Hampi:The Lost Paradise

"Sir,Sir!!Book toglli.Bari hartrupai.Ella information ide.".A familiar and annoying scream of ten book vendors surrounding us as soon as you get out of the bus.This is no different than the welcome you get in any other tourist outlet in India.And it was in Hampi as well.It was with similar disinterest that I frantically swiveled my head in a horizontal plane.Under the sultry north Karnataka heat we stepped on to see the reminiscence of what our guide termed as "Karnataka Itihasada Suvarna Yuga".


The visit to Veerabhadreshwara Swamy temple was more of a cursory visit.There are some magnificent sculptures which I never really understand.(Although in of the snaps I am studying it intensly!!) .The real journey began afterwards.A Journey that takes you through those magnificent days. A expedition through the chaos left behind from that fateful year of 1565.I could directly peep into the Mukhya Ratha Beedi of 15th century from Sasive Kalu Ganapati temple.I could elicit the plans of shop,streets and the pathways . It was almost as if I was shopping there.The outline is so lucid even after 5 centuries.This was the first glimpse of town planning of Vijayanagara empire.

Then it was that sculptural brilliance again.The dilapidated vignettes of UgraNarasimha,Sasive Kalu Ganapati and others.(Can't remember names.).The mammoth and the misery struck me at once.The shear size suggests that it could have taken months(or even years) of skillful diligence.Whoever did this,did not they realize that effort? I just can't comprehend what did they achieve by demolishing these wonderful creations.I can only rue about the fact that the sadists like these were(are) our rulers.The ruins of these monuments left me with a churning feeling .

The vastness of the palace complex which includes KrishnaDevarayas Aramane and his wives Rani Mahal is a clear indication of the opulence of the empire during his tenure.Again,it is a rich store of stone art.But,what intrigued me here was the plan again.The concealed meeting rooms in the basement,the vastness of the Sabhanganas are few more instances of architectural expertise.The vast plane that surrounds the palace would have enabled to watch the distant horizons in all directions.The life of a foot soldier invigilating was there to see in the watch posts.Other sign of life in this complex was the provisions made for water supply in all the buildings.The live example was the stone canal thats built to supply water from the river to the Kalyani in the palace complex.

The final front was the premises of Vijaya Vittala Mandira. For me this is the consummate example of architectural,cultural and monetary opulence of the Vijayanagara empire.This is the place which epitomizes the term Suvarna Yuga.The brilliance of Kallina Ratha,the delicacy of the stone carvings of Purandara Mantapa,puzzling multifaceted miniature carvings.They are spell bounding. Again,I despise and pity the men who destroyed these stupendous monuments. I could only imagine their mental digression and pity they could not get proper medical aid.


It is a journey that left me with a feeling of nostalgia mixed with some uneasiness .In my experience there is no other place which took me so close to the History as Hampi did.For half a day I really lived in the past.