Haalu Hampi

Today, I just want to go back to Hampi. What a great trip it was.Absolutely smashing weather(In December)made the trip all the more memorable. Derelict, dilapidated, ruined, the many monuments stand testimony to the ravaging,rapacious act of the Muslim rulers as they wreaked havoc on almost every conceivable structure, which had been so painstakingly built, no, hewn out of stone with amazing intricacy, artisans who had the Midas touch. The Virupaksha Temple,where the pin-hole camera effect is to been, the saasve kaalu ganapathi,the Ugra Narasimha (a stunning monolithic),the Vijaya Vittala Temple and the musical pillars (what astonishing deeds), the inimitable Stone Chariot,the Mahanavami Dibba,where the courtesans used to gather in the evenings, Sita Serugu which shows a good resemblance to the trail left behind by an abducted woman,and a myriad of other small monuments, palaces, elephant stables etc are all to be savoured and to muse about the tyranny of those who destroyed it, possibly not even with a wee bit of regret. Why,Oh Why ..!


The Vijayanagar Empire was the richest, and it is said people never closed doors of their houses in fear anytime, such was the opulence abiding everywhere.And after the carnage, 6 months of looting with the help of thousands of elephants, only half the wealth or lesser could be taken away !


Quietly flows the Tungabhadra, but deceptively,for its taken many a prey through its whirlpools. The Puranadara Dasa Mantapa is on its banks, where the great Dasa sat and penned many a melodious song. What it must have been !


And as we glide along the river in the theppa( coricle) ride, the magnificient granite rock formations appear gigantic in front of you, standing witness over the centuries to all that unfolded. Hampi is a challenge to rappell and rock climb.

Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.

Yanthrodhaara MukhyaPraana Temple is a very sacred place on the river banks and as we sit on bank and enjoy the 'Baale Yelle' meal served right on the rocks, there's an unique feeling of the serene and the tranquil. One which I never quite had experienced, though I have travelled so many places. It must have something to do with the presence of the divine nearby, the sounds of silence and the merry gurgling of the river as it flows over many rocks and embankments and leaps into tiny crevices and the like. Too beautiful.

Picked up this quote abt it..

"If dreams were made out of stone, it would be Hampi"