AJANTA ARCHIVES

Our Trip to Ajanta :   One scorching summer in May 1998 ( april rather as per evidence lol ) we decided to venture out in a Tata Sumo on a circular trip to Trimbakeswar,  Nasik, Shirdi, Ahmednagar,  Paithan, Ajantha, Shani singnapur, Aurangabad,Ajanta, Ellora, Daulatabad,  Bhimashankar, Shivneri, Malshej, Vajreshwari and back to Dahisar on a five day trip. 

My Mill, Bill & Sill along with her bandwagon landed in our house, thus started our roller coaster trip.  Our halts were at the following places, Nasik, Paithan, Aurangabad,  Ellora & Bhimashankar.  Just check out the broad route map besides, you may get an idea of our trip undertaken. We missed out on Pilhotra Caves and did not climb the Shivneri caves completely.  Getting drenched in hot spring water at Vajreswari was like adding fuel to fire Lolz....thank god we escaped major mishap and lived to tell the story of Ajantha.......and its legacy in pictures.

Why Ajanta was abandoned is a mystery explored by many a historians. The entire Ajanta complex was probably inhabited by Neolithic mankind prior to Buddhist monks discovering the safe den for their monastic living. They began construction of the famous 30 cave complex in early 2nd Century BC. For almost 350 years they were surveying the area and laying the basic foundation for a grandiose plan for building an edifice eulogizing Lord Buddha. In 450 AD in Harisena they found a willing sponsorer to trigger the building activity and completing the cave viharas and chaityas. The lovely mural paintings were completed using the locally available vegetable dyes and other binding materials such clay etc. 

Ajanta is located 107 kms from Aurangabad. The nearest railway line is Bhusawal or Jalgaon, Aurangabad on Hyderabad route. There is an airport at Aurangabad connecting Mumbai and Poona.

Detailed Travelouge http://indiabackpacker.blogspot.com/2008/11/ajanta-abandonedbut-its-legacy.html