Shiiva’s Mountain Home

Yesterday it was the Ajanta caves; today it’s the Ellora - slightly less ancient caves famed for their sculpture rather than their paintings and representing three religions, Buddhism, Brahmanism and Jainism. It’s an early start, both because we want to try to beat the crowds and because we have a very long drive ahead of us to reach our next destination. 

We leave our hotel at 7.00am in early morning mist - preferable to yesterday’s ran. Soon, much of this is burnt away by the strengthening sun, leaving a subtle golden veil over the site as we make our way towards the caves. The brightly coloured saris of Indian tourists - the vast majority - catch the filtered sunlight beautifully.  

Being more accessible, Ellora has the reputation of having far more visitors than Ajanta, but arriving just after the site opens means it’s relatively uncrowded. The setting is less spectacular than yesterday’s, but the caves themselves are every bit as as wonderful - and often far larger. 

We start with Cave 16, a huge complex carved by hand starting at the top of the cliff face and digging down.  This is Kailasha, Shiva’s mountain home. Some 3,000,000 cubic feet of rock was removed over a period of a century in the eighth and ninth century. It’s incredible, and considered one of India’s most famous monuments - and once again we’re amazed that these caves are not as famous as, say, Machu Picchu or Petra. Here, carved from the rock, are several temple buildings, the main one towering to the level of the remaining cliffs. And of course, there are fabulous carvings everywhere. We start in shadow, but soon the early morning sun begins to peak into the temple chasm, illuminating its beauty even more. 

We spend some time here, more than we intended to, largely due to the numerous school parties that are here on an educational visit. In one high school group the girls gather round me and the boys around G, all talking at once, asking questions, wanting to shake hands. It’s an echoing space and the sound of all these voices presents a loud cacophony. My group of girls are delightful, and once they know I was an English teacher want to discuss their favourite literature. It takes me some time to work out ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘The Colour Purple’, making several unsuccessful guesses before getting it right to their excited applause. They are delightful! 

We move on to other cave temples, mostly carved out of the rock face front to back as those in Ajanta. Some are small, intimate spaces, others huge three storey affairs, looking from the outside like brutalist buildings with stark square columns but inside housing treasure troves of miraculous carvings. These are all far quieter than the first temple complex and often we’re alone but for the security guard placed in front of each cave - one of whom invites us to listen to his beautiful rendition of a Buddhist chant which echoes mystically around the space.

Eventually we turn back, intending to visit the caves on the other side. Then G discovers he’s left his glasses ‘somewhere’ in the caves - prescription reactolite glasses that he needs more for avoiding glare than distance. He retraces his steps - but it really is a case of ‘needle in a haystack’; they could be anywhere. 

I continue, climbing up to a small temple above the main temple complex which offers a stunning view down into its magnificence. Pre back surgery , there’s so much of this journey I simply couldn’t have attempted; it’s made such a difference. 

I meet up with G inside the main temple; not surprisingly the glasses have just disappeared, but G is - as always - philosophical.  He’ll just need to get some sunglasses. 

We’ve miscalculated the distance to get to number 1 cave, and have to return before we reach there. We have a long journey ahead and really need to get back to the car. Once again the roads are awful. There are so many roads being dug up and either repaired or restructured so there are ramps, diversions, very bumpy temporary surfaces - the long journey to Pune seems endless. We stop at a ‘reputable’ chain outlet for lunch - as much for a toilet stop as anything, but our dosas are excellent. 

Eventually we arrive in Pune and go straight to our very plush hotel for the night - The Conrad. It’s so welcome after the long journey and we enjoy a delicious buffet in the restaurant before an early night. 

My main’s a shot looking down on the vastness of Kailasha, with extras of other aspects of both this and other temples.  There’s also my group of school girls and an early morning sunlit sari.