El_condor's travel blogs:
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Ellora
Entry 18 of 59 | show all | print this entry |
Post-Xmas, and post-wedding, after a quick sojourn back in Mumbai, I found myself heading north again. The first stop was Aurangabad, a small town in the centre of Maharashtra state notable as the access point for the famous World Heritage carved cave temples of Ellora and Ajanta.
Ellora, only 40 minutes out of Aurangabad, consists of 34 rock-cut caves, comprising Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain groups, representing India's 3 great religions. The caves, most containing exquisite carvings and sculptures, represent temples, monasteries, and shrines to the various gods of the respective religions.
These are works of art and architecture on a massive and beautiful scale, much like the temples of Angkor Wat, and again, hopefully my photos (when I finally put them up) can reflect that.
Archaeology lecture aside, I had the weirdest experience while I was at Ellora. I'm getting used to the staring that any white face engenders over here, and the constant attention from touts and beggars, or even just locals wanting to say hi and get a smile.
At Ellora, though, it was something different.
I was a rock star. Mobbed, photographed, besieged by adoring locals wanting to shake my hand and ask my mine. For the love of god, I was signing autographs! Kids, teenagers, and adults alike were thrusting pieces of paper and books in face and asking me to sign them. It was unbelievable, and surprisingly flattering. I'm not sure who they thought I was (maybe Batmeister has finally been released, to critical acclaim?), but I could get used to fame...even if it was just for a day. ;-)
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