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“Ajanta paintings are a treat for the eyes. You will have to see it to understand just how rich and vibrant our ancient culture was.” - Raja Reddy, Dancer

Set amidst lush greenery along the face of a mountain with a small stream cascading through the valley below, Ajanta is any visitor’s delight. A monastic retreat fr the monks, these structures embellished with some of the most lovely paintings and splendid sculptures took 800 years to be carved out.

About 800 monks worked relentlessly on the hillside hanging over the tiny stream, chiselling and drawing int the heart of the rock, digging deep into the hillside, some going 100 ft. deep. It is believed that the caves were strategically located along the trade routes so that monks could travel safely with traders to far flung areas to spread their faith.

For many years the caves functioned as a perfect retreat for the monks but around the 8th century AD they were abandoned for the nearby Ellora caves. The reason for the shift is shrouded in mystery but once past its days of glory, Ajanta slipped into oblivion.

The caves lay hidden for over a 1000 years under dense forest overgrowth before being discovered by sheer chance by a hunting team. The caves are in a wooded and rugged horse-shoe shaped ravine about 35 km from the village of Ajintha about 100 kms from city of Aurangabad(India). These caves date from the 2nd century BC to 8th century AD.

There are 29 caves at Ajanta, two chaityas or prayer halls and three viharas- a place for the monks to rest, study and meditate. The walls and ceilings on the inside are adorned with sculptures and murals depicting stories from the life of the Buddha and the more popular tales from the lives of Buddha’s previous incarnations.

The paintings on the walls are of the highest craftsmanship and depict a mastery of forms, positions and gestures that had never been seen before in ancient India. Some paintings also contain scenes from the royal court and popular life of ancient times.

Since 1983, the Ajanta Caves have become a UNESCO world heritage site. And like many say, its hard for anyone who has not been to Ajanta to imagine the charm of the caves. See it to believe it.

“Apparently the largest, highest and most ambitious production of its kind hitherto undertaken by Indian builders, it is a landmark in the evolution of building art in southern India.” - Percy Brown, Art Historian.

If there is a beauty contest for temples, the Brihadeshwara temple in Tanjavur will win it hands-down. Believed to be the first granite temple in the world and the grandest project undertaken by any Indian ruler, the temple was constructed by great Chola king Rajaraja Chola in 1010 AD.

It is a perfect blend of “beauty with brains”. While there is a amazing simplicity about the various parts of the temple : square vertical base, tall tapering body, and over it all the graceful vimana which is believed to be tallest in the world, it also has many dazzling architectural feat to its credit. For instance, it’s vimana (it is said) never casts a shadow at noon at any time of the year.

At the entrance of the temple sits a huge stone bull (Nandi) which is considered the largest among the world. The walls of the temple are covered with beautiful sculptures of gods and goddesses and its top is capped by a massive monolithic cupola. The most dominating feature of the temple is the “vimana”, which is the tallest structure in the temple. This makes Brihadeshwara somewhat unusual , since the tallest structure in most Indian temples is the “gopuram”.

There is a sense of solidity about Brihadeshwara. The grace and form of the structure is amazing. It has been included in UNESCO’s World Heritage Site under the “Great Living Chola Temples” list.

Here the language of stone surpasses the language of man - Ravindranath Tagore, Noble Laureate Poet.

Built by King Narasimhadev in 13th century, the temple is designed in the shape of a chariot with seven horses and 12 pairs of wheels which Sun god can use to cross heavens.

Three types of stones - khondlite, chlorite, and laterite were used to build this temple which is 227 feet high. The porch structure of the temple is more than 120 ft. high.

The temple was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1984.

Even in a half preserved state, the Sun Temple of Konark in India is a magnificent sight. It envisages - the Sun god passing through the heavens on his divine chariot being pulled by seven horses. That’s the whole concept, but it does not matter even if you look at it in parts as each part here is an example of exquisite craftsmanship in stone carvings.

Each stone slab in the perfectly proportioned structure is alive with precisely chiseled motifs of flowers, animals, birds, royals and deities. The leaves of a tree, the adornments of the courtesans, the carved spokes of the wheel - the details on each panel are striking.

The panels carry erotic sculptures as well besides those depicting everyday activities like hunts, dances, and battle scenes. It is said that the base of the temple alone some 2000 images of elephants.

The fame of this 13th century structure located in Puri district of Orissa (India) had reached far and wide even during medieval times. It was visited by the Vaishnava saint Chaitanya as also by Abu’l Fazl, the author of A-in-e-Akabari (a biography of Mughal emperor Akbar) in which he wrote -”…even those whose judgement is critical and who are difficult to please stand astonished at it’s sight.”

Ditto, I say even in it’s present state. The east-west alignment of the temple captures the sun rays magically at sunrise, noon, and sunset. That’s when the whole structure blazes like fire and the stone figures sparkle.

United Nations honors Gandhi’ ideals - declares Gandhi’s birthday i.e. 02 October as
“International Day of Non-Violence”

A recent poll on university campus across the US put Mahatma Gandhi ahead of political figures anywhere in the world. The only man more popular than him among the student community was Bill Gates.

A Berlin school was renamed after after Mahatma Gandhi on demand of it’s students. A large number of US universities and colleges have of late introduced courses in Gandhism. Gandhi Society at the University of Exeter offers trips to India.

The American Academy of Motion Pictures awarded the film ‘Gandhi ‘ eight Oscars in 1983.

All this clearly is evidence of revival of Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals. Indeed, the half-naked fakir of British imperial arrogance is capturing popular imagination about a world without violence.

Non-violence is not weakness. On the contrary, it is quite effective as it strips the adversary of all legitimacy. Gandhi demonstrated it’s success against imperial British. American civil rights movement of 1960s led by Martin Luther King Jr. culminated in political rights for African-Americans. Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe when confronted with non-violent resistance led by forces like Solidarity in Poland and Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia.

In 1986, a massive show of peoples power toppled Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship in Philippines. Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu played a major role in South Africa’s relatively peaceful transition from apartheid to a democracy.

Gandhi’s ideals of Truth and Non-Violence is as relevant as ever. Let us dedicate ourselves to the path shown by him to maintain peace and harmony in the world today.

The Khajuraho temples are well known for their erotic sculptures, which have been carved out in stones in explicit details.

Built by Chandela kings between 950 and 1050 AD the temples at Khajuraho were lost to civilization till the middle of 19th century when they were rediscovered.

Originally 85 temples are believed to have been built by the Chandela kings. Of these, only 24 still exist. The temples are divided into various groups namely - Western, Eastern, Southers, and Jain group of temples.

Many explanations are given for the eroticism depicted on it’s walls, such as:

1. These were meant to distract rain god Indra so as to prevent him from striking down with lightning,
2. These were meant to familiarize Brahmcharis with worldly ways,
3. Chandela kings believed in Tantra practices and had these sculptures incorporated to ward off evil eye to protect the temples as well as to depict the futility of carnal desires in the pursuit of spiritualism.

However, eroticism is but a mere segment of these temples which follow a unique architectural style characterized by the exquisite details of their sculpture and the effect of overall lightness that they produce.

These temples have now been painstakingly restored and present a stunning picture to the millions of tourists who visit them.