Whew. What a run this has been! Three
UNESCO World Heritage sites, three states, two overnight trains, an overnight
sleeper bus, and temperatures above 40 degrees. We have certainly seen a great
deal of what India has to offer, both good and bad. There is a point in every
trip when you realize that you’re starting to ‘head home’. These last few weeks
have been bitter sweet with the knowledge that this journey is coming to an
end. There is so much more to see, but India is such a challenging,
captivating, spiritual place, that leaving brings mixed emotions. Sure, it will
be nice to not sweat in your sleep, not to have to haggle for every taxi ride,
or be asked “Where are you going?” 20 times a day, but India is like a
co-dependent relationship. It’s a Love-Hate affair; there is no middle ground.
India changes the way you see the world, forever. It certainly makes you
appreciate the easy and decadent lifestyle we take for granted in Canada, the
opportunities, and the obligation to make the most of our fortunate birthright.
After leaving the beach in Goa, and our completely relaxing and indulgent
‘bliss zone’, we made our way towards Hampi, a deservedly popular site inland
in the state of Karnataka. The temperature was going to be a major factor in
planning out our three days of exploration, as were the distances involved.
Hampi was home to one of the largest empires in the history of India. The ruins
are spread out over some 25 square kilometers, and were originally enclosed
within seven walls. The geography is what makes Hampi so surreal. An arid
climate littered with massive boulders, smooth and rounded, with a major river
running through the center. The boulders and rock have been incorporated into
the fortified walls and many temples. We decided to rent some bicycles, because
the main clusters of structures are quite far apart, and we wanted to avoid the
worst of the mid-day heat. Even though the terrain isn’t too hilly, I was
surprised at how easy it was to convince Raven to rent bikes, especially after
the Pondicherry fiasco. During our first night, there had been a massive
lightning storm, very close, with deafening detonations of thunder. It was
still raining in the morning as we set off, which was a real treat, and kept
things cool for most of the morning. The scale of the fortifications is just
unbelievable. Huge boulders are linked by strips of cut-block stone walls,
double thick and filled with sand and rocks. A testament to their strength and
durability, most of the walls are intact. The areas that have been damaged are
usually due to subsequent scavenging of the blocks for building materials. The
southern group of buildings include the Queen’s Bath, the Elephant Stables, the
luxurious Lotus-Mahal, assorted foundations, temples and mosques, and the
underground Shiva temple. By the time we were making our way back, the clouds
had cleared, and the heat was getting very intense. We made a quick stop at the
monolithic carving of Ganesh, and flew down the last hill into town, awed by
the scale of this ancient city.
The
entry fee into the Queens Bath included the entry to the Vitthala temple, one
of the most impressive temples, and the one listed as a UNESCO site. We spent
the afternoon napping in the shade before walking along the river towards the
temple. We had tried to visit them in the opposite order in the morning, but
the stone path isn’t bike friendly, so we dropped the bikes off after our
morning ride. Hampi has so many surprises; at every turn there are more temples
and carvings hiding amongst the boulders. The skill and prolific amount of
carving and stone-masonry is astounding! You could spend weeks exploring here
and not see everything. The Vitthala temple is a wonderfully preserved complex.
One of the most incredible features is the musical columns. Carved from solid
pieces of granite, each column would produce a different note when tapped with
the hand or knuckles. A group of musicians would be able to produce the most
incredible symphony, reverberating through the temple and across the stone
courtyard. There are security guards at the site to prevent further wear of
these exquisite carvings, but because there were few tourists so late in the
day, one kept an eye out while the other gave us an impromptu performance, for
a little baksheesh, of course!
We
spent another day and a half wandering around the various remnants of the city,
including long, straight streets lined with columns,up to a hill-top temple for
the sunset, and into the still active and monkey filled Virupaksha temple, with
its’ 160 foot tall entrance gate tower. Raven was uninspired after the first
round of exploration, and it was a little overwhelming, but too incredible to
dismiss. There is even a hole inside the temple complex where the inverted
image of the tower shines onto the far wall while the tower is backlit by the
sun!
Since all the trains from Hampi had been booked for two months, we
decided to take our first overnight sleeper bus. Much more expensive than the
sleeper train, at least it would have actual bunks, and since we had confirmed
onward tickets from Pune, we needed to make the connection. It seemed quite
luxurious when we first boarded, but the roads and traffic were still Indian,
so none of us slept very well. To top things off, we arrived early, getting
dropped off at 04:30, on the outskirts of town, 15 kms from the train station!
Bah! We had the entire day to kill, since our train didn’t depart until 10
PM…Fortunately Pune is a big city, and the train station has an efficient and
inexpensive luggage storage facility. We dropped our bags, found a park a few
kilometers away on the river valley, stretched out on some benches and slept
for a few hours, while the locals jogged, played volleyball, did laughter yoga and
exercised all around us! The rest of the day involved a lot of wandering, and a
lot of wondering. We had to wait until 10am for a coffee shop to open, because the
bakery we were looking for was closed. We found a theater, thinking it would be
a good way to spend a few hours, where they made us leave our cameras at the
gate. The only English movie playing was Ironman3, and none of us wanted to see
it, especially for 180 rupees each. We were tempted to indulge in an ice-cream
from McDonalds, but their dessert machine was broken. We happened to pass the
small ‘Tribal Museum’, but the admission was 250 rupees each, the same as the
UNESCO sites! It took us until 5 o’clock
to find an internet café, but the power was off! At least the overnight train
left on time, and our frustrating day in Pune finally ended.
Thankfully, the train was almost three hours late getting into
Aurangabad, which gave us a few extra hours of much needed sleep. We had
breakfast next to the station, jumped in a rickshaw, went to the bus station
and headed straight to Ajanta Caves. The heat was intense by noon, but we
walked the 15 minutes to the hotel, and collapsed in a sweaty heap. We planned
to stay for the night, get up early to explore the caves, and then head back to
Aurangabad. The hotel we had found on the internet looked nice online, but was
under construction. The ‘satelliteTV’ only had one channel, the power was off
(no fan), and the shower didn’t work at first, and Su promptly broke into frustrated
tears. After napping, showering, and generally collecting ourselves after an
epic 48 hour transit from Hampi, we walked into the small town of Fadalpur. The welcome we received more than made up for
all the frustrations of the journey. The
children were full of smiles and ‘Hello!’s, with none of the ‘Give me money’
demands that are so discouraging. We pet some goats, chatted with some
families, toured the old fort surrounding the mosque, and loved every minute of
it. We had to go down the highway a little ways to find a restaurant, but the
thalis were incredible. We hadn’t looked at the menu though, and were shocked
when presented with a 700 rupee bill!
The next morning we were up nice and early,
making sure we had checked our bags at the cloakroom and were ready to explore
the caves as soon as they opened. I hadn’t actually seen any pictures of the
caves before we got there, so had no idea what to expect, other than temples
carved into a cliff face. There’s not much that could have prepared me for the
spectacle awaiting. The oldest ‘caves’ date back to 2 BC, but the complex was
carved out over a span of five centuries. The first ones you visit are some of
the youngest, around 1500 years old, and they still have well preserved
original paintings covering almost every square inch of the interiors. The
temples are massive, with large ornate pillars, numerous chambers off of the
main temple, and a massive statue of the Buddha in a separate chamber centered
on the rear wall. The largest measure 27 by 35 meters! The detail and finesse
of the carvings and murals are astounding. As you work towards the middle of
the cliff face, the temples become older and older, with the Buddha represented
by a plain stupa. The skill, ambition, and dedication of the monks who produced
these architectural works of art is truly astonishing! Some of the caves are
unfinished, providing a glimpse of the painstaking process of removing the rock,
piece by piece. They would always work from the ceiling down, so no scaffolding
was ever required. The tops of the columns and upper carving would be complete,
but the work was abandoned before the lower sections had been excavated. The
oldest caves have exquisite paintings dating to the 2 century BC, depicting
scenes from the Buddha’s past lives. Words really don’t do justice to the staggering
complexity and beauty of Ajanta, all carved out of solid rock with simple hand
tools. As the temperature crept up to 40 degrees again, we humbly started back
along the cliff face to the respite of the cold drink vendors at the entrance.
We
made our way to the highway for the sweltering bus ride back to Aurangabad,
dozing and dreaming ancient dreams. The hotels around the bus station were less
than inspiring, but since we were making a day trip to the Elora caves next, we
wanted to stay close. After looking at half a dozen dingy, overpriced rooms, we
settled on a slightly less dingy, but still overpriced room with a TV to help
pass the time during the hazy afternoon heat. After one rest day, we were up
early for the 45 minute trip to Elora. Not quite as old as Ajanta, some of the
caves and temples here are even more grandiose and ambitious. The main draw is
the Kailash Temple, a massive monolithic structure carved out of the rock by
7000 labourers over 150 years! I’ve nearly exhausted my supply of superlatives,
none of which can completely capture the astonishing feat of engineering and
artistic achievement. This one temple alone required the removal of over
200,000 tons of rock, all by hand, from the top down, leaving a monument larger
than the Pantheon!
The
caves at Elora are divided into three distinct groups. The oldest are the more
serene Buddhist caves, which are then overlapped by the Hindu temples, with
their dramatic and lively gods and goddesses, warriors and sultry nymphs.
Again, the scale of some of these massive caves is dumbfounding. One has three
stories, filled with stunning sculptures of assorted deities and dozens of
pillars on each level. Cave number 29 measures 40 by 37 meters, with high
ceilings to allow for the elaborate, towering pillars and sculptures. After
being overwhelmed by nearly 60 unbelievable rock-cut temples, we couldn’t
possibly absorb any more. With only a few days left in India, it was time to
retreat and reflect on the sights, smells and sounds that make it such a
captivating and consuming culture. Our last overnight train ride brought us to
Mumbai, where we enjoyed a relatively luxurious hotel room and some
cosmopolitan culinary treats. I even went to see the new Star Trek movie in 3D.
Mumbai is renowned for its’ lavish cinemas, complete with overstuffed reclining
seats and uncomfortably cold air conditioning. Before navigating the commuter
rail system out to the airport, I had to light off the last 1000 firecrackers
from Goa. Our flight left for Nairobi at the ungodly hour of 3:05 AM, so we
left early and caught a few ZZZZ’s in the ‘Slumber Zone’ of the airport. India
will always hold a special place in my heart, but Africa has been singing a
siren song that I couldn’t wait to pursue. We would cross into the southern
hemisphere in search of the wilds and wildlife of a new continent; back into
the unknown. What willthe food be like? How bad will ‘Nairobbery’ really be?
Will I be able to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, at 5895 meters? Will we be lucky
enough to see a lion take down a zebra on the plains of the Serengeti?
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