Udaygiri and Vidisha

Around 3 pm we went to Sanchi Stupa. It was one kilometer from the Hotel. Hot with 42 degrees centigrade, we were sweating out under the Sun. The monument was a great sight. At the entrance, there is a Bo tree which is characteristic of any Buddhist shrine. The relics are kept at aspirate place for people to worship. The actual shrine is organized by a trust jointly by Sri Lanka and India. The stupa does not contain any relics, now.

For the next one hour we were exploring the length and breadth of the monument. Our guide was explaining the nuances of gates, releifs, inscriptions and interpretations. I was listening and selectively documenting.

We saw the main stupa and stupa 2, monastery 45, temple and other minor structure in the vicinity.

In fact this was the chosen destination of this voyage. The master route was drawn with Sanchi as destination with several other via points. In a way, the mission reached its destination; the later part of the route was withdrawal, homeward.

Next day by 7 am we were out on our journey to Vidisha. We had Bunty as our guide today. What a combination ? Earlier it was Babloo now Bunty; very filmi indeed. Rakesh had a family emergency so he deputed Bunty (Chandrama Giri) as our guide.

Firstly, we drove towards Udayagiri. Around twenty kms drive on narrow roads passing through villages and farms took us to Udayagiri. These Caves and monuments were guarded by fencing by Archaeological Survey. Yet, the villagers on the other side of monument used the expanse of land between caves for various daily chores.

These were a set of 19 caves. Cave 1 being on the hill facing sunrise. Cave 3 to 6 and cave 18 and 19 had sculptures in it. Sleeping Vishnu, Mukha linga, Varaha, Nandi in Greek form are salient features. Cave 1 was farther on an elevation of 411 mts. Local ASI guard helped us by opening certain cave doors. We had a detailed glimpse of IV and V century Hindu style architecture at Vidisha.

We were now due for our hard earned break fast. Zilebi, bajjia, kachori and tea. We had them all at a road side stall. Looking at the location, we preferred having break fast in car. Zelebi as breakfast, felt strange in mouth as well as down below. Stomach empty so far did not object the payload.

We drove through busy Vidisha city roads and found our way into a Museum. This was one of the great discoveries of the voyage. No one can estimate the rich repository of heritage the museum has. There was none to sell entry tickets, allow or stop us from taking photos. With our guide, we went berserk exploring the rich sculptures of Vidsha in the Jain and Vaishnav tradition belonging to II to IV century AD.

I took photos as though in trance not bothering my knowledge about the objects. Documentation was my prime concern. I could study, research and understand once I am at home. We left the museum with loads of rare photos of characteristic Vidishan architecture.

Our guide brought us back to Sanchi and left us at the Sanchi museum. This was more organized. We were not allowed our cameras for some unknown reason. The objects were familiar and had their own splendor and appeal. It was an extension of our field visit to the Stupa.

With late lunch, I had the rest of the day for working on photos and travel notes.