Don't Worry Be Hampi...!

"Travelling-It leaves you speechless,
then turns you into a storyteller."-Ibn Battuta

Vittala temple,Hampi

I recently visited Hampi.A mythical landscape littered with huge granite boulders balanced precariously on top of each other bound by mythology and history.It is situated on the banks of tungabhadra river in the eastern part of central karnataka.Hampi was the capital of vijaynagar empire.The city though is in the ruins today but still it exudes an aura of pomp and luxury 😊

I landed up in karnataka few days back(perks of being a military wife),you get an unexpected travel anytime and anywhere within the country😉.So,we started our journey from Bellary to Hampi which is about 60 kms.Being an architect I love exploring such places even in the angry sun,but the people whom I was traveling with, were least interested in the heritage site and more interested in their Fauji talks (my husband and other two were his friends.)

As soon as we entered Hampi,there is a tiny but a worthwhile museum located at kamalapura.Apart from the usual suspects of the museum,this one contains an immensely useful exhibit to a novice visitor:A scaled model of Hampi topography with the monuments located on it.This is an excellent display to get an idea about the area plan and relative locations of the sites.Most of the idols in the temples were either destroyed by the raiders or taken by Britishers and few remaining are now showcased in this museum.

Gopuram of Virupaksha Temple

After this we drove to our next site which was Virupaksha Temple.We reached this main centre of pilgrimage at Hampi.The temple is dedicated to virupaksha, a form of Shiva.It is intact among the surrounding ruins and is still used in worship.Our driver was also our guide as he was familiar with the place, but not with our language(it was like other language movie with no subtitles!)I was the only one listening to him as other three were busy talking about bombs,mortars and clash of clans!

 It is said that you can still get blessings from Laxmi,the temple elephant if you give her 10 rupee note!(I wonder how an elephant can understand the concept of 10 rupee note?).

The virupaksha temple is beautiful and has splendid architecture.The sharp cut pillars are the common feature across many structures at Hampi and the figures on pillars show the life at Hampi.

Statue of Narasimha

Another site was Statue of Narasimha.The monolithic statue of laxmi Narasimha which has Goddess Lakshmi sitting on the lap of lord Narasimha was destroyed during one of the raid of Vijaynagar empire and what remains today is the statue of Narasimha.

Underground Shiva temple

Underground Shiva temple

 We reached the another location that was Underground Shiva temple.By now my other three companions were exhausted due to excess of heat and they were refusing to come out of the car.The driver insisted them again to see the beauty of the temple.So we went inside and saw that the temple was occupied with bats and it was difficult to stay and explore the temple due to smell.At that moment only someone from the tourist crowd said"bhalu ka smell aa raha hai!!"....BHAAGO.So we all ran to save our ass!

Lotus Mahal

Lotus mahal

It is one of the fine architecturally designed palaces that are uniquely identified by it's lotus look like structure.It is a part of Zenana enclosure,used by royal women of vijaynagar dynasty.

Vittala temple

The stone chariot

The most iconic structure of Hampi is the stone chariot at vittala temple.Many think that it is made of a single piece of rock.However in reality it is built from many large blocks of granite.

The musical pillars

Musical pillars-when you tap the pillars in the temple,each pillar produces a tune of a unique note!(i'm not kidding).When the dancers used to dance on the podium,the pillars used to resonate from foot tapping and produce music.Automobiles near the temple are banned as honking resonates with the frequency of the musical pillar and leads to the damage of the pillars.

 

The tree at vittala temple is said to be more than 500 years old.

It was all about the "lost kingdom" Hampi.In the tourist season,from November to February, you'd find this place swarm with tourists which will almost break your connection with the emptiness of this town.I recommend a visit during hot summers,it will allow you to go back in time and connect yourself more with the Hampi you want to know😊