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Daulatabad Fort

The Daulatabad Fort, also in Aurangabad, dates back to 14th century C.E. Along the lengthy trek to the summit, one passes over an inescapable moat and through pitch-black bat-filled twisting staircases. Courtyards, shrines and monuments line the trail, affording some rest from the main hike. Inside the citadel atop the fort, I shared lunch and conversation with a group of young men who lived in the area. On the way down, countless Indian children swarmed around me, also making the descent. One young girl, a few years older than her peers, boldly issued a "Hello!" with outstretched hand and set jaw before breaking into giggles when I returned the same. That previously set jaw swiftly dropped when I asked in Hindi how her day was, a reaction I quickly followed with a fake gasp and the exclamation "Vuh Hindi bolta hai!" or "He speaks Hindi!" She and her friends' eyes widened and giggles poured forth tenfold as I grinned and head-bobbed at her stunned expression. I love the kids here.

Mar 21, 2009

Photos: 161

Ellora Caves

The Ellora caves represent the Buddhist, Hindu and Jain faiths, dating back as far as 550 C.E. This album features only pictures of the Buddhist cave as I spent my camera battery on the stunning Kailasanatha Temple (see next album). I'll steal and upload my friend's pictures of the Jain caves soon. While exploring the Buddhist caves, we noticed a group of Indians frantically waving their arms and motioning us inside. A few minutes later, we learned that someone had disrupted a large bee's nest in one of the nearby caves - a cave we'd need to past if we wanted to see the rest of the caves or, you know, leave. Learning of a second exit, we followed some fellow tourists to a large locked iron gate, which one could sort of climb around, if not over. Moments after scurrying up and around, the man with the keys to the gate arrived, and managed to pry it about six inches open. Weirdly liberated, we meandered down the road to the entrance of Ellora and approached the Kailasanatha Temple.

Mar 20, 2009

Photos: 38

Ellora Caves - Kailasanatha Temple

Located within the Ellora Caves, the Kailasanatha Temple is, quite honestly, the most incredible man-made structure I've ever seen. While we were marveling, my friend Taylor asked a question I'd already been pondering, "How is this not one of the seven wonders of the ancient world?" Carved out of a single, massive basalt cliff, the Kailasanatha Temple was built in the spirit of Mt. Kailash, the dwelling of Lord Shiva. A U-shaped, three-storied courtyard surrounds the main temple, rife with sculptures, passageways and decorated columns. In the center sits the massive main temple within which resides a Shiva lingam which is still worshiped by Hindus today. No words can capture the sheer detail and scale of this temple. But the fact that it took ten generations just to complete the carvings may give you some idea.

Mar 20, 2009

Photos: 95

Ajanta Caves

One action-packed weekend, some friends and I traveled to Aurangabad in the state of Maharashtra, home of the Ellora and Ajanta Caves. Ajanta's caves are strictly Buddhist, dating back to second century B.C.E. We explored most of the twenty-nine excavated caves, taking in the ancient paintings, carvings and super-sized Bodhisattva sculptures along the way. Most of them featured a single, large Buddha, seated in the teaching position, surrounded by nymphs, lions, and other Buddhist symbols. Though it was a hot summer day, enough tourists (mostly locals) were out to attract information guides. These guides all but grabbed you by the wrist, taking you around the cave and explaining what's what before extending a smile and open hand, requesting a donation. Any protests were met by shameless guilt-induction, without regard for the quality of services rendered or the tourist's understanding of the transaction he'd unwittingly agreed to. Dodging them from the start was a task.

Mar 19, 2009

Photos: 144

Holi

Holi, the Festival of Colors, is ostensibly celebrated throughout India for such lofty reasons as the triumph of good over evil and spring over winter. But as any Indian will tell you, people really just want an excuse to cover each other with colored powder, water and the occasional egg. While playing with the other students on campus, I was lucky enough to accumulate all three in staggering quantities.

Mar 10, 2009

Photos: 209

Mysore - A bus, a palace, a market, a fancy hotel

CIEE took us on a weekend trip through Bangalore to Mysore, the second largest city in the state of Karnataka. While there, we visited the Mysore Palace, which was constructed from 1897-1912 for the former royal family of Mysore. Nowadays, half of the palace belongs to the government and is maintained as a museum, while the other half still belongs to the heirs of the former royal family. Sadly, cameras were not allowed inside but you can see the palace exterior here. After seeing the palace, we journeyed into a local market where potent scents of fresh vegetables, bananas, incense and perfume joined forces to overpower our collective olfactory systems. Later that evening, we arrived at the lavish Sandesh hotel where I was lucky enough to share a suite with two friends and feast on their breakfast and dinner buffets.

Mar 7, 2009

Photos: 68

Mysore - Shravanabelagola: Home of Gomatheswara

For our second day in Mysore, we traveled to Shravanabelagola, a major Jain pilgrimage center and home to the massive Gomatheswara statue, built approximately a thousand years ago. The album cover captures my first sighting of the statue. Having walked off to the side after the long many-staired ascent, I turned around and nearly jumped out of my skin to discover a giant stone head, looming over the main temple. Numerous other sculptures immortalize Jain saints who dedicated their lives to Jainism's teachings of nonviolence. Afterwards, a local hacked open fresh coconuts and I drank the first coconut milk I've ever actually enjoyed (outside of a Pina Colada, that is).

Mar 7, 2009

Photos: 76

Melkote - At the Dharamashala and around town

After Shravanabelagola, we shuttled over to Melkote, a small, local village for a traditional Iyengar (Hindu Brahmin caste) lunch at the local Dharamashala (a place where pilgrims, wanderers and vagabonds can stay while on their journeys), possibly the best meal I've had in India yet. Afterwards, we had the opportunity to wander around the lanes of Melkote, an 'actual' Indian village. You'll notice pictures of signs posted on some houses of a red flame set between the trunks of a white U. These signs denoted that the family within was of the Iyengar caste and worshipers of Vishnu. Finally, we visited the local ancient temple, dedicated to Shiva. In Hindu temples, the main statue of the deity is believed to house the actual God, and is never moved once set into place. I was stunned to realize that the statue of Shiva within had resided in that single place for over eight hundred years. Or, to put it into perspective, approximately four times as long as my own country has existed.

Mar 7, 2009

Photos: 76

Gokarna - Boatin' and Hikin'

After exploring the southern beaches, we took a motorboat from Paradise Beach (the southernmost) back to Om Beach. After refueling on water and sunscreen, we set off hiking into the northern crags. While we never did find the beach we were looking for, we did get in some great hiking, no thanks to non-existent trails.

Feb 21, 2009

Photos: 68

Gokarna - Southern Trails and Beaches

Om Beach is the northernmost beach in Gokarna (Gokarna itself being located a little ways south of Goa), south of which exist a number of other beaches, reached by trails under palmed canopies. We spent a long morning hiking the cliffs and paths leading from one beach to the next and cooling off in the ocean at each successive beach. The water was warm, the views incredible and the food, oh God, the food. Sidenote: At the last beach, peppered with visitor-inhabited grass huts, I managed to carry on an entire conversation in Hindi with a young man selling necklaces. He told me I should see Hellsing before insisting (despite her protests and to our great amusement) that Abby was Japanese and leaving us in search of business, his 'Origato' hanging in the hot, salty air.

Feb 20, 2009

Photos: 75

Gokarna - Om Beach and Namaste Cafe

Gokarna is, simply, paradise. Despite also occupying a slot on the Israeli hippie beat, it's less touristy than Hampi. Still largely in it's natural state, Gokarna reminded me of what Hawaii must have been like before all of the hotels and businesses moved in. These pictures are of Namaste Cafe, the hostel where we stayed (huzzah for bungalows) and Om Beach, the otherwise fairly empty beach upon which Namaste resides. Om beach lines the Arabian Sea/Indian Ocean, featuring wandering bovine and daydreaming canines. Endless palm trees and hulking boulders overlook moterboats waiting to ferry you across the way to the other, nearby beaches. Besides these boats and wandering visitors, the only marks of men are stout grass huts scattered here and there, offering mango lassis and grilled garlic kingfish. Like I said, paradise.

Feb 20, 2009

Photos: 79

On the Way to Gokarna

We passed through a fairly rural part of Western Karnataka on our bus ride from the nearest trainstop to Gokarna proper. Note the stacks of bricks and lumber, the main commerce, I'm presuming, of the surrounding area. Also note the people, cows, scenary and makeshift villages: not commerce but infinitely more photogenic.

Feb 19, 2009

Photos: 83

Hampi - Hanuman Temple

In Hampi, atop a massive hill of sprawling boulders, sits a temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Hanuman, king of the monkeys. The Ramayana tells of Hanuman leading an army of monkeys to defeat the demon king Ravana. Now his monkeys tend to steal tourists' waterbottles.

Feb 6, 2009

Photos: 104

Hampi

Imagine if one day humankind colonized Mars and decided to grow rice, bananas and mangoes exclusively. Accordingly, imagine a lot of hippies decide to live there. If you're visualizing shimmering rice patties as far as the eye can see, lined with towering palmed mango trees and shorter, wider-leaved banana trees, all superimposed upon a bizarre, red, rocky hillscape, you've closely approximated Hampi. Fill in the spaces with dreadlocked Israelis donning kurta pyjamas and table-watching Indians hawking handcrafted clay meditation balls, marble sculptures and camel's leather journals. Now just spatter the horizon with ridiculously elaborate temples stacked upon ridiculously precarious boulders. There, that's it.

Feb 5, 2009

Photos: 120

Meeting Zuni

My Hindi teacher, Bhavani, invited my class over for lunch one Friday afternoon, allegedly to make up a missed class, but actually so that we could meet her adorable daughter Zuni and eat her delicious home cooking.

Jan 29, 2009

Photos: 17

Golconda Fort

Golconda Fort was a fortress citadel originally built by the Qutb Shahi kings to defend against Mughal invaders from the north. In its heyday, the Fort was the capital of the Qutb Shahi kingdom and the center of India's diamond trade. The kings who lived here are buried in the Qutb Shahi tombs, a kilometer north of the Fort.

Jan 24, 2009

Photos: 149

Markets and temples

I spent a day exploring the Abids, just south of the Old City. We first visited the AII Expositional grounds, where a flea market of epic proportions was taking place. After winding through a few alleys and streets, we next found our way to the Hare Krishna Temple, where Hindus chanted and meditated while an ascetic recited ancient Sanskrit prayers. Finally, we walked north for a ways before finding a local cathedral which was closed but looked quite impressive under the night sky. After another forty minutes, we found our way to Pride of Hyderabad and feasted on stuffed Tandori-style chicken drumsticks, butter naan and gulab jamen.

Jan 24, 2009

Photos: 21

Nehru Zoo

Went to the local zoo (named after India's first prime minister) with some friends, which was quite beautiful and had a variety of wildlife (the white tigers and hippopotami were my personal favorites). At one point, lagging behind and taking pictures, I was joined by a group of kids ("Hey man! What are you doing, man?") who showed me around the place ("You want to see big cats, yes?") and let me take their picture before heading home.

Jan 23, 2009

Photos: 92

Obama Inauguration Party

Some of my friends were randomly approached by members of Democrats Abroad and invited to a party for Obama's inauguration. We got dressed up in our kurtas and saris and headed over to the party, where we consumed actual Western food, talked with ex-pats and watched the inauguration. It was, in a word, surreal.

Jan 20, 2009

Photos: 7

Meeting the children

We visited a bridge school, organized by the M.V. Foundation, where children who had been doing manual labor (often for more than twelve hours a day at less than half the minimum wage) now live and go to school. The kids were incredibly friendly and inviting as only kids can be, and several of them shared their stories with us. They also loved playing with our cameras.

Jan 16, 2009

Photos: 154

Sankrati Festival

On January 14th, there's a holiday called Sankrati. On this day, hundreds of people come out to fly kites, the strings of which are coated with glass dust. When flying their kites, people try to cut each others' strings using their own in a game called kite-running. Most of these pictures are from Shilparamam, a local craft village where people gathered for the holiday.