Model in rock

Wiping copious beads of sweat from her brow, 27-year-old Frenchwoman Candice Laplace, a self-described globetrotter, confessed Ajanta was at par with her favourite historical site, Machu Picchu in Peru. As she put it, ‘‘It is amazing how well Ajanta has been conserved without interfering much with its inherent features. Not only that, the guards here are helpful and there are no unnecessary disturbances, like hawkers.’’

Swiss architect Christian Baumgartner went a step further. To him, even the Colosseum in Rome didn’t measure up: ‘‘There is so much commercial activity permitted at the Colosseum. You don’t quite enjoy the place.’’

How did Ajanta do it? Actually, it took 14 years. In 1991, the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) designed the Ajanta-Ellora Conservation and Tourism Development Project. In 2005, Phase I is complete and Phase II is taking its first steps. The first phase broadly envisaged conservation and the improvement of infrastructure. It also entailed a marginal increase in entry fees. The total cost for an Indian national visiting the caves is Rs 32 per head, as opposed to, say, Rs 10 for Taj Mahal. Yet, as is apparent, people are only too willing to pay if they get their money’s worth. The ‘‘user pays’’ principle is also at work at the foot of the hill leading to the caves. Maintained by Sulabh International, the toilet and bath facilities here can be accessed for Rs 4 a person. The toilets in the cave premises don’t attract a charge, but are very clean nonetheless.

None of this happened in a day. In 1991, a masterplan was prepared by Tata Consultancy Services. Phase I was assessed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). A grant-loan of Rs 126 crore from Japan helped in seven ways — monument conservation, augmenting Aurangabad airport, upgrading roads to the monument, improving quality of water supply, supplementing electric supply and putting in place a visitor management system.

A.S. Rathod, regional manager, MTDC, is the project’s chief coordinator. ‘‘The first phase,’’ he said, ‘‘concentrated on the basic infrastructure and necessary amenities. The second phase is meant not only for the Ajanta-Ellora area but for the cave circuit of the state, including development and repair of Elephanta, Nashik ghat, Bhaja and Bedsa. JBIC has sanctioned a soft loan of Rs 300 crore for Phase II.’’

From Viewpoint, the location where British soldier John Smith is said to have rediscovered Ajanta’s rock-cut shrines and monasteries, created between 200 BC and 600 AD, the horse-shoe shaped cave complex seems almost innocuous. ‘‘So much has changed since the last time I came here,’’ said London-based Mani Suri, training his camera from Viewpoint. Suri’s previous trip was in the 1960s. The change has been for the better: trelisses on pillars, seats, flower gardens and a restaurant-in-progress. Tourists can take their cars to Tea Point, four kilometres from the cave complex. Here they have to get onto eco-friendly buses. Tea Point also houses 78 shops, moved from their earlier perch on the approach road to the caves, and the 30-room, one-restaurant MTDC resort. A pathway built across the gorge give direct access to the caves. A new road built next to the old one on the ridge that hosts the caves ensures a two-way flow.

Ajanta and Ellora together attract about 700,000 tourists a year. To enter a two millennia old cave, the visitor must leave his shoes outside, and walk in to soak in paintings lit by soft fibre optic points. These don’t damage the colours. ‘‘The conservation has involved using ethyl silicate to bind stone sculptures,’’ said an ASI official, ‘‘and the wall murals required cleaning the paintings of their soot, using organic chemicals. The colours used by the ancient artists were mineral ones and the challenge has been to ensure they are preserved to the best of our ability. We move very slowly, at the rate of three to four square metres per year.’’ ASI’s conservation methods were initially objected to by some, among them American art historian Walter M Spink. An Ajanta-phile for 40 years, Spink’s motto is simple: the less conservation the better. As he pointed out, the soot from lamps lit for prayer by devotees when the caves had just been consecrated, actually protected the cave paintings: ‘‘These paintings have been over-cleaned.’’

Spink also objected to the generators that throbbed outside the caves to keep the lights going: ‘‘They make the caves vibrate too.’’ ASI said the generators were being moved down the hill and conservation for Phase II would be done after attempting to reach a consensus with a panel of experts. ‘‘The experts met in November 2004 and, accordingly, an MoU has been signed with the government of Italy for expert conservators,’’ said N.N. Kanade, superintending archaeological engineer.