Visited the Ellora Caves which are more wonderful than the Ajanta Caves. These people carved their magnificent temples out of rocky hills. They did not build, they carved and one must see their wonderful work to realise what marvellous craftsmen they must have been. Aurangzebe’s Wife’s Tomb at Aurangabad is a copy of the Taj Mahal at Agra. Owing to the shortage of marble a lot of plaster work has been done on this building. Nobody knows definitely where the marble came from but it is assumed that it was transported from Northern India, as marble quarries are non-existent in S. India. As this will be a distance of 2,000 miles it becomes apparent why Aurangzebe had to finish his Memorial in plaster. It is wonderful how this plaster work has stood the test of time – I understand the secret lies in polishing the plaster with cocoanut. I passed this information onto Mr. Wm. Ferguson but found I could not teach him anything about plaster work. We visited Doalatabad Fort and then back to Aruangabad for lunch. Left for Jalna 3:41pm. We had tea and dinner on the train. Very good arrangements by Cooks. Good food and well served. We arrived at Secunderabad at 6:53 the next morning after being 15 hours in the train and doing 315 miles. We had a bath under primitive conditions at Percy’s Hotel, the best in the district, and then went sightseeing at Secunderabad and Hyderabad. Saw the Nizam’s Palace, the principal shopping centres and had a motor run round the whole district. Dance at the Hotel at night in aid of Poppy Day funds when all the best people in the district were present.
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