Two thousand two hundred years ago work began on an extensive series of cave monuments in Maharashtra, India. Over a period of hundreds of years, thirty one monuments were hewn piece by piece from the rock face. Then, some speculate around the year 1000 AD, they fell in to disuse. Dense jungle grew around, hiding the caves away from human eyes.
The Ajanta caves lay undisturbed for hundreds of years. Then, in April 1819, during the time of the British, Raj, an officer with the unassuming name of John Smith, came rediscovered a doorway to one of the temples. He had been hunting tigers – something of which many would disapprove today but his next step was disrespectful in the extreme. He vandalized one of the walls with his name and the date, something which is still visible today.
One can only imagine what went through Smith’s head when he made his find. Such a rediscovery did not remain secret for very long. Soon, European and Indian tourists were thronging to the site – after extensive tidying up. After all, the caves had been home to bat, birds and larger animals for hundreds of years. The Ajanti Caves had been returned to the world of the living. . . .
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