“Where the Crafts of Men Glorify the Creation of God”
by Mahinul Haque
(The Ajanta Caves are 29 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 CE in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state of India)
It was a rainy morning when we arrived at the foothill of the Ajanta Caves, a few hour drive away from the city of Aurangabad. After 26 hours of train journey from Kolkata to Bhusawal, and a ridiculous amount of “veg biryani” in the train station, it was such a great relief to find ourselves into such a breathtakingly beautiful environment: consisting of lush green forest and mountains; and not to mention the caves!
The 29 rock-cut cave monuments of Ajanta are located on the side of a rocky cliff, that is on the north side of a U-shaped gorge on the small Waghur river, right in the outskirt of the Deccan plateau. A succession of waterfalls is found further round the gorge, and we could hear the sound of falling water from outside the caves. To be honest, it felt like a surreal world of its own, and we were experiencing something marvelous!
The caves appeared as if they were an extension of the surrounding natural elements. It was hard to believe this gigantic man-made rock-cut structure was constructed from a single monolithic stone which encompassed the body of the adjacent mountain cliff. And the caves became an integral part of the surrounding environment over the years, as if nature reclaimed what was its own once.
Constructed over different periods of time, under Satvahana dynasty and Vakataka dynasty, the caves include paintings and rock cut sculptures; which still exist as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive paintings, such as Jataka tales, i.e the Buddhist legends describing the previous births of the Buddha, and they uniquely present emotion through gesture, pose and form. Additionally, the ceiling is ornately decorated with colorful flora, fauna, figures, and geometric designs. Also, the sculpture artists likely worked at both excavating the rocks and making the intricate carvings of pillars, roof and idols; further, the sculpture and painting work inside a cave were an integrated parallel tasks. We could not help feeling awestruck at these wonderful denominations.
The harmony between the architecture of the magnificent caves and the surrounding environment is something that has been shaped through the passage of time since its inception. Even now, it is a rather convenient example of how architecture can blend with its surrounding environment without causing disruption or distraction or pose any major threat to the ecology and ecosystem. We witnessed wildlife getting used to with the architecture of the caves, and the tourism that flourished with it.
Monkeys literally rule the place! They wander around the stone-carved passages, jump from excavated columns to roofs, lie down, take a nap, or do whatever they want almost without giving a second thought about the tourists that come to visit here. Unless of course it’s time to steal away some food or snatch the camera from the hands of an unaware ‘victim’. So, we had to be super careful when we were roaming around these mighty monkeys and their benevolent kingdom!
The whole thing seemed very natural to us. The architecture, the nature, the sculpture, the environment all co-existing in the same place without causing any turbulence for one another. This balance and harmony is preserved since more than a thousand year! Despite its importance as a religious sanctuary and major tourist destination, the full extent of the significance of Ajanta caves is much more than that, from the perspective of the natural preservation and the environmental hierarchy. In short, Ajanta is a cradle of phenomenon and wonder, where architecture meets nature, and the crafts of men glorify the creation of God with skill and wisdom. That’s why millions of tourists visit this site each year. I, personally, am in love with the marvel of Ajanta, and wish to go back to the sacred abode again.
(originally published in the Daily Observer; July 26, 2018 issue; link- http://epaper.observerbd.com/2018/07/26/index.php)
by 
যেকোন সৃজনশীল কাজে ‘স্থান’ (Space) এবং ‘কাল’ (Time) এর প্রাসঙ্গিকতা এবং গুরুত্ব অপরিহার্য। কিন্তু, কেবল স্থান আর কালের সমীকরণই সবকিছুকে পূর্ণতা দিতে পারে না। আমাদের জাপানী দর্শনে “মা” (ma/
The Raeth 