ELEPHANTA, AJANTA AND ELLORA CAVES

ELEPHANTA, AJANTA AND ELLORA CAVES The art or practice of designing and constructing buildings is synonymous with the field of study of architecture. The exploration of Indian Architecture presents a tripper with a variegated bouquet to certain quintessential travel destinations in India which provides an opportunity to witness its abundant heritage. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has proffered a visual treat to a sightseer stock individual and accomplished/ novitiate architects and sculptors a unique trip which covers the caves of Elephanta, Ajanta and Ellora. Upon arriving at the financial capital of India, Mumbai a tripper is received by the officials of IRCTC and checked into an upmarket hotel. The following day the guests inhale the ozone emitted by the Arabian sea during an hour-long ferry ride from the Gateway of India to the Elephanta Island in the Mumbai Harbour. The caves are tucked away in a desolate island which in common parlance are referred to as Gharapuri (city of caves). These caverns are approximately 10 kilometres east of the Gateway of India. The caves, as well as the island, were christened as Elephanta by Portuguese invaders once they became suzerains of what is today known as Mumbai in the year1534. It was a happenstance discovery of a gigantic rock-cut sculpture of an elephant on the island which prompted them to name the place after the tusker. Sometime in 1661, the East India Company overpowered the Portuguese armies and the area became part of their dominion. Over time, these caves suffered significant damage and destruction by Persian invaders, Christian Portuguese soldiers, the Maratha as well as British rulers. In 1909, the British India officials initiated major attempts to safeguard the caves from further wreckage. Subsequently the Government of India carried out restoration works at the site in the 1970s and converted the place into remarkable heritage sites. Each cave has been carved as a rock-cut temple with one principal massive chamber, courtyards, two lateral chambers, and minor shrines. Cave 1 or what is also called the Grand Cave is the largest one among these which spreads across 39 meters from its entrance to the back. After the sojourn to Elephanta Caves, tourists normally chill it out, take a walk on the marine drive and are ready to drop anchorage at exploring next set of caves in the vicinity of Aurangabad the next pit stop. Aurangabad is 365 kilometres from Mumbai and the aficionados of IRCTC arrange for ferrying tourists by rail to witness the grandeur of Ajanta and Ellora caves. The formidable Ajanta Caves have been prominently mentioned in the memoirs of several medieval-era Chinese Buddhist travellers to India and by satraps of Mughal emperor Akbar in the early 17th century. These brawny caves were once covered by a humungous thicket until fortuitously they were "discovered" and drew large scale western attention and acclaim in the year 1819 by a colonial British officer Captain John Smith who was on a tiger-poaching expedition. The caves are in the rocky northern wall of the U-shaped gorge of the river Waghur, in the Deccan plateau. Within the gorge are several breathtaking waterfalls with gushing waters which break the tranquillity of the pristine place and are audible from the vicinity of caves when the river course reaches a crescendo. Commencing with the 2nd century B.C., and continuing into the 6th century A.D., the paintings and sculptures in the caves of Ajanta and Ellora, were inspired by Buddhism and its compassionate teachings and unleashed a surge of artistic excellence unmatched in human history. About 107 km from the city of Aurangabad in Maharashtra, are the rock-out caves of Ajanta which are neatly nestled in a panoramic gorge, in the form of a gigantic horseshoe. These elaborate sculptures and paintings stand tall in the impressive grandeur in spite of withstanding the ravages of time. Amid the beautiful images and paintings are sculptures of Buddha, with a soothing and serene depiction in deep state of meditation. The cave temples and monasteries at Ellora, which were excavated out of the vertical face of an escarpment, are 26 km north of Aurangabad. Sculptors, inspired by strains of thought of Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism, created elaborate rock carvings. Extending in a linear arrangement, the 34 caves contain Buddhist Chaityas or halls of worship, Viharas or monasteries and Hindu and Jain temples. Spanning a period of around 600 years between the 5th and 11th century A.D., the earliest excavation here is of the Dhumar Lena (Cave 29). This three-day package suffuses the minds of the tripper with amazement of ancient Indian architecture and they are left awestruck as to how aeons ago Indian architects and sculptors created this work of marvel and sheer jollity. “If a building becomes architecture, then it is art,” writes Danish architect Arne Jacobsen known for architectural functionalism.