HOBO KETTLE: Driving through history in a little green car...

As a kid I loved all festivals but Diwali was my favorite. Not because I cared for Ram home-coming after 14 years of banishment, but because I loved going to my dadi’s where all my cousins would also come. It was the best time of the year, warm enough to sleep on the roof and wintery enough to huddle up and make mehndi with colorful candle wax.

Diwali still holds a special place in my heart. Maybe more so because it’s a 4 day touring opportunity! I tend to classify all festivals into opportunities for short or long travels. And Diwali falls in the best traveling season of the year, it continues to remain my favorite.

Five long years I have been in Pune and the World Heritage sites just 4 hours away hadn’t happened yet. It was Ellora and Ajanta caves calling.

Pune-Aurangabad State Highway 27. (220km), 4 lane good road. Though many village bazaars on the highway caused irksome jams.

While Akhil was driving I was catching the scenery outside and browsing through the pages of lonely planet. For hotels in our budget, things to-do and places we could explore in and around Aurangabad.

Foodie as I am, I am always on a look out for special food served in the city. I usually count my stay not by number of nights we spend in a city but by the number of meals we can have during our stay! After my research, “Hotel Panchvati to stay and Tandoor Restaurant to eat” I announced!

We reached Aurangabad around 7pm. Checked in Hotel Panchvati located near the bus stand, not very difficult to find. We checked in room a double room (650Rs) and walked out for dinner.

As we stepped in the streets of Aurangabad we noticed it was surprisingly dim-lit for a night before Diwali. It was a pleasant relief from the din of Pune. And we were happy to breathe in the smoke free air. The kind which is rare to find in Pune, Diwali or no Diwali.

Fifteen minutes walk from Panchvati, on our right was located Tandoor. Highly appreciated by LP, and as we saw a couple of more foreigners inside(We knew the book sells.). Sadly it turned out to be an over-hyped and overpriced place serving over-greasy, basely ordinary food. :( There is nothing more disappointing than bad-food in a new city. Nothing!

Walking back to hotel we planned an early morning trip to Ajanta caves. Oblivious of the dreadful night to come, we bundled in our comfortable looking bed. Two in the night, tossing and turning in the bed I asked Akhil to switch-on the fan, thinking it will help fly mosquitoes away! How could I have known there were no mosquitoes but bed-mites! Distraught, we walked the stairs down to the reception and woke the sleeping staff. We got our room changed and itched back to sleep.

We checked-out of the hotel second thing in the morning after some pleasantries (pun intended) with the manager who refused to even hear us out, let alone apologize! Arrrgh. Too late for Ajanta, we stuffed our bags in the car and without wasting further time drove to Ellora.

Aurangabad-Ellora NH211, 30km, nice road. We reached Ellora caves around 11.00am.

Treasure chiseled out of solid rocks! The 34 caves of Ellora built from 500 to 750 AD belong to people of three different faiths Buddhists, Hindus and Jainism. Soaked in the silence of the caves, surrounded with lush greenery, I could feel the energy of Buddhist chants once echoed there. The caves had a calming effecting, one could simply sit there and meditation would just happen. Without trying!

Kailash Temple

Buddha and Buddhu

Cave No.10

Buddha

Elephants at the base: Symbol of strength

You need at least 5-6 hours to absorb the grandeur of those wondrously carved rocks. Come prepared. Get lunch (restaurant at the caves serves inedible food), and try not to visit the toilets there! Painful laxity on the part of ASI in a world heritage site, where tourists come from all over the world.

Driving back to Aurangabad we detoured 1km on our left to a quaint Muslim pilgrimage village, Khuldabad. Aurangzeb, the last of Mugal greats rests in peace here, in the quiet of this cheerful place.

His 6X4 feet white marble grave is a stark contrast to the tombs of other Mugal greats.

We still had to find a hotel for the night. I called up a local acquaintance and “may God bless him” for he suggested Windsor Castle. We booked ourselves a plush room (2500rs) for once. A cozy air-conditioned with mod-cons room is all we needed. Aaah!

Starving as we were we went food hunting again, in hope to nail it down this time. It was Diwali night and there were few shops open and few disorderly lights here and there. Surprisingly noncommercial, vendors simply chose to celebrate than sell. An ordinary Mumbai night is usually more bright and advertised than that festive night in Aurangabad. Maybe it’s Ellora’s effect!

After dinner we snuggled into the warmth of our beds without any plan set for the next day. We kept it open for either returning back to Pune or hitting Ajanta. Our direction depended on how well and hassle free we sleep that night.

Got up at 9.15 all set for the breakfast buffet. Dancing down the stairs thinking what all I am going to eat, I see no big buffet bowls and not a single soul eating! To my horror I was informed by the pitiless waiter, “Ma’am buffet is served only till 9am”. What?? Akhil came after me and guessed from my flustered expression, “Khatam ho gaya?!” We were served some left-over food just enough to satisfy our stomachs not our souls.

What next? We again planned not to plan and ended up spending some lazy hours lolling around in the hotel. Still undecided on Ajanta we went to see Daulatabad fort, 15km from Aurangabad, en route to Ellora.

Daulatabad fort

Though LP raves about the magnificence of the fort, I was not too impressed. Or maybe what could impress one who has seen Ellora? Ajanta was the answer! I can’t recollect when or who decided but we were set for 2 more days of historical fun.

Aurangabad-Ajanta 100km. 2 lane, rainswept road. Instead of going back to Aurangabad we took a right from Khuldabad to Phulambari and joined SH8 from there.

We reached Ajanta around 4.00pm. And had some sun light left to check-out a few hotels and ensure they are bed-mite-free. First we went to MTDC Ajanta Tourist Complex, a very srakari feel to the place, huge, spacious and laid back exactly the kind of place we wanted. But some places don’t entertain just-drop-ins, they need reservations!

Hotel Padamapani Park was in our destiny. Fortunate destiny, I would say. Neat rooms in the back corridor, overlooking the long stretches of farms lands.

View from the back corridor room of Padmapani

If Ellora was a treasure chiseled out of solid rocks, its twin sister Ajanta was poetry painted in the caves. Ajanta caves contain paintings and sculpture dating from the second century BC, considered to be masterpieces of both Buddhist religious art and universal pictorial art.

Flash photography is banned inside the caves due to its adverse effect on natural dye used in the paintings. Video-camera is permitted for Rs25. Get your torch to see minute details. Authorised guides are available for Rs600(app. 2 hrs).