My destiny sometimes carried me to such destinations about which I had never thought or planned. It had happened a number of times in my life. I was fortunate to inherit nomadic nature from my father who used to take us for tours within very short notice. The same stories got repeated in my case also.
Planning
I was at Hyderabad for some period with my
son. Having leisure time, I used to surf the Internet and YouTube on a regular
basis. Suddenly, I came across a place called Hampi, about which I did not know
much except the name. The distance from Hyderabad to Hampi was around 375 km by
road and via Hospet by train. The latent desire to explore the unseen
destination exploded in my heart. I started searching the train schedule and
found that the route was circuitous and there was no chance of availability of
tickets within a couple of days. My next choice was the bus as the distance was
not so much. I found that there were lots of buses plying from Hyderabad to
Hospet via Hampi. Immediately I booked a ticket on the next night bus starting
at around 20.00 hrs from Hyderabad and reaching Hampi the next morning at 07.00
hrs. My next target was to search for a budget hotel at Hampi. I
selected two to three hotels through www.booking.com but did not book so as to
take a chance of bargaining. I noted down the price which would be a tool for
bargaining. Since I was alone I took the risk of taking a chance.
Journey to Hampi
The bus picked me up from a designated
location at Hyderabad. It was a sleeper coach with all types of logistics but
not at all comfortable for sleeping at night. After crossing a few pick-up
points the bus finally took NH-167 that led to Hospet via Raichur in Karnataka.
After spending almost a sleepless night because of a jerk, brake, and tilt on a
continuous basis added with sporadic bad patches on the road, I reached Hampi
at around 07.30 hrs in the morning. The bus dropped me at a place wherefrom the
main location was around 4 km. I had to take an auto-rickshaw and reached the
hotel just beside the main temple. As usual, the hotel owner quoted a price
that was higher than the price indicated on the website and I had to pull down
the price a little below the price indicated on the website. The location of
the hotel was very good, just beside the main temple with all the other
facilities available in the hotel. Having freshened up, I did not want to waste
my time and after heavy breakfast, I started off for sightseeing having hired
an auto for a total package of Rs.1000/- that too after bargaining a lot.
History of Hampi
The historical site of Hampi is located on
the bank of Tungabhadra River covering an area of around 26 sq km. As per
mythology, the nomenclature of Hampi is derived from Pampa or Kishkindhya of
the Ramayan era. The myth as learnt related to the desire of Parvati to marry
Shiva and ultimately resulting in the marriage of Shiva and Parvati in that
location after a lot of hurdles. The second myth was that Rama and Laxmana met
Sugriva and the army of monkeys at that location where the war with Ravana was
planned. However, there was no historical evidence of the above myths.
The historical evidence was related to the
Vijaynagara Kingdom in 1500 AD when the place became very important because of
being an important trading center. Traders from Portugal, Persia, China, and
other countries used to come for business and the place flourished with wealth.
However, consecutive attacks of the Delhi
Sultanate especially Allaudin Khilji and Muhammad Bin Tuglaq destroyed the
entire kingdom to ruins, relics of which were visible in the present days.
The monuments were protected by the
Archeological Survey of India and had been declared as a site of World Heritage
by UNESCO.
Locations to Visit
The relics of the entire Vijaynagara Kingdom
were spread within a periphery of 26 sq km along the banks of Tungabhadra
River. Therefore, it would not be possible for a person to move on foot unless
plenty of time was available. It would be better to hire an auto-rickshaw or a
car to move around. The drivers generally acted as a guide but with limited
knowledge. Hence, a study on the subject would be preferred to have a full idea
about the history of the place unless a professional guide was hired. The major
locations, where I visited, were as follows:
Virupaksha
Temple and its surroundings
Vitthala Temple and the entire complex
Water supply infrastructure
Krishna Temple, market, Narsimha, and Shivalinga
Achyutraya
Temple and its surroundings
Hazar
Rama Temple
Kodandarama
Temple
Monuments
on the bank of Tungabhadra river
Pattabhirama
Temple and its surroundings
Mahanavami
Platform and it's complex
Hemakuta
Hill and monuments
Patabhirama
Temple and its surroundings
Elephant stables and enclosures
Fountain – a marvel of engineering
Community kitchen
Ganagitti Temple complex
Ahmed
Khan Mosque.
Sunset
point
Lotus
Mahal
King’s
Balance
These were a major attraction, which I
could cover in one and a half days. As I was residing very near to Virupaksha
Temple, some of the visiting points were within walking distance. So my target
was to cover the distant parts on the first day itself.
The evening rituals of Virupaksha Temple were
worth seeing. The illuminated temple with electric lights and candles, chanting
of hymns, songs dedicated to God really attracted a lot of tourists including
foreign tourists. The Gopuram (main entrance) was almost 50 meters high with
beautiful architecture all along the front and backside drew the attention of
the tourists.
Another peculiar feature of the entire area
was the position of rocks on the hillocks. It had been observed that one stone
was placed loosely on another stone as if it was a task of a human being. But
it was a natural phenomenon and the stone on the top did not get tilted despite
bearing hurdles of natural calamities. The same phenomenon could be seen on the
return journey to Raichur.
Return Journey
As my check out from the hotel was scheduled
at around 09.00 hrs in the next morning, I took my backpack and had breakfast
in a local restaurant and was ready by around 07.30 hrs. I hired the same
auto-rickshaw for a half-day tour paying Rs.500/- and covered the destinations
which I missed on the previous day.
The same auto-rickshaw dropped me at the
Hospet bus stand and I was fortunate to get a bus directly going to Hyderabad
because it was beyond schedule on account of a technical fault. The seat beside
the driver helped me to view the entire return journey and reached Hyderabad at
around midnight.
How to Reach
The nearest railway station is Hospet which is
around 13 km away from Hampi. The main bus stand is also at Hospet wherefrom
buses for Bengaluru (345 km), Hyderabad (375 km), and a few other cities and
towns are available. The nearest airport from Hampi is Belgaum which is 240
km.
Boarding & Lodging
There were too many hotels, guest houses, and
homestays in Hampi where tourists could stay depending on the category of their
demand. There were eateries including roadside joints where the food including
continental food was available catering to the requirement of all types of
tourists. There was ample scope for bargaining on lodging aspects based
on the onslaught of tourists.
Why Visit Hampi
Keeping apart the religious importance of the
temples, the entire Vijaynagara Kingdom was a marvel of architecture in such a
planned manner, that even today it had been considered excellence of engineering.
Despite undulated landmass with rocky soil, the technology of water supply to
the entire area was worth examining. The market complexes, elephant stables,
and other public places were constructed keeping in consideration the
utilization of space, free access to the public as also the monitoring of the
administration. I was astonished to find the height of engineering skills in
that period when the majority of the instruments that we used today were not
even invented. Further, the artistic taste of the then rulers, the deployment
of skilled artisans, and the proper utilization of their skills had been
excellent.
We are used to appreciating the excellence of
Mughal art and architecture through the monuments constructed in the northern
part of India. But the height of skill and excellence in art and architecture
in the southern part of India had gone unnoticed to our tourists but had not
been unnoticed by foreign tourists who were regular visitors to the site.
So next time when you plan to visit any
historical site just place Hampi in your bucket list and you will really
rejoice our glorious past.
Backlink
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Och08t7RBtM
It was helpful and informative, thank you
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