Bodhgaya

Bodhgaya is in Naxalite territory. Naxalites are Maoist bandits who terrorise much of the north east, Bihar and Orissa in particular. I was warned by many people on the train from Calcutta not to take the 15 km trip from the station at Gaya to Bodhgaya after dark because of naxalite action. Well, the train broke down halfway through the journey and I thought we would't make it before nightfall. However, after a couple of hours, (and I'm sure, much form, chit and requisition signing, shuffling and swapping) a new engine arrived and we were off again. We pulled into Gaya just at sunset; whew.
Halfway to Bodhgaya, the taxi door fell off.......it was well dark by the time we got to BG. (shrugs)
I'd wanted to visit the Barabar caves on the other side of Gaya - these are the caves where Judy Davis was "raped" in the movie "A Passage to India", but I didn't have time to organise the mandatory armed escort.
Bodhgaya is where the Buddha attained enlightenment 2500 years ago. This startling event is commemorated at the Mahabodhi Shrine (above) in the centre of the small pilgrim town. The town itself has nothing else to recommend it. The shrine is not particularly large, and by Indian standards, simple. It has the central stupa seen above and a smaller shrine behind where a descendent of the famous Bodhi tree still props up the back wall. Unlike most Indian temples which have a kind of carnival atmosphere, its a quiet place. You can hear the birds sing and the monkeys swinging in the trees. At night, monks from all the different Buddhist countries and traditions take it in turns to chant in their own particular styles as pilrims pad their way (relatively) silently around the shrine.


Next day I took a taxi 20 kms to the caves where Buddhaboy stayed for years, meditating his way to enlightenment before descending to Bodhgaya for the final act.

Here's the exterior of the cave.


I was the only one there (low season; 40 degrees) so I sat in the cave for half an hour taking in the vibe. It was cool, quiet, peaceful.
And the view out to the plain was magnificent.





















Skeletal Buddha in Cave.