Monday, November 15, 2010

AJANTA CAVE PAINTINGS



THOUGHTS ON VISITING AJANTA CAVES














What's this princess doing here
In this solitary gorge
Among the monks
Meditating on life's sorrows?

Even after fifteen centuries
One can inhale the fragrance
From her freshly bathed body
The jewels that adorn her
Are still avant-garde
The chipped-off paint still brings out
The dark lustrous smoothness
Of her youthful form, as she stands
Between her maids, a mirror in hand
Enamoured of her own beauty
Glowing like a forest fire at night

What's she doing here
Among these monks
Who have vowed to conquer desire?
Is she here to remind them
Of the cycle of countless births
They must traverse
To cool the fires that sear their loins?

Or, perchance, she's here to melt
The sculptured serenity of the Buddha himself
And lead him back to the world
To a celebration of desire?
***
-T C Ghai

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