Our Dussera holiday agenda this year included Hampi. Finally!
A place that we had been talking about visiting for several years. All it took was a train reservation on the aptly named Hampi express and a call to the Jungle Lodges resort.
And that was it. Plain and simple.
Soon the day, rather evening, dawned and we were off to see Hampi.
Our driver from the resort was there waiting for us first thing next day morning at Hospet train station. Our ride to the resort was a rickety Bolero. The reception desk did a great job of getting us to breakfast and into our rooms quickly, quietly and efficiently. I immediately took a liking to the whole place with its a rough unfinished, in-the-middle-of-nowhere appearance, not too dissimilar to the afore-mentioned Bolero.
We were met at brekker by the Manager who immediately helped us feel at home. The food was great, the quality of the food was fantastic throughout our stay. The chef checked in on us time and again during meal times and it felt like we were eating homemade cooking!
Soon it was time to plan the day's events. As it turned out, lots to do once we got there besides the remnants of the palaces and temples from the Vijayanagar kingdom!
Soon we were off to the Anjanadri hills, the birthplace of Lord Hanuman.
This entire area is said to be Kishkindha from the Ramayana era and a visit to Lord Hanuman's place of birth sounded like a great way to get going.
The 'road' to Anjanadri took us through Anegundi village. Our driver, who doubled as our guide, told us a bit of history about Anegundi, the original capital of the Vijaynagar empire as we learned, before the kings moved the capital to Hampi. He pointed out the Gagan Mahal, which obviously not in great shape anymore, used to be the palace of the Vijaynagar kings. Getting to Anjanadri meant rides on a boat and an auto rickshaw since our Bolero could not get across the river. The climb up Anjanadri hill, courtesy the 570 steps, (the kids did the counting, I didn't) was a great way of getting the old juices flowing. Once the summit was reached, with some great views of the surrounding areas and the river Tungabhadra to keep us company, it was time for clambering up some rocks after the visit to the Hanuman temple. Some time for the kids and their dad to act like little Vanaras for a little bit :)
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| View from the top of Anjanadri hills |
Pampa Sarovar was the next destination. Lots of legends related to Parvati and Shiva are associated with this place. In addition to the lovely pushkarani, the other interesting place here was Sabari's cave. Yes, the same Sabari from the Ramayana, who lovingly offered Lord Rama fruits when he visited. Many illustrious, venerated souls and visitors had trodden these trails before us for sure.
Next was a visit to the Nava Brindavan, an island with the tombs of the Madhwa saints. This made for a very nice boat ride across the Tungabhadra. Beautiful lush greenery all around and we got to spot a few blue herons as well!
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| View from the banks of the Tungabhadra, Krishnadeva Raya Samadhi |
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| View from the boat coming back from Nava Brindavan |
Hearing names of places like Rishyamuka mountains, Matanga Rishi, Pampa etc brought back memories of tales from the old Amar Chitra comics. One can imagine how this rough-and-tough afforested place would have made a great place for a great Vanara kingdom from many eons ago!
All in all, a fantastic start to our trip!
After a great lunch and a bit of stretching out, off we were to see Sloth bears at the Daroji Bear Sanctuary. Yes, as I mentioned previously, Hampi is not just about temples and palaces! A rough ride it was through the park, as our driver took us on roads that weren't really 'roads'. Saw quite a few peacocks along the route. Soon we reached the lookout point after a bit of, yes, some more climbing. Our driver/guide provided us with binoculars. After what seemed like an eternity, we spotted 2 of the bears on the hillside. They seemed to have come for the treats put out for their 'afternoon snack' by forest rangers. We of course, were watching sitting securely across from them on another hill. Soon there were 3 more bears. And more peacocks and a couple of wild boars. None of us had expected this veritable bounty!
The next day, yes after a fantastic breakfast, we were off to Hampi for a guided tour. We heard about Harihara and Bukka, the brothers who founded the city. Not unlike Romulus and Remus from Rome. No she wolf legend here, but our guide kept us engaged with the story about how a hare turned around on their hounds during a hunting expedition, thereby leading them to think that the place was auspicious for a new city. Our guide took us first to the Mustard (Sasivekalu) Ganesha, apparently built by a trader over 500 years ago. Made out of a single rock, this was a great visual spectacle, notwithstanding the damage to the idol.
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| Ganesha seated on mother's lap |
We were soon climbing up more steps from where the view was terrific. Hard to miss the coarse and broken hilly terrain all around, with man-made fortress walls built to fill in any breaks in the natural formations. Add in the waters of the Tungabhadra river and this must have made it difficult for any invading armies to get through in those days.
Listening to the guide talk about these Hemakuta hills, reminded one about Saint Purandaradasa's Geetam which went '...hemakuta simhasana virupaksha....'. The Purandaradasar mantapam where the Saint musician spent his last days was another highlight of the trip. The overall ambiance, chirping birds, the river Tungabhadra gurgling over slippery rocks, all must have surely inspired several of his divine creations! This trip made it all come to life.
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| Inside Purandaradasar Mantapam |
It was fascinating to see how the ancient builders had made small cylindrical cuts in the boulders to help cut out the massive rocks into more manageable sizes. They must have had quite a bit to do in those days considering the scale of construction efforts undertaken by their suzerains!
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| 5 Lingams |
From this vantage point, one could see the Vittala temple complex, Matanga hills, several Jain temples as well as the Virupaksha temple complex. We were told that several structures in this area predated the Vijayanagar empire. The Virupaksha temple was a marvel in itself with its sculptures and paintings. Quite the visual feast! To see an exhibition of the pinhole camera effect, the inverted shadow of the Gopuram, can be seen a few hundred feet away at the other end of the temple, was fascinating.
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| View from Hemakuta |
Apparently, the entire area had been in quite a decrepit condition until a couple of decades ago. The Archaeological Society of India and the Government have done quite a bit of restorative work since then. And there are apparently more places yet to be dug, more restorations to be come.
Who knows what other treasures are waiting to be discovered and restored!
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| View from Kadalekalu Ganesha temple |
Talk about urban planning. There were the religious areas separated from the areas used by the royals.
The visits to these areas brought out in yours truly, reactions ranging from wonder all the way to sadness. The details that went into provisioning water through the aqueducts and canals, stone 'table places' for the hungry, weary travelers, the mantapams for traders and merchants both local and foreign...how much planning and attention to detail must have gone into developing what must have been a bustling city! And how little effort in comparison must it have taken for invaders to destroy this city!
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| Lasts longer than Corning ware! |
We also visited all the main tourist attractions (of course!) including the Kadalekalu Ganesha, Badavalinga, the Narasimha temple, Achutaraya temple, Vittala temple complex, the Hazara Rama temple complex, the elephant stables, the Zenana enclosure, the lotus mahal, the queens bath, noblemens quarters, the underground Shiva temple and the Mahanavami Dibba. And not to forget, the secret enclosure next to the Dibba! We all got a kick climbing down the steep steps to the bottom of the not-so-secret-anymore enclosure.
The Mahanavami Dibba platform was apparently used during Krishnadeva Raya's time by the king and his family to view the Navaratri 9 day celebrations. A precursor to the modern day Mysuru Dussera traditions. The intricate carvings on the granite base, depicting foreign traders, elephants, musicians, scenes from daily lives of those people from those days, just amazing! Unfortunately, only the base of most buildings are left to tell these stories, the wooden structures on top having been burnt down by invaders.
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| Kadalekalu Ganesha |
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| Lakshmi Narasimhar |
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| Chariot at the Vittala temple complex |
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| A multi-headed bull |
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| An original dance move! |
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| Bazaar Road outside Achyutaraya temple |
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| Remnants of the old bridge near Purandaradasar Mantapam |
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Story of Shravana Kumar from the Ramayana
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Wow!
Every carving made by some unknown artisan, telling a story, be it from the Ramayana, various puranas or simply real world stories of kings, queens and their nobles, travelers, artists, musicians or businessmen adding to a kingdom's grandeur. Hearing about Sugriva's cave en route to the Purandaradasar mantapam as well as the Kodandarama temple where, it is said and as we were told, Vali was killed and Sugriva was crowned king, certainly made my day!
And the birds! Not much of a bird watcher myself per se, besides having the ability to identify the common Indian crow consistently. But by the end of the trip, words like francolins, quails, doves, bulbuls, babblers, sunbirds, crocodile birds rolled off our tongues as if we had been speaking 'bird' forever. The single lasting memory for all us is is that of an Indian eagle owl that seemed to pose for us for what seemed like an eternity.
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| Our friend the owl, shot through the viewfinder of a pair of binoculars |
Hampi had something for all of us.
A great lesson in history, this trip took us back to our childhood days of great empires, kings and queens, mythological stories and legends as well as a chance to see a bit of nature at its best. A great example of trying to 'restore' our history. Makes one stop and reflect as to how even great empires, great ideas, even the really, really good ones, can be ephemeral in the physical sense. Banana groves, many still-functional aqueducts, ruins and boulders paying silent testimony to what was.....
Soon, it was time to head back home. All aboard the Hampi express! We were beginning to miss the Bangalore traffic you see :)
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| River Tungabhadra |
---- Srivatsan Krishnan
