I'm "home" again, in Poona with my family after an excellent trip to the Buddhist, Hindu and Jain caves at Ajanta and Ellora. Such beautiful and amazing stuff! Though I've been there on my big Asia trip in 1999/2000, it was entirely worth revisiting (espeically with a new digital camera).

Doing this trip was essential. After our week in Goa, all we have done in India has revolved around life in big Indian cities. Life is very cosmopolitan in both Bombay and Poona, not to mention face-paced and relatively expensive. This kind of life is enjoyed by few Indians, in comparison to the rest of the country. City burn out was imminent, especially for my brother-in-law and his sister. This was there first trip to India, and city life can be tough! Doing this trip offered a view into smaller village life on our way from Poona to the caves. More importantly, the caves themselves offered all of us a view into India's rich history. The caves we saw dated back as far as 200 BC though about 800 AD. The most impressive of all was the Kailash Temple, the largest monolithic sculpture in the world. By that I mean that, over 400 years, sculptors started at the top of a giant piece of rock and cut their way down into it, creating towers, ornate wall sculptures, and a central multi-roomed temple to the Lord Shiva. Mount Kailash (in Tibet) is known as Shiva and Parvati's Himalalyan home, and this temple was a representation of this.

I was floored when I saw this in '99 and was equally floored now. Simply one of the most incredible and important things that I have laid eyes on.

Pictures will come. I have also uploaded a bunch more photos (inlcuding some Indian ones, finally):

www.flickr.com/photos/sanjpardanani/

I should've arrived in Bombay with my sister and crew this evening to catch a 4am flight to Bangkok and start my long journey home. Instead I've decided to stay on this week and return to SF next Saturday, 1/20.

My dad is still in the hospital! We are hoping we can get him home in the next few days. I'm sticking around to help Mom.

Speaking of Mom, gotta run home and meet her for dinner...