Hampi is an old book whose pages are torn off except for
the last few. It is like a book with a sad ending but all pages except for the
ending are lost. So, the rest of the book is left to your imagination. And it
is not easy to imagine that. Because, if the ruins of Hampi are so beautiful,
how would you ever be able to imagine how beautiful Hampi was in its days of
glory?
All that is beautiful and glorious is only
short-lived.
A trip to Hampi had been on my to-do list
for a long time. And, after my short weekend trip to Hampi, it went right
back to my to-do-once-again list. This weekend trip offered a plethora of
different experiences, that it is safe to say that Hampi has something in
it for every kind of traveller. There is boulder climbing for the
adventure seekers; enchanting ruins for the history and art lovers; a
great variety of food for food junkies; and a lot of avenue for pot-smoking
relaxation if that suits your taste.
From "Rome of the East" to
ruins:
As our train was pulling into the Hospet
Railway station (which is the closest station to Hampi, about 13 Km
away), a bunch of locals climbed onto the moving train. They seemed to be
getting into all compartments - 1 or 2 into each compartment. The
train came to a full halt and as we got down we realized who these locals
were. They were rickshaw wallas. In the 10 seconds that they spent in the
railway compartment, they "pick and choose" tourist passengers that
they will try & convince to use their services. Pretty clever on
rickshaw walla's part. And, you instantly realize how Hampi's current economy
largely relies on tourism. But this was definitely not the case in the 15th
& 16th centuries. Back then, Hampi was a hub of trading activity. The
Capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. A western traveller, who had seen Hampi in
all its glory, even went on describe Hampi as "The Rome of the East". This
trading hub was reduced to ruins by the persistent conquests of the
Muhammadans. And today, these magnificent ruins form the life and blood of
Hampi's economy.
Two Sides of a coin:
Like many other empires, the Vijayanagara
Empire was also built on the banks of a river. The Tunghabhadra. Today the
river splits Hampi into two very diverse regions. On one side of the river are
the temples, palaces and all of Hampi's ruined beauty. We’ll call this the
"Temple Side". On the other side, are a string of guest houses along
a line of lush green paddy fields. We'll call this side, "The Paddy
side". Our bus from Hospet dropped us at the Temple street on the
Temple side and to get to our guest house on the Paddy side, we had to
cross the Tunghabhadra.
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| The Tunghabhadra River |
It was the end of the monsoon season which meant that
currents of the river were very strong. We waited, along with about 50
others - from at least 5 different nationalities, for the motor boat to take us
across. The rush meant that the motor boat operator was going to hike the
prices for the 1 minute ferry across. But there is no other option to get
to the other side. The temple side and the paddy side are exact opposites.
The
temple side is bustling with people on the streets; the paddy side is much more
peaceful. On the temple side, you get piping hot idlis from roadside
vendors; On the paddy side you get Israeli, Italian, Russian, German and Chinese
cuisines. On one side you see Lord Shiva in the Virupaksha form; On the
other, you see Lord Shiva in a trance, smoking weed. The stark contrast between
the two sides was in itself a thing of beauty.
Of Mahals, Elephant Stables and Watch
Towers:
Our first stop for the day, after a quick
breakfast and ferry back to the temple side, was the Zenena Enclosure. This
used to be a secluded area reserved for royal women folk. The high walls
of this enclosure are damaged in parts but the most of the structures in the
enclosure are pretty intact. The first thing that will catch your eye as
you enter is the Lotus Mahal. This is one of the most photogenic buildings in
Hampi because it was left untouched during the destruction of Hampi. One
could assume that the watch towers that dot the corners of this enclosure have
some role to play in the intactness of these buildings. The watchtowers
themselves however, are in a mess. Right outside the enclosure are the
Elephant Stables. About a dozen elephant stables are lined up parallel to
the rear wall of the Zenena enclosure. Here is a must do thing when you visit
this place - close your eyes and picture the elephants and their caretakers. Picture
the elephants in the dome-shaped stables. Picture the lives of the caretakers
who have to keep the elephants ready for day-to-day work as well as war
alike. These stables are time machines that are capable of taking you to an
entirely different time period.
Vittala Temple and the Rains of Hampi:
As we started towards the Vittala Temple
to see its much photographed chariot, we sensed that it was going to rain
pretty heavily. By the time we reached the temple tower, it was raining so
loud that we could hardly hear each other's voice. We ran to ruined temple
tower for shelter. The security guard at the temple tower was signaling us
to run faster and join them at the temple tower. After we were safely in
the shelter of the tower & after putting the camera away to protect it from
the downpour, we slowly began to observe the marvelous sight ahead of us.
The heavy rain drops falling on the chariot made a halo of thin white fog
around the chariot. The details on the chariot were not legible from where
we stood but we stood there admiring the beauty of the ruined temple
complex. It took a good 15 minutes for the rain to recede and the camera
to come out again.
We went inside the temple complex and we were left a little
disappointed. The first time we saw the chariot in all its details, our
immediate reaction was "Is this really the famous chariot?". There
is no denying that the chariot is a magnificent piece of art. But the
chariot has been the center of attention for so many photographers in the past
and they had made it look much more beautiful in their photographs than what it
really was. It is the same kind of disappointment as when a person with a
handsome profile picture actually turns out to be mediocre. However, the
temple complex compensates for the disappointment with little surprises here
and there - A beautiful tree right in the middle of the complex; The
intricately carved musical pillars; A foreign couple trying to steal a
kiss when no one is watching.
After spending about 2 hours at the Vittala
temple, it was time to catch the last boat to cross the river. Crossing
the Tunghabhadra can become a scary affair when it is raining, especially
given the fact that only children & the boat operator get life
jackets.
The Virupaksha & the Bazaar Street:
The next day, after a splendid breakfast
at the Gouthami Guest House, we packed off to see the Virupaksha and to do
some roadside shopping. The Virupaksha is undamaged for most parts and is still
functional. It even has a temple elephant and a "pooja token"
system, very much like any other South Indian temple. The temple also
presents a livelihood for an army of monkeys. These monkeys are adept in the
art of snatching food right off your hands. It is better to be on full
alert. The temple is usually crowded and the best times to visit are early
mornings & evenings.
A 2 minute walk from the temple takes you to the
Bazaar street. Pendants, Necklaces, Tops, Skirts, Earrings, Leather Bags, Wallets,
Fancy Bags, 2nd Hand books, Bronze statues, Wooden artwork, Sarees, Embroidery Sandals - this bazaar has a good selection of all this & more. And it
helps if you are good at bargaining. In most cases the shopkeepers are willing
to give things away at half of what they initially asked for. We shopped
till it was time for our train back.
There is so much of Hampi that is still
left untouched by us - The Lakshmi Narasimha Temple; The Mattanga Tank;The
Veerabhadra temple; Anegondi on the Paddy side; Boulder climbing; & lot
more of the peaceful afternoon naps on the edge of the paddy fields.
Hampi, I will be back.
