Part two of India Update Madness.

This would have been more impressive had we not already spoiled you with Angkor, but they are still very cool - and centuries older.

Located in central Maharashtra, the cave temple complexes of Ellora and Ajanta were "rediscovered" by the Brits and recognized as "world heritage sites" by UNESCO. While the strictly buddhist caves of Ajanta have received the most attention and restoration efforts (buddhism...japanese...money) the caves at Ellora were far more unique and interesting. Perhaps it was the unregulated freedom to explore and undocumented discoveries to be made - at Ajanta we were required to stick to a limited area and observe unnecessary rules. Certainly not what one becomes accustomed to in India.

Actually the most interesting part of the day came began at 5:00 pm when everybody left. The site wasn't located in a city, just a collection of merchant structures at the end of a road leading to the site. We rented a room at the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation's paying guest house. A two story affair with abysmal food and no functioning running water. At five p.m. when the caves closed, the hundreds of merchants all left on the bus leaving us and the 10 employees of the guest house (over-employed government agency). Around midnight we wandered outside and found the night-guard of the food stall, an 80 year old muslim man. He entertained us with his short-wave radio, philosophy, and immensely relaxing herbal tea.

a play on the "HORN PLEASE" signs found on the backs of most trucks, this was quite a progressive billboard for hindustan

four hours on the public bus brought us to Ajanta. Many tourists converge here as it has the higher profile of the two cave groups. Welcoming the convergence are an aggressive throng of junk vendors with no reserve in their attempts to attract your attention in the five minutes it takes to walk from your vehicle to the site entrance.

it's a more condensed grouping here than Ellora, the cave temples lining one side of a horseshoe shaped river canyon

much more restoration work and crowd managing infrastructure have transpired here

Ellora was the first intensive sun exposure i had after weeks in frigid pakistan/afghanistan. i came prepared today with the proper defensive attire after the scorching i had received

Many of the cave functions were similar to the buddhist caves at Ellora. Monasteries, worship halls, temples. They were certainly more impressive here, large interior spaces lined with columns and filled with ornate carving and statuary.

a few of the temples actually contained some surviving paintings of scenes from the Buddha's life, the (protective) lighting conditions prevented photography

the buddha in one of his many seated positions. there are hundreds of identifiable configurations of the buddha - variations on a primary four that relate to the four stages of his life - the buddha youth (his birth in Lumbini), the seated buddha (his enlightenment in Bodhgaya), the standing buddha (his teaching at sarnath), and the reclining buddha (his death in Kusinara)

restoration work in progress. we had to take these on the QT, as one of the many rules dictated that no photgraphs be taken of the restoration. it's all about commercial rights, that is, an exclusivety deal with a single company to do the documentary. this ancient spiritual site is fucking copyrighted

the man on the right drilled the holes to anchor the new plaster forms

he used his sketch of the art to sculpt the new one with

the original pillar nearby from which the sketch was made of the figure

another large chaitya hall, similar to the one at Ellora with it's wood-imitating stone ceiling

i am publishing this picture just to spite this asshole

an unfinished cave near the end of the site. only the major excavation had been finished with rough forms left that the craftsmen would later sculpt into decorated surfaces, pillars, and statues