the weekend like no other

I seem to have developed a penchant for declaring topics with the word weekend in them, but I am largely forced to do so by the content of such blogs, not mere exhibition. Anyway, the last weekend of November was --- a weekend like no other!
By and large, the plan was that we would be going to Ajanta-Ellora. Yes, after so many deserted thoughts, and discarded attempts, here was a reality! All through the middle of the week, I was busy applying and feeling cozy that the renormalization issues for the diffusion project had worked out. Thursday morning I didn't check the arXiv. I didn't come to know until Saumen-da told me. Our work was already out. Or so we thought! It wasn't long before we realized that whatever form the work had come out, wasn't the one we were aiming for. Thus, our analysis is still more or less, in the clear! But it is imperative that we complete it soon; other people are working on it.
And about Ellora and Ajanta--they were majestic and mystic; forlorn and extragavagant, but none more awe-inspiring than the Kailash Temple, an architectural feat to compete the best in the world. Built from top-down, it is carved from a single rock. So much genius, so much labour, and so much faith involved--it makes me shudder for a moment when I think about it.
It took us about a whole afternoon to cover the Kailash Temple, then after a lunch, we saw Aurangzeb's tomb and Bibi-ki-maqbara in the evening. The former was a very simple affair, with the Emperor having declared at some time that he would want to be buried like a common man, under the starry sky. The Bibi-ka-maqbara was hardly fascinating. An imitation of Taj Mahal, of course; but the designs and the carvings on it were also pretty mundane.
Next day was the time for the majestic Ajanta. All of them are carved on a horse-shoe shaped mountain flanking a deep gorge. They are mostly Buddhist, in contrast to Ellora which is mostly Hindu. Ajanta was bulit in the heyday of Buddhism in India. The colors and the paintings made in the caves are again, to say the least, finest of their kind in the world. I regret to see that they have deteriorated so. What they must have looked like when they were made, I cannot dare to dream about! We managed to cover all the caves, excepting cave 2, leaving time in the end to go up a sharp, steep cliff which offered a beautiful view of the caves on the other side from above.
The morning of the third day was spend in looking around the more important caves of Ellora. Some of the sculptures were so majestic and huge that it made me pause and wonder at the conception of beauty. You are invited to see my pictures in Picasa.
The afternoon was devoted to the Daulatabad fort, before the long ride home. The Fort is pretty big, and was famous for being impregnable. It was initially constructed by the rulers of Devgiri, and until treacherously taken by Ala-ud-din Khilji, stood proudly looking around. It was also the site that Mohammed-bin-Tughlaq tried to shift his capital to from Delhi. He was the one who called it Daulatabad. We took a guide to show us around the maze that was constructed to confound enemies who would have broken the last lines of defence through the moat into the heart of the fort. Totally rocking! What extreme defenses, what clever scheming to get rid of the enemies. In the pitch darkness of the maze, air would be blown to lure the armies to some spot, where hot oil would be poured on them.
The effectiveness of the trip was enhanced by the fact that we stayed in the Hotel Kailash, where the shooting of the film Kailashe Kelenkari took place. A Satyajit Ray book was shot by his son, Sandip Roy. The hotel is situated about 5 minutes walking distance from the entrance of the Kailash Temple; and from the lawn in front of our rooms one could see some of the far flung caves of Ellora. Being so far away from town the place was calm and quiet, free of noise and more importantly, light pollution!
I was also acquainted with the Lonely Planet series, since we went by the caves with proper references making a note of what was the interesting features to see. This is one value that I had not appreciated so much earlier--you see a place not only as a building but also as a symbol of what is represented there and its history. The light and sound show of Golconda fort was one such memorable experience 4 years back.
And yes, about long driving. I had never appreciated that before at all, since I had never done it before. No, I didn't drive. But since I sat beside the driver for quite a long time, I was instrumental to some extent in ensuring that he didn't feel sleepy by making small conversation, and much more importantly not falling asleep myself.
Together with the fact that our work was safe, this was a very nice trip!