On Saturday, on our way from Mumbai to Vapi, we spent a few hours in Sanjay Gandhi National Park -- a large nature preserve in the midst of the Mumbai suburbs. By far the highlight of the trip were the Kanheri Caves -- caves carved out of the mountains by Buddhist monks in in the first century BCE to the tenth century CE.
In addition to detailed carvings, the acoustics in the temple were spectacular. Our guide demonstrated chanting, and it filled the room with resonance.
Since it is monsoon, it was possible to see the elaborate water-collection system in action. The monks had carved water channels in the rocks that direct the water into large underground cisterns. This supplied their entire water needs until the next monsoon. At the time we were there, water was flowing over the stairs and many people were enjoying the fast-flowing stream.
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