The Gates of Auranagabad, Mumbai and Home

Friday 23 February 2024 

We had the morning to explore Aurangabad.  On our drives earlier in the week, we’d spotted a few gates.  It turns out that Aurangabad is known as The City of Gates and has 52 - one for every week of the year (that’s not why there are 52).  It was obviously an important, and well defended, city - although having to keep your eye on 52 entrances must have been a headache.  Only a few of these gates are still standing so Caitlin and I went and found a couple.

We crossed the local river.  Pretty yucky.  The streets here are well swept but I suspect rubbish collections are not common or well regulated and the river has become a convenient tip.

We also passed a Buddhist temple, Khadakeshvar temple.

Our first gate was Bhadkal.  It was built in 1612 and was the first gate of Aurangabad.  It was also the first building built of pillar construction in India (sorry, lots of 'firsts' here).  

It had a marble plaque showing the Constitution of India.

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation; IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

On the way to our next gate we passed a tiktok with a massive speaker on top broadcasting some advertisement.  For something so small it made a lot of noise.

Next was the Paithan Gate, built in 1622/3.

We then retreated out of the sun for coffee where we played cribbage.  This is Caitlin’s not so happy card playing face.  And my rummage-in-rucksack look.  I did a lot of rummaging as I bury my wallet and phone deep inside to help prevent pick pocketing.  But it does mean I take a while to retrieve these things too!

On our walk back I spotted the trolley made from bike wheels and the globe.  Not sure why there was a globe, but there is no such thing as too many globes.  

After lunch we caught the train back to Mumbai.  We passed Thumbs Up mountain, aptly named.  It’s also the name of the local soft drinks company.  It was a slow trundle and it took us 8 hours to cover 360 km.  Mind you, I don't think the Waterloo line is that much faster.  The reason for the sedate speed, apparently, is a capacity issue so, to keep a higher number of trains running they slow it all down.  Or that’s one theory.

As I’ve seen before, eg Kazakhstan, closing train doors on a moving train is optional.  On many trains we passed people were clinging onto the doorway as they travelled.  I can’t think how many loose grip and fall off over the course of a year.  It was, mind you, a pleasant place to stand for a decent breeze.  Our carriage was air conditioned but it wasn’t that cool still.

As we nearer Mumbai most people alit until it was just Caitlin and I in our carriage. 

Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 February 2024

It was a gentle Saturday.  Caitlin wasn’t feeling well  so we took it easy with plenty of water and tea stops. We did a bit of shopping and a lazy lunch over a crossword. [Note - she shared her cold with me which I came down the following week - sharing is caring].  Then we treated ourselves to a massage each.

Our flight was at 0425 so we had a couple of hours sleep before heading to the airport at 0030.  Shravappati airport is nice and new.  It also has a wonderful feature of only allowing passengers into the terminal.  This avoids the masses of relatives who just pop along to say farewell and makes the terminal very hassle free.  

Queues for security and passport control were long but moved.  We boarded on time and we enjoyed the excitement of premium economy.

We then sat.  And sat.  Apparently the airport ran short of those trucks which push back aeroplanes.  We waited an hour to go from no 14 to number 4 in the queue.  Then, nearing our chance of freedom, a 747 cargo plane broke down behind us so we were blocked in.  There was nothing we could do about this.

It was eventually shoved out of the way and we took off 1:45 late.  It was so late we saw sunrise over Mumbai!

I'd built a huge buffer into my journey back having a train ticket 4 hours after we due to touch down.  This was pretty much consumed by the time we landed (nearly two hours late), waited for the not-very-fast luggage delivery, walk to the train station at LHR (it's kilometres!) and then to Waterloo.  I like a big buffer.  Thank you for a wonderful holiday Caitlin.  Where next? ;-)

A fort, 34 caves and a mini Taj Mahal

Thursday 22 February 2024

Today we kicked off by visiting Daulatabad Fort.  This was constructed in 1187 AD when Deogiri, as it was then known, was the capital of the Hindu Kingdoms in Deccan.  A century or so later it was captured by the Sultans of Delhi, and in 1338 the sultan moved the capital from Delhi to Deogiri (which he renamed Daulatabad).  This involved route marching all the Delhi citizens west.  Thousands died en route.  He then changed his mind and marched them all back again…

Over time the fort was expanded and now has a 6 km circumference wall.  It has numerous fortifications including cannon, several inner gate systems with zigzag alleys between them.  There are anti-elephant ramming spikes on the gates.

It is the only one of its type in India and I’ve never come across such an impenetrable fortress to be fair. There was a well (there was also a water system for the citadel itself) and the Chand Minar, built as a victory pillar.

Alongside it is an ancient Hindu temple comprising of a huge courtyard and inner area supported by 150 pillars.

We found the Mendha (ram) cannon.  It is 5.5 m long has a ram’s head at one end.

So, once you’d dodged the various gates, zigzag alleys and guns you then had to cross the moat.  Of course, if they'd left the draw bridge down it was easy, but otherwise it was a tough scale up near vertical walls.

The piece de resistance protecting the citadel is the enclosed stairwell.  This runs for 45 m and needed a torch to navigate.  Fortunately we'd read ahead and I had my petzl in my pocket.  It has multiple carved hideaways along it and must have been awful to attack.  If all else failed, the defenders would light a fire at the top and the smoke would be drawn down into the dark passageway.  

The fortress is 183 m high and a decent hike up stairs.  We ascended to the Mughal pavilion and enjoyed the views accompanied by a gaggle of school children who wanted pictures of us numerous times, before we descended to the entrance and our driver.  

Next up were the Ellora Caves.  These were built by three groups.  Caves 1-12 are Buddhist, 13-29 Brahman and 30-34 Jainist.

We started at cave 1, it being the oldest.  Cave 1 was quite plain and, as we had a whack of caves to inspect, we decided to start scoring them on style, durability, artistic flair.  This one was 2/10.

Cave 3

Cave 5 is a viahra - a communal area - and is the largest of the Buddhist set at 35 x 17 m.

Cave 10 was a chaitya-hall - for sacred activities/temple - and scored 9/10 from us.

On the face of it, caves 11 and 12 looked like multi-storey car parks.  I think the correct phrase is ‘austere’.   Quite how anyone managed to design and carve these is beyond me, but they did.

Inside, they are even more impressive with massive column-supported rooms and Buddha carvings.  Lots of them. 

Onto the Brahman set, the carving changed from Buddhas to Hindu gods.  Notably there were a lot of Shivas.

In cave 15 we came across Nandi, the bull.

Cave 16 is the jewel in Ellora’s crown.  Not that we weren’t already deeply impressed, this one blew us away!  This cave had been carved top down and is estimated to have taken over 100 years to create, removing over 3,000,000 cubic feet of rock.  It is considered the greatest monolithic structure in the world (says the tourist guide book).  It wasn’t hard to see why.

Somehow they had created a two storied free-standing Shiva temple in the 31 m deep pit.  Throw in intricate carvings on pretty much every surface, a pillar and a couple of life size elephants (nowadays sans trunks) and it’s easy to see why this took a century or so to complete.

Remember this is all carved stone - and triple layered with a temple in the middle.  Breathtaking.

Off to cave 17.  Huge pillars in this one.

We had exhausted our enthusiasm for scoring caves by now and decided simply to continue in order.  Despite the guide book advising us to skip some we decided that wasn’t our style so we at least stuck our head into each.  It was funny, in a good way, travelling with Caitlin as I didn’t have to explain some of my quirks (eg needing to visit each one in turn) as, quelle suprise, she'd inherited that need too.

We continued visiting the Brahman group.  Cave 21 was big on female figures who were very buxomous.  

We were weary and hungry - but we ploughed on.

Cave 22 had a shrine containing Nandi.  I loved that you could see his tail and butt as you approached the cave.

Cave 29 had three entrances, each guarded by a pair of lions.  There was an agressive looking Shiva bent on destruction.  And more huge pillars in a vast cave.

A few hundred metres up from this set were four Jain caves.  Jainism was founded in the 6th Century BC, at the same time as Buddhism.

Cave 30 was beautifully adorned with lotus flowers, delicately carved pillars and a herd of elephants.  

Cave 32 was just as amazing as cave 16.  In some ways it was better as it was more intact - perhaps because it’s less accessible?  Again, carved from the top down it had a 9 m column and impressive elephants, trunks included.   Again, more breathtaking carving.   

The usual Jain sculptures (they are always in the same pose) and a sleepy guard (they are too).

At last, but not least at all, cave 34 which we entered through cave 32.

By this time we were pooped.  We’d been there 4 1/2 hours and hadn’t really eaten as the restaurant and cafes were all unexpectedly closed.  We had water, and bought more, so we weren’t in danger of dehydration but we were certainly hungry.  We hopped on an electric car which, for 30p each, whizzed us back to the start.

We had planned to visit a mausoleum next, that of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, but were too weary for that one.   We did, however, manage to squeeze in a visit to Bibi-Ka-Maqbara, known as the mini Taj Mahal.  On our way we spotted surveyors on the move: in case you can’t see it’s a levelling staff and upside down tripod. 

Bibi-Ka-Maqbara is the mausoleum of Aurangzeb’s wife and modelled on the version at Agra. It’s a beautiful building built of marble. But, unlike the Taj, has concrete not marble flooring. 

We sat for photos although Caitlin was less keen.  She’d been pestered off and on all day for photos, and 8 hours in was tired of being approached for yet another photo with someone’s wife/daughter or, less appealing, a handful of young men.  We just decided that we’d reached the end of photos for the day and declined all further approaches.  

We wandered around the site enjoying the elaborate decor.

You had to take off your shoes 'at your own risk' before entering the mausoleum.

She's down there somewhere I think (Aurangzeb’s wife, not Caitlin).

Photos in the sunlight.

Guess what? Once back at the hotel, showered and watered, we fell into the restaurant being too tired to think of anything more exciting.  That was definitely a long day.