If stones could sing | Book on Ellora Caves

There can never be too many books with photographs of Ellora, surely one of the most visually stunning archaeological sites in the world, developed between the sixth and the ninth centuries CE. So magnificent and overwhelming are the caves that the images will always dwarf (literally and metaphorically) whatever is written about them. This book, by Deepanjana Klein and Arno Klein, is no exception to that rule despite the pretty solid essays it contains. Ellora’s rock carvings demand to be represented in black and white images and, here, Arno Klein’s pictures masterfully elevate the grey-black tones and rough textures of the basalt rock that give the carved figures their character. His photos capture the stillness of the Buddhist figures, the dynamism of Shiva and Vishnu in their iconic postures (Nataraja, Vamana, Narasimha), the austere intimacy of the vihara and the vastness of a universe teeming with other beings. The Jain caves at Ellora have never been my favourite, but in a less dramatic way, even they have sculptures that catch your breath and give you pause.