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?

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-T C Ghai