THE FORGOTTEN LAND OF HAMPI

A UNESCO world heritage site, Hampi is a village in Northern Karnataka. It was once the capital of the Vijayanagar empire.   I went on a study tour to Hampi... And this is my experience in the beautiful landscapes of Hampi... JJJ

Day1

We started at 4:50 am. We got stuck in the traffic because of the Independence day long week end and got late to our first stop. On the way our first stop was Chitradurga Fort. Chitradurga means Picturesque Fort. It was a place with splendid architecture and engineering. The fort was built in stages between the 17^th and 18^th century.

Let me tell you a story that is very famous when you think of Chitradurga Fort:

A lady named Obavva, whose husband was a watchman of the fort, took on  HyderAli’s soldiers when her husband had taken a break for lunch.

 The woman, Obavva , who happened to be carrying a wooden rod that is used to pound paddy, called “Onake”, killed most of the soldiers with it. But her efforts were proved futile as the soldiers killed her and Hyder Ali managed to capture the fort. The hole through which Hyder Ali’s soldiers tried to enter is called Onake Obavva Kindi.

After roaming around inside the fort  for about 2 hours  and taking in the beauty of the fort, we bid adieu to the fort.  We then went to Chandravalli caves which is 3KMs away from the fort. This is an underground cave, reeking with bats. People used to live in those caves; we saw a bedroom with an attached bath. There was a wall with depressions where people used to keep lamps lit for finding the way underground. After some time inside the caves ,my grandma felt uneasy and was breathless ,so we came out soon. It was noon already and we all were hungry. Had a quick lunch at Sreelakshmi Tiffin center at Chitradurga itself . It was not a bad lunch there.

Our next destination was Hospet-120 KMs, which is the nearest town to Hampi. The road was pretty ok, but it was single way. It took us almost 3hrs. to reach Hospet. Just before Hospet, we stopped to have a quick look at the massive Tungabhadra catchment area which was almost on the verge of  overflowing due to the incessant rains a week before. We had to cross a small tunnel to enter into Hospet city. Once at Hospet – 5:30PM – it was maddening crowd all over because of the independence day celebrations. We decided to proceed to a near by attraction, Anjanadri Hills in Anagundi village, which is 40 KMs away. If there were less water in the Tungabhadra spill way canals, it is only a coracle ride away and only 10KMs to travel to Anagundi.  At Anjanadri Hills, we had to climb up around 400 steps to reach the top of the hill.  At the top, one could enjoy the scenic view of the Tungabhadra river and a spectacular birds view of  the Vijayanagara empire . After spending some time at the top , we came down and it was almost dark – 7:30PM. On the way back to our Hotel – Malligi, we had a splendid view of the Tungabhadra dam with all the shutters open and beautifully lit.

We checked in at 9:00PM. got freshened up, had Dinner and hit the bed at 11:00PM.

What a memorable Day1 to get excited about the days ahead.

Day 2

After a good heavy break fast at the hotel, we started our Day 2 at 7:30AM. We had hired a guide – Nagaraj -  to help us in exploring Hampi. Hampi is 15KMs away from Hospet, our first stop at Hampi was Vitthala Temple. On the way, we saw Kamalapuram Lake. During the Vijayanagara reign, people used the water from the lake for irrigation purposes. We saw a Jain Temple on the way and this was a proof  that the Vijayanagara kings were secular . Daroji Bear Sanctuary was on the way.

Vitthala Temple was dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The Vijayanagar Empire was established by Hariyara and Bukka.  There were 4 dynasties. Out of these four dynasties ,King Krishnadevaraya was part of the Tuluva Dynasty. He was one of the greatest kings of the Vijayanagara Dynasty.

At Vithala temple we saw the famous Stone Chariot facing the mantapa. The mantapa has small pillars which produces music when hit with wooden sticks.

Our next stop was Queens Bath. After that we visited the Mahanavami Dhibba which was a huge platform built for the kings and queens to watch the Navaratri festival celebrations. In that complex there was a was a small pool type of structure built to place the coloured water used during Holi. We saw many granite plates used by the people to eat their food too. And there was an aqua duct which supplied water to the stepped tank called Pushkarani. There was also a secret chamber where the kings used to discuss about their defence matters.             I had entered into that place and I spoke to King Krishnadevaraya!!

Next on the historical site visit was Hazararama Temple. The Hazararama Temple walls were engraved with the stories  from the Ramayana. 

Our next destination  was the Lotus Mahal. This was the place where the queens used to stay when the kings went to war. To guard the queens, eunuchs were placed at the watch towers. This was a strategic decision taken by the kings at that time. The Lotus Mahal had iron pipes running through the walls which carried water so as to keep the building cool. Since the Vijayanagara kings were secular ,the Lotus Mahal had  Indo-Jain-Mughal architecture. Elephants Stable was the next stop. There were 11 stables for 11 elephants. On the walls there were pictures of fish. Since people were illiterate , these fish symbols showed the way to a water body.

Balakrishna Temple opposite to which was the Krishna Bazaar was our the next destination. We took a quick walk around the temple and went to an underground Shiva temple. Here there was a huge sthambha which during excavation had fallen down. The archaeologists managed to place the post back to another place.

The Kadalekalu Ganesha, the next historical remain at Hampi is a monolithic statue of Ganesha built for the royal family. The belly of the Ganesha resembles the Bengal Gram and hence the name.

Lakshmi Narasimha and Badavi Lingam were really lively. The Lakshmi Narasimha is a monolithic statue of Narasimha with Lakshmi in his lap. The invaders had destroyed Lakshmi and some parts of the Narasimha but the Archaeological Survey of India had put  back pieces of the Narasimha but a local historian – a dentist - had stopped them as  history would have not been the same . The invaders- mughals- did not destroy the Badavi Lingam since it resembled the Kaaba at Mecca.

Our stomachs had already started talking to us, so we decided to refuel ourselves at a hotel called Mango Tree. It was already crowded there, so we had to wait as it was the only decent restaurant in the locality.

Virupaksha Temple, the only functioning temple, is near by. Virupaksha is another name for Lord Shiva. Virupaksha was the  name given to Lord Shiva because of his third eye. The name Hampi is derived from Pampa and Lord Virupaksha is also called Pampapati or the husband of Pampa (Parvati). The temple had intricate sculptures on the walls and the paint that they used was still visible on the roof of the temple.  In one of the rooms , through a small window one could see the Temple Gopuram and there was an inverted shadow of the Gopuram on the wall facing opposite. This natural Pin-hole camera shows our ancestral knowledge and architectural brilliance. To be at the Virupaksha Temple  was a nice experience.  

Sasivekalu Ganesha built for the common people by a mustard merchant is near the Virupaksha temple. It was built in such a way  that one could see Ganesha sitting on Parvati’s lap. With this we had almost covered Hampi though in a quick and fast way.

Time was 3:30PM then, so as to put the icing on the cake ,we went to take in the beauty of  the Tungabhadra Dam. The Dam ,with all its shutters open ,was a remarkable sight. As it grew darker ,the illuminated dam was a remarkable feast for our eyes. It was a splendid sight.  We spent some time taking in the beauty of the dam and took numerous snaps.

We went back to our hotel, had a not so bad dinner and a good night’s sleep.

Day 3

Our final and last day in the beautiful landscapes of Hampi... After a quick and heavy breakfast ,we started our journey back to the maddening crowds of Bangalore and my daily routine of getting ready to go to school...

This is an experience that I will cherish for ever....  JJJ