Cave 3 - Bhaja Caves

Bedse and Karla, done. Now the last one of the triad- Bhaja Caves.

This time, I decided to go on my Pleasure. Also there is something crazy I did.

I wanted to surprise Meera kaku (means 'aunty'), I met her last week while I had gone to the Karla caves. Just as I reached the Karla village I went and asked for an aged woman named Meera. The confused villagers led me to both the Meeras of the village. I went around the village, din't find the Meera I was looking for. Sad,. isn't it? 

Now for the amazing part, I asked for directions and reached Bhaja 'leni' (caves). Parked for 10 bucks and started climbing the stairs to the caves. The inclination of the stairs and my almost empty stomach got me tired along the stairs. I sat for some rest, looked up the stairs, decided to sprint a short distance. Wrong decision,. almost gave me a faint. Sat for awhile at the ticket booking office, drank some water, started climbing again, this time with a uniform pace.

Very less people, peaceful atmosphere. The only thing that irritates, is the part where people just keep clicking pictures and make noise, and when there are papers and chocolate wrappers around. It gets difficult when you see a woman resting on her boyfriend's lap inside one of the 'tapasya' (meditation) rooms of the cave. You should also know that the water is very pure in the caves. Below is a picture that would definitely need and explanation. Find the explanation below,.

Click to Enlarge

The picture above is a reflection of me, in very clear water, above which you can almost see the bottom of the water container. The water level can be seen on the bottom left of the image. You can't love stuff like this, enough.

Just as I entered., this amazing view slapped me in the face.

One of my best panoramas- The Bhaja Caves!

A path to the right, takes you to the stupas, that looked like.. 

Stupas, unique to the Bhaja caves.

 A snap from between the stupas.

Below is the door which is opened to only those who requests/tips the guards. I requested, but did not tip. This was what the room contained, a few deities and a few tapasya rooms. 

From inside of the 'almost always closed' room.

I reached the end of the caves, sat in the last tapasya ghar (meditation cubicle) and closed my eyes with a straight back.  It occurred to me that I was meditating, as the human noises and the birds' chirps got less louder.

The cave from another angle, on my way back.

Then I posed for a selfie from the inside of a cave-like-structure on the 1st floor. The stairs that lead look heavenly. And as I clicked a picture of the stairs, I did get that weird look from everyone else who were there.

The stairs,

And, the selfie.

Then I descended down the stairs and had some lemon juice which felt just too good!

The best part is when you have no one along to rush you through all this.

Where all have you been? Alone? Let us know in the comments.