And soon enough, after a shower and a change of clothes, we were back on the veranda, again sipping hot coffee and watching the mists move across the far hillsides.
Inscription on the back wall of the veranda dates the cave to the 2nd century A.D. The inscription translates as: "A meritorious gift of a chapel cave given by 'nanda, a son of Tapasa an Upasaka, and grandson of Kapila an Upasaka".
In the back wall of the veranda, to the left of the door to the middle hall, close under the broken verandah ceiling, is a single line inscription, flanked by the Buddhist trident in the beginning and swastika at the end.
A 2nd century, swastika-flanked inscription on the back wall of the veranda translates: "A meritorious gift of a chapel cave by the distinguished Sulasadata, son of Heranika of Kalyana [modern Kalyan near Mumbai]." Between caves 5 and 6, on higher level, is an excavation originally intended either for a dwelling or for a seat, but converted into a cistern following discovery of a rock-fault.
She sat on a floral-upholstered couch with her back to the veranda window.
Every day at sundown, one of our maids, an out-of-work opera singer, used to take me to the veranda at the back of the house, the part that overlooked the city, and with me standing beside her she would sing — full-throated, deeply sad songs — while looking out toward the setting sun.
I backed off the veranda and stood on the ample lawn.
It was bittersweet to witness the scene from a veranda at the back of the church, feeling as if I were the ghost of Christmas past.
The cool of the veranda was lovely.
