I had seen him first on my school history book. He is the face of Ajanta to the world, represents all the beauty and the glory of the paintings on the cave walls created by the masters some one thousand and five hundred years ago. He is “Bodhisavtta Padmapani”. He was probably photographed a zillion times but finally I had the pleasure of photographing him myself. I was mesmerized as I stood before the exquisite mural inside cave no 1. Done on the wall, opposite to the entrance, which is the furthest part of the cave, I marvelled at the superb skill and sheer brilliance of the artisan who created this masterpiece. Today as I stood the soft glow from the high tech LED lamps illuminated the walls, but I couldn’t help wondering how these paintings were done in those time in the dark interiors of the cave where daylight hardly enters. The guide told me that the cave floor was flooded with water and the artisans worked on the reflected light of the sun falling on the water. I do not know the truth but it is simply awe inspiring. This mural retained it’s lustre even after one and half thousand years. The colours used were all natural and the artisans first prepared the cave walls by first chiselling and roughening and then applying a plaster like base made of hay, lime, clay and dung. The murals in Cave 1 and 2 held off remarkably well considering their age though flaked off at multiple places. Still one can see the exquisite work done on all the walls, including the ceiling. It must have been some sight in it’s days of glory.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 17:32:20 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015