ready to get to the AC van and head back.  We stopped along the way for a very light lunch at a road sde restaurant with a beautiful flowering tree and the ubiquitous plastic lawn chairs. Eva got accosted again by a family who wanted to have a picture with her. 

Our guide Ali's grandparents were in the "untouchable" class.  We think that his explanation of why so many Hindus converted to Buddhism, Jainism and Islam was very plausible.  If your religion  tells you that your future, your job class, porridge prospects and much more are determined at birth and you are labeled "untouchable" , you might seek another religion. Although it is outlawed, the cast system still has profound effects in the Indian culture, much like the way blacks were freed at the time of the civil war but remained slaves in many ways due to the culture of the South. 

On the other hand, we have seen many examples of how the Indian culture absorbed influences from China, Greece, Persia, Britain and many other sources.  A good emblem of how these influences have been absorbed can be seen in this statue of Christ in a Jesuit school, Christ seated as Buddha or the Buddha with Christ's face and hair?

Araungabad and Ellora

Ellora

Train to Aurangabad. Got up at 4:00.  Our cheery driver was at the hotel at exactly 4:30 and got us to Victoria Station (now called CST) in plenty of time.  Obviously sleeping on the floor in the station is a common practice. 

We have an air-conditioned car obviously fairly old, but it has AC so we're happy.  Many passengers get off the train at each stop to stretch.  We passed lots of different agricultural areas growing oranges (more like our tangerines), millet, corn, wheat  and table grapes.

Some areas had similarities Arizona and New Mexico, arid with interesting rock formations, started by volcanic action and carved by erosion. 

When we met our tour guide and got started out  of town we passed the ruins of Daulatabad, a citadel fort that was created in the 13th century.  There are actually four concentric walls (outer one in foreground) surrounding the fort built out of basalt, the volcanic rock that forms the 600 foot high peak where the king resided.  The reason the sides of the hill are so straight is that all of the concentric walls were built with blocks of basalt that were cut from the lower part of the hill using only hand chisels and hammers.  People here were really into stone cutting, as we found out at the next stop.

The feature of the day were the Jain, Hindu and Buddhist temples at Ellora.  These monuments were cut out of the basalt  ( a porous volcanic stone that is harder than sandstone but still can be carved in detail) hills during the 7th to 9th centuries. It says something about tolerance of the rulers that the three religions carved out temples in the same spot.  

They started from the top of the hill side and cut down into the rock so that each temple is actually formed from a single piece of rock.  It is an amazing feat, like building the pyramids it took generations of craftsmen. 

Although the plaster is mostly gone, in addition to the intricate carving they had beautiflyl frescos covering the walls.

The largest Hindu temple (Kailasanatha) was started in the 8th century and was never totally finished.  Once it was partially damaged by invaders it was never finished.  It is so massive that it  is estimated that the rock that was chiseled out amounted to over 3 million cubic feet.  Worth a Google.  Parts of the temples eroded and some were damaged by local villagers who lived in them and covered many of the ceiling frescos with soot from their cooking fires.

Our guide was great at trying to get us into the best position to get good photos.  He was also quite tolerant of all the school girls who wanted their pictures taken with Eva, taking numerous shots so that each girl had it on her phone or camera.  It is so fun to be the object of stairs and giggles because we are white and different from all of them.  The hundreds of boy students also wanted pictures with us but were much less well behaved.  The guards had to keep blowing their whistles to get the boys down off of the carved pillars and statues.  

Kick boxing was practiced by the Hindu gods. Some of the frescos above the kick boxers were still intact.

The Buddhist temple that dates from the 7th century has an amazing arched hall with a very peaceful Buddha.  They actually made the solid stone look like a wood structure with beams and rafters.

As in the Jain temples in Ranakpur, these had statues of their firs prophet but also had Hindu-looking statues in them.  The idea that these temples were started at the front and carved back into the mountain with such detail and precision is mind-blowing.

Mountain Flight

Sorry I did't upload this before we got to Mumbai.  One of the funny places in Kathmandu in addition to the Northfield Cafe is Hotel Nana.  Note the fierce dragon over the door and the prominence of Money on one side and clothes on the other.  Very telling iconography...kidding.

We got up at 4:30 and walked out the front gate of our hotel.  There was a water truck with a hose running in to fill the cistern at the hotel.  Most buildings have water tanks on top.  I guess the water supply is like the electricity supply, slightly undependable.  

the airport was bustling with groups of trackers with their backpacks and piles of waterproof duffle bags.  Most of them were flying to Lackla for the 16 day trek to Everest Base Camp.  The same company that arranged our tour also had a deal on Everest treks and sold over 35.  Mary, only $1100.00 plus air to Kathmandu.  

The planes hold 17 passengers so everyone has a window seat.  From Kathmandu we flew east along the Himalayas for about 1/2 hour turned and came back.  The flight attendant had quite a bit to do.  She gave us all maps with an outline of the range with peaks identified.  She not only stopped at each of us to point out the peaks we were passing and she guided each of us up to the cockpit where we could take pictures over the shoulders of the pilot and co-pilot.  Quite amazing given that she kept it up during all of the flight until we took our seats for the landing.

What a spectacular sight.  We were probably 5 miles away at 20,000 feet.  It was amazing how many of them we were looking up at,. 

 The field of mountains is so wide that we could see how Everest and others remain hidden to trekkers until they get very close. It is also amazing how many are over 8,000 meters (about 25,000 feet) or over twice the height of the Rockies. Everest still towers over the others at 29,028 feet. Lotse is the flatter peak to the right. Pictures really don't convey the feeling of seeing them.

Unlike hiking in the Rockies or the Appalachian Trail, most treks are dotted with tea houses that offer accommodations and food.  Let's start planning….who's interested?

Mumbai

Mumbai

It proved a bit more sticky getting out of Kathmantu was a bit more demanding than getting in.  There were hundreds of people trying to get on planes and only 5 emigration windows open.  It took almost two hours.  Our backs were aching as we boarded the plane after the departure.  Probably half the plane was empty, later to be filled by migrant workers (young Nepali men who seek work in India and other countries) who had to wait in another line even longer than the tourist line.

Our hotel in Mumbai is modern, has a foam mattress and central air conditioning.  A walk around the neighborhood revealed that it is a garment area, with clothes displays in virtually every store front, advertising both wholesale and retail.  I happened to walk by a sidewalk booth where a guy was crammed in with luggage on display and a treadle sewing machine in front of him.  Later I took back two of our bags that had developed small rips.  He sewed them up in about one minute each then charged me 20 rupees (40 cents).  Wow, it's hard to find someone to do that at home at any price!

First thing we noticed on the streets is NO cows, goats, or other animals. Our guide later told us that they are against the law here.  And they have constant electrical supply.  Our guide said that because Mumbai is the commercial capital of India they can't afford not to have a reliable power supply. And, they have traffic lights that people obey.  Mumbai feels like New York energy plus some Miami (the bay) 

and even a touch of South Beach (art deco architecture). 

Our guide was the first woman we've had, probably sixty-something.  Besides history of Mumbai and India she has a brother who is a doctor in West Virginia and has traveled extensively in the U.S. It was the most revealing and fun conversation about cultural, economic, health care and other issues that we have had with anyone here. First off she took us to a house that had been owned by a close friend of Mahatma Gandi.  It was much like the MLK museum in Memphis, a very moving tribute to his life and teachings One room where he lived is preserved as it was when he lived there, with a simple mattress, some books, a writing desk and spinning wheel.

Not a lot of monuments because before British started to develop commercial interests there wasn't an existing city as there was in Delhi. The most interesting architecture is British colonial/Victorian  in the area near the  Gateway to India, a memorial to the visit by King George V in 1911.

Next to it is the Taj Mahal Hotel, made famous by the bombing attacks that took place here three years ago.

The Victoria Terminus is a fantastic neo-Gothic structure built in 1888.  More than 1000 trains and 2 million passengers pass through daily.  

As we saw when we arrived for our trip to Araungabad at 5:00 the next day, there are also quite a few people who just sleep on the floor there.

Mumbai is the most expensive city in India with escalating real estate prices and a continual process of tearing down traditional buildings to put up new high rises.  One reason that the older buildings get so run down is that rent control limits how much landlords can charge so they don't put any money into the upkeep.  Too bad, because some of the traditional wood buildings would be beautiful if they were not falling apart.

Since there are no rivers in Mumbai where the laundry could be done in the traditional way (beating it on the rocks) the city established an area with cement tubs and water for the professional laundry men. Behind the work area and the clothes lines you can see the high-rise.  

And when a little extra drying area is needed for the clean hospital gowns, the pedestrian guard rail on the side of the road will do.  Can you imagine what U.S. healthcare workers would say about this?

Mumbai has the largest Parsi community in the world, 50% of the 100,000 world-wide total live here.  While it would be too long to go into a full description of them here, it is well worth a Google search.  Like the Jains, they are a fascinating, very small, but very successful and influential minority.  I lived with a Parsi family in Karachi, Pakistan  as a high school exchange student).  

More Indian tourists wanting to have their pictures taken with us.  An attractive young lady was probably on her honeymoon judging from the henna tattoos on her hands and wrists.  The whole park at the top of the hill is built over a water cistern, thus no large trees.

Large beaches, but even in the heat and sun, hardly anyone on the beach.  Our guide said that many indians don't lear to swim and don't like to be out in the sun "we already have good tans" she joked.

There are plenty of places where you see expensive high rise condos right next to slums.  Again our guide explained that they tried relocating the slum dwellers to the suburban areas but that the people preferred to live near the rich people they work for. 

The most expensive house in the world ($one billion dollars to build), belongs to the richest man in India, has seventeen stories (hard to tell because of the architecture how many there are), and is built for a family of 5.  Six floors are just for parking.  Maybe for his car collection or for an entourage. We did see Lamborghini and other high-end car dealers here. 

How to paint a lamp post in India…shinny up the pole as you would a coconut tree while holding the paint can and brush…

Most of you have been accosted at stop lights in Boston or NYC by hawkers with bouquets or newspapers for sale.  Here they come at you with a stack of best sellers.  One was sure that I wanted to buy Warren Buffet's book persisted until the light changed.

Back in Kathmandu

We opted to fly back to Kathmandu rather endure another 10 hour bus ride.  In the waiting room a group of Nepalese latched onto Eva, especially the kids.  They always ask "where are you from?", "How old are you?", "Do you have any children?" and "What kind of phone is that, how much does it cost?" Most cell phones here are Samsung with some Nokia.

Outside our hotel the cutest man (security guard) greets us with a salute every time we come in.  We told him he was a perfect Peter Sellers look-alike but he didn't get it.
 

Kathmandu is a wonderful mix of travelers from all over the world.  The people who have decided to stay have come up with some very interesting combinations of cuisines.  There are plenty of German kids with day glow dreadlocks and even some old looking hippie types with dreads.

 We are still amazed by the work women do around here.  This one is carrying a large sack of cement on her back.  The wood contraption in the foreground is used for bending re-bar that is cut with an ancient looking hacksaw.

Here the "ladies" are mixing concrete by shovel and forming the base for a foundation wall.

And OSHA is not needed here.  These men were climbing around on the bamboo scaffold 5 stories up as though they were on the ground.

There are so many cafes, restaurants and clubs on the main street here in Thamel (tourist section of Kathmandu) that its hard to enjoy the Eric Clapton being played here because two horrible cover bands are blasting from rooftop cafes while a music store has its Nepal flute CD cranked up.  The CD's and movies are of course Chinese ripoffs.  We got a couple current movies for 100 Rupees each (85 rupees to the dollar).

We get to watch Aljazeera (sp?) on the TV.  We really like their specials and their news...too bad our politicians think they are so evil and don't want them broadcast in the US.  They covered the story of the Boston bombing then in the sports news covered the Yankees playing Sweet Caroline at Yankee Stadium.  Small world.

Another nice road picture of an oxcart.