Picto Diary - 17, 18 January 2017 - Ajanta and Ellora

Above: Pool. Taj Residency Hotel. Aurangabad, Maharashtra. 17 January 2017.

India. the widest spectrum. Peace and serenity inside the hotel compound. Beyond the hotel walls, car horn cacophony and mosque call to prayers.

India rising.

If you put one of these chilies in your mouth... chew it well.. and swallow it, I'll give you $50.00.
Chili plants awaiting "by hand" picking.

On the road to Ajanta from Aurangabad. 17 January 2017.

Above: 6th Century Buddhist tempras inside caves in remarkable state of preservation. TIMDT observes World Heritage site Ajanta cave complex. Spectacular Ajanta... every bit of Lalibela or Petra. 17 January 2017.

Ajanta complex started 2nd century AD. Buddha was born in Ayodha, India, 600 BC. So, 800 years of Buddhism had passed before these 1500 year old tempras were painted in 600 AD.

By the 8th Century AD, a resurgent Hinduism was pushing Buddhism out of India...to China and east Asia.

West Rome was in decline by 600 AD. East Rome became Constantinople, where the Byzantine would rule for 1000 years... only then to be taken out by the Ottomans.

My forebears were barbarians in 600 AD.

When next will the civilization worm turn?

Above: Ajanta cave Buddhist cherub. 17 January 2017.

1500 year old Buddhist cherub tempera on cave ceiling reminds Bishop of his own baby images.

Above: 1500 year old ceiling, tempera depiction of ROMEO colloquium.

Predecessor group to LSDM. "Plus ca change..." and all that. — at Ajanta Caves 17 December 2017.

Above: Daulatabad Fort, Aurangabad. Minar (minaret) - AKA: Tower of the Moon. 18 January 2017.

Built 1435. In height, 2nd only to Qtub Minar in Delhi. Delhi Sultan Tughlaq moved his capital here in 1328. He moved his entire populace here...an 1100 km trek. The area had insufficient water supply, so Tughlaq moved everybody back to Delhi a few years later. TIMDT poses under the arch. Back in the early '70's, TIMDT and Mwah ( sic) used to explore Tughlaqbad, Tughlaq's crumbling digs, south of Delhi. Today we "squared the circle."

Above: Ellora Caves. Maharashtra. 18 January 2017
Bishop, mesmerized, stares at Kamera, Jain god of prosperity. As if in a trance, Bishop thought he was looking in the mirror.
Note: Bishop backwards cap cautionary measure to avoid hitting head on low lentils in temple...not a cultural protest.

Above: Ellora Caves. World Heritage site. Maharashtra, India. 18 January 2017.
TIMDT observes Kailasanatha Temple (Hindu), largest stone monolith in the world. Compared to this, intricate ornate, basalt masterpiece, accomplished over 200 years between 700 AD and 900 AD, Lalibela carvers (basalt) were pikers.

Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist cave carvings in close proximity at Ellora, attest to high degree of multicultural tolerance of the period.

Above: School excursion at Kailasanatha Hindu monolith temple. Ellora Caves. Maharashtra. 18 January 2017.

Uniforms.
Order.
Obedience.
No participation trophies.
Segregation of sexes.
Visit to religious site to affirm cultural linkage.
Aspiration. No "snowflake" short cuts.

India rising.

Oh.... and open H1b visa floodgates. Quintuple India quota. — in Ellora.

Above: Mini Taj. Aurangabad, Maharashtra. 18 January 2017.
Fooled ya!

Mini Taj. Poor Man's Taj.

Shah Jehan built the Agra Taj honoring beloved, deceased wife Mumtaz.

His son, Aurangzeb, thought Dad was a spendthrift so he put his dad under "palace arrest" in Agra Fort for remainder of his life.

Aurangzeb's son, Azam Khan, thought Dad should honor his deceased wife like Grandpa did. "Ok," grumbled the stingy Aurangzeb, "But on a budget."

Pathetic, Aurangabad located, mini Taj, half the size of the original, and with very little serious marble work, is the outcome. — at Mini Taj Mahal, Aurangabad.

Above: Motorbikes parked at Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Airport. Mumbai, India. 18 January 2017.
Motor bikes much more efficient.

Less parking space required.

Much lower manufacturing and fuel carbon footprint.

Far more responsible use of energy in India.

US should immediately embark on a program to eliminate energy wasteful, polluting "cages" and convert all individual and family transport to two wheelers.

We must all do our part, like the Indians, to save the planet.

Note: tire studs can be used for ice and snow.