Photo : Courtesy
My new travel book Ajana Ajanta. This book is mainly about the experience of visiting the mysterious caves of Ajanta. And Ajanta is one of the signs of the ancient civilization of the world.
Ajanta is about 101 km from the commercial city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The caves were carved into the mountain from 200 BC. Originally Buddhist monks or monks created the caves by carving out the mountains in the secluded Ajanta for cultural practice or religious practice or worship. Not only the caves, Buddhist monks in these caves have created various works of art including Buddha statues by cutting the rock mountains with skillful hands; In the language of the industry it is called 'relief work'.
Apart from this, there are many artworks on the roof or ceiling of the cave; Which in art language is called fresco. Of course, these relief works and frescoes are made in the style of sculpture or sculpture. So in simple words these works of art can be called sculptural works of art. And along with these sculptural artworks, Buddhist monks have created various paintings including Buddha's biography or Buddha's birth story in different colors on the walls of the caves. All in all, the caves are mysterious.
Anyone will be amazed by these works of art. There are 30 small caves in Ajanta. One of the caves is a chaitya or shrine. Another one is Bihar. However, each cave art has a different variety. Chaitya caves are mainly for worship. And in the caves there are many small rooms besides the statue of Buddha. These rooms were used as accommodation for Buddhist monks or nuns or their students or Buddhist ascetics. However, Ajanta, which took about 900 years to build, was suddenly completely abandoned in the 9th or 10th century, which is still mysterious. After that, these art-rich caves were hidden from people's eyes for about a thousand years.
Basically, what I have seen and learned by visiting these caves of Ajanta, I have tried to present in simple words in the book 'Ajana Ajanta'. However, I have not tried to explain the depth of Ajanta's art. I have only expressed my own viewing experience.
The book is published by Chamon Prokash. Cover by Dewan Atiqur Rahman. The price is 250 Taka. The book is available at Batighar Banglamotor (Bishwa Sahitya Kendra) and Aziz Market branches in Shahbagh.
TDM/AH
