I set out for Hampi on a KSTDC tour package. The bus carrying the tourists set off at 8pm from KSTDC office (Badami House), Bangalore. I was initially told that on the way to Hampi the group would visit some place called Mantralaya but only after boarding the bus I got to know from the tour manager that we were going to spend the whole next day offering prayers in Mantralaya(not a very exciting news for an atheist) and afterwards the next day would be for Hampi. I had known from others that one day was not enough for Hampi, but since I was already on the way there wasn't much of choice then. After we reached Mantralaya we were given rooms in a KSTDC hotel and I had to share my room with another guy (Milan) who happened to be an Indian American lawyer currently on Fullbright scholar programme in India. Once I told him my apprehensions of spending the day in Mantralaya, he readily agreed to my plan and we made up our mind to leave for Hampi right away. After informing the tour manager we went to the bus station at Mantralaya for some bus to Hospet (city near which Hampi is located). To our utter illusion no-one there seemed to have any clue about it. After talking to many bus drivers and conductors we were told that we can take a bus to a place called Adhuni and from there we can get a bus to Hospet. We boarded the bus for Adhuni at 8:30am, the drive to Adhuni was 2 hours long and it was a local bus packed with local people. Milan took the seat behind me and after a while a strong man with very typical Andhra Pradesh people type looks took the seat next to me, within no time we were into a very friendly conversation. On knowing I was headed to Hampi he gave me the card of a guesthouse in Hampi which was supposedly run by his friend and told me we can get a room there without paying anything. Though we already had our rooms booked in the KSTDC hotel I was very humbled by his gesture.
After we reached Adhuni bus station, we asked a bus conductor for a bus to Hospet to which I got a very disappointing answer in crystal clear fluent english saying there is no direct bus to Hospet and we got to take a bus to Bellary and from there we can get bus to Hospet. Seeing his confidence with which he answered which was completely unlike how we were met with in Mantralaya, we believed him and took the bus which was leaving right away, the conductor whom we spoke to was accompanying the bus. I kept my backpack right over the engine box next to the driver's seat and I got a place to sit in the seat next to it. Milan had to stand half the way. The trip was around 3 hours more and the roads were through villages and very small towns, the roads were bumpy. I looked at Milan who probably was having his first experience on such a local bus, going through such bumpy rides in the midst of glaring poverty. Towards the end of the journey to bellary the conductor started talking to us, i was already surprised with his fluent english, the next thing that striked me was his friendly and kind language and even his awareness about the past and current state of affairs in West Bengal which he started talking about once he knew i was bengali. I was craving to meet even a single person like the Mr. conductor or the person on the bus to Adhuni during my stay in Bangalore or Hyderabad. In those cities all that I had come across was the choking arrogance and intolerance which choked more than the thick smoke in the air.
Once we reached Bellary we immediately got into the bus to Hospet which took another 2 hours , our meeting with new people continued and next to me and Milan was a guy with a big smile on his face who was more than happy to tell us about our destination apart from talking about his profession which happened to be setting the mobile infrastructure for Reliance. By sheer luck the bus happened to drop us very close to the KSTDC hotel to which we walked upto only to realise our good luck didn't last too long. The hotel was completely full and we were asked to goto its other extension which happened to be 16kms far. Since we had taken all this pain to use the leftover hours of the day to see Hampi, we left our luggage at the reception and had lunch and left immediately for Hampi.
Once in Hampi Bazaar, the central and buzzing part of the place we purchased two books about the ruins and took the boat to take us to the north part of the Tungabhadra river. On the north side, first we happened to loose our way in the paddy fields and than backtracked and hired two bicycles. We biked all along the road with the river on one side and stretches of banana gardens on the other. It was a wonderful ride and in 15 mins we reached the bottom of the hill which had the Hanuman temple at the top. After parking the bikes we started our climb up. It was a bit difficult after the overnight bus ride, the local bus rides over those bumpy roads during the day and the lunch still trying to settle in the tummy. But after a little effort we made it to the top in time to see the sunset and seeing the amazing but seemingly sad view of the ruins of the old Vijaynagara Kingdom, all scatterred along the small hills and dotting the sides of the river which criss-crossed through its heart. The hanuman temple was more of a disappointment but that was hardly the thing in my mind. The view of the ruins and the refreshing breeze stuffed my heart with joy. Time was running out and it started getting dark, we had to make it to the boat before it got dark unless we risked staying on this side overnight. We started our bike ride back, on the way we stopped by to take pictures of the leftover ruins of the massive bridge that once connected the two banks. Unfortunately we didn't realise just near the bridge was the way back to the boat, by the time we made it there, it was already quite dark and the boatman after throwing a few tantrums agreed to take us for twice the actual fare. An Israeli guy Daniel also crossed the river and was rightly upset with the boatman who charged 10 times the actual fare from him (for his white skin, sad but true).
In another half an hour we made it to the hotel. After getting an almost burning hot shower which I badly needed after the days travels, me and Milan had a some nice daal-fry and roti with some desi chilled beer. It was really refreshing. Before going to sleep I spent a couple of hours reading the books we had got and read about the Vijaynagara's history, how it was founded in the early 14th century by the two brothers Hakka and Bukka, and the subsequent kings. The most crowning king of Vijaynagara dynasty was Krishna Dev Raya who is regarded as a demi-God or the pinnacle of Hindu glory of the past. But it also happened that he was an extreme superstitous person who also sacrificed the blood of 60 prisoners on the advice of his priest when the building of an irrigation tank wasn't moving forward. The ritual of Sati was proudly carried out in the kingdom. The kingdom was thoroughly ruined and smashed by five moslem sultans who had been time and again disturbed and humiliated by the King who followed Krishna Dev Raya.
The next day after a breakfast of two idlies and south indian coffee we set out on our tour of the ruins on the south of the river. We started with the Virupaksha temple which happens to be the most prominent structure visible from a distance. After that we visited a huge structure of Ganesha whose huge tummy and the trunk were broken by the soldiers of the moslem sultans in search for gold and pearls, for which Vijayanagara was known for. We also visited the main palace of the kings, an underground temple (called underground only because its at a lower level from the ground although its open air) and than a partly destroyed idol of Narsimha. I could hear from some of the guides some associated legends attached to those structures, though the books, even the one from ASI didn't speak any of them. One of the interesting structures was the RamHazara temple which got its name from the thousand or so wall sculptures of Ram that are present in the temple. The depict several episodes from the Ramayana. Afterwards we also visited the compound where the women from the royal family used to stay, there were watch towers in the corners and the side, a strangely built wall with a traingular cross-section built for privacy rather than any safety purposes. After a couple of more such structures which didn't catch my attention much we reached the Vitthala temple. This temple is the most famous structure from the Hampi ruins, especially for its musical pillars which were once played by musicians along side some dancers dancing on a dance floor of the temple. The temple containing the musical pillars have been made unreachable for the tourists as they are said to be already in a state of complete breakdown due to the excessive mistreatment by visitors. At the Vitthala temple also lies the stone chariot, which is probably the most known symbol of the ruins, I remembered it from my school history books. Also, next to the temple were the small pillars queue which once used to be the shops of an international bazaar where businessman from as far as Persia and Mesopotamia used to come and trade horses for pearls and gold. It was a wonderful feeling to just sit there and imagine of the people walking those same paths and their life so many hundreds of years back.
It was very sad to see how buses and other vehicles were allowed to come so close to the site, dust and sand had shadowed the original colour of granite of the ruins. People running around, sitting over the already broken stone structures of elephants to get their cherished photgraphs taken, messages of romance and love inscribed on the walls by the ill-behaved and ignorant visitors, all add up to the sorry state of affairs which is so omnipresent at most historical sites in this country.
The hampi site was swamped with people like western and indian tourists and school children. What I noticed was that the number of people whom I can qualify as serious visitors interested in knowing history, understanding the art and way of living of those times was few if not impossible to spot, the western hippie looking folks as it always happens skim through the superficiality in their search of nirvana. The indian tourists walking around can be easily found walking with some puja-samagri (worship material) which they need for the actual reason of the visit, spending hours outside the active temples offering prayers and on the side they happen to give a glance at the ruins which added with the ill-knowledged tourist guides reassures them of the glory of their hindu past. Talking of the guides, they speak like tape-recorders recorded with some summary bullshit without any enthusiasm or love for the ruins they are talking about. I noticed all the guides seemed to have read some common pamphlets (certainly not books) as their verbal content matched word by word.
Now for anyone who might plan a visit to Hampi I can suggest some points that might help. Do try to book the KSTDC Maurya Hotel which is situated at a distance of 4 kms from the site and best located between the ruins and Hospet city. The hotel can be booked from any KSTDC office in bangalore or elswhere. Plan to spend atleast three days to see all the interesting sites, I missed many. Don't hope to get any good guide (though most of them are seemingly certified, most of them even carry business cards), what the guides speak you can find out by reading some articles on the internet. When you reach Hampi Bazaar, there are number of shops selling books but there is one which looks better than most others and is run by an old man, he has a good collection of books and try to get some of them and read as much as you can. The old man was the only person whom I found talking with so much passion about the history of the kingdom. A small glance into the contents of the book one can make out the best ones, the old man's advice in this regard seemed more motivated by price. The best way to go around the sites is by renting a moped or a bicycle, its cheap and i was told that there is no fear of theft. Alcohol is not sold in any of the restaurants at the site or in the bazaar. We could get beer at the KSTDC hotel. The people at Hampi certainly are the least aggressive compared to many other touristic places in India, you know what I mean right !!
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After we reached Adhuni bus station, we asked a bus conductor for a bus to Hospet to which I got a very disappointing answer in crystal clear fluent english saying there is no direct bus to Hospet and we got to take a bus to Bellary and from there we can get bus to Hospet. Seeing his confidence with which he answered which was completely unlike how we were met with in Mantralaya, we believed him and took the bus which was leaving right away, the conductor whom we spoke to was accompanying the bus. I kept my backpack right over the engine box next to the driver's seat and I got a place to sit in the seat next to it. Milan had to stand half the way. The trip was around 3 hours more and the roads were through villages and very small towns, the roads were bumpy. I looked at Milan who probably was having his first experience on such a local bus, going through such bumpy rides in the midst of glaring poverty. Towards the end of the journey to bellary the conductor started talking to us, i was already surprised with his fluent english, the next thing that striked me was his friendly and kind language and even his awareness about the past and current state of affairs in West Bengal which he started talking about once he knew i was bengali. I was craving to meet even a single person like the Mr. conductor or the person on the bus to Adhuni during my stay in Bangalore or Hyderabad. In those cities all that I had come across was the choking arrogance and intolerance which choked more than the thick smoke in the air.
Once we reached Bellary we immediately got into the bus to Hospet which took another 2 hours , our meeting with new people continued and next to me and Milan was a guy with a big smile on his face who was more than happy to tell us about our destination apart from talking about his profession which happened to be setting the mobile infrastructure for Reliance. By sheer luck the bus happened to drop us very close to the KSTDC hotel to which we walked upto only to realise our good luck didn't last too long. The hotel was completely full and we were asked to goto its other extension which happened to be 16kms far. Since we had taken all this pain to use the leftover hours of the day to see Hampi, we left our luggage at the reception and had lunch and left immediately for Hampi.
Once in Hampi Bazaar, the central and buzzing part of the place we purchased two books about the ruins and took the boat to take us to the north part of the Tungabhadra river. On the north side, first we happened to loose our way in the paddy fields and than backtracked and hired two bicycles. We biked all along the road with the river on one side and stretches of banana gardens on the other. It was a wonderful ride and in 15 mins we reached the bottom of the hill which had the Hanuman temple at the top. After parking the bikes we started our climb up. It was a bit difficult after the overnight bus ride, the local bus rides over those bumpy roads during the day and the lunch still trying to settle in the tummy. But after a little effort we made it to the top in time to see the sunset and seeing the amazing but seemingly sad view of the ruins of the old Vijaynagara Kingdom, all scatterred along the small hills and dotting the sides of the river which criss-crossed through its heart. The hanuman temple was more of a disappointment but that was hardly the thing in my mind. The view of the ruins and the refreshing breeze stuffed my heart with joy. Time was running out and it started getting dark, we had to make it to the boat before it got dark unless we risked staying on this side overnight. We started our bike ride back, on the way we stopped by to take pictures of the leftover ruins of the massive bridge that once connected the two banks. Unfortunately we didn't realise just near the bridge was the way back to the boat, by the time we made it there, it was already quite dark and the boatman after throwing a few tantrums agreed to take us for twice the actual fare. An Israeli guy Daniel also crossed the river and was rightly upset with the boatman who charged 10 times the actual fare from him (for his white skin, sad but true).
In another half an hour we made it to the hotel. After getting an almost burning hot shower which I badly needed after the days travels, me and Milan had a some nice daal-fry and roti with some desi chilled beer. It was really refreshing. Before going to sleep I spent a couple of hours reading the books we had got and read about the Vijaynagara's history, how it was founded in the early 14th century by the two brothers Hakka and Bukka, and the subsequent kings. The most crowning king of Vijaynagara dynasty was Krishna Dev Raya who is regarded as a demi-God or the pinnacle of Hindu glory of the past. But it also happened that he was an extreme superstitous person who also sacrificed the blood of 60 prisoners on the advice of his priest when the building of an irrigation tank wasn't moving forward. The ritual of Sati was proudly carried out in the kingdom. The kingdom was thoroughly ruined and smashed by five moslem sultans who had been time and again disturbed and humiliated by the King who followed Krishna Dev Raya.
The next day after a breakfast of two idlies and south indian coffee we set out on our tour of the ruins on the south of the river. We started with the Virupaksha temple which happens to be the most prominent structure visible from a distance. After that we visited a huge structure of Ganesha whose huge tummy and the trunk were broken by the soldiers of the moslem sultans in search for gold and pearls, for which Vijayanagara was known for. We also visited the main palace of the kings, an underground temple (called underground only because its at a lower level from the ground although its open air) and than a partly destroyed idol of Narsimha. I could hear from some of the guides some associated legends attached to those structures, though the books, even the one from ASI didn't speak any of them. One of the interesting structures was the RamHazara temple which got its name from the thousand or so wall sculptures of Ram that are present in the temple. The depict several episodes from the Ramayana. Afterwards we also visited the compound where the women from the royal family used to stay, there were watch towers in the corners and the side, a strangely built wall with a traingular cross-section built for privacy rather than any safety purposes. After a couple of more such structures which didn't catch my attention much we reached the Vitthala temple. This temple is the most famous structure from the Hampi ruins, especially for its musical pillars which were once played by musicians along side some dancers dancing on a dance floor of the temple. The temple containing the musical pillars have been made unreachable for the tourists as they are said to be already in a state of complete breakdown due to the excessive mistreatment by visitors. At the Vitthala temple also lies the stone chariot, which is probably the most known symbol of the ruins, I remembered it from my school history books. Also, next to the temple were the small pillars queue which once used to be the shops of an international bazaar where businessman from as far as Persia and Mesopotamia used to come and trade horses for pearls and gold. It was a wonderful feeling to just sit there and imagine of the people walking those same paths and their life so many hundreds of years back.
It was very sad to see how buses and other vehicles were allowed to come so close to the site, dust and sand had shadowed the original colour of granite of the ruins. People running around, sitting over the already broken stone structures of elephants to get their cherished photgraphs taken, messages of romance and love inscribed on the walls by the ill-behaved and ignorant visitors, all add up to the sorry state of affairs which is so omnipresent at most historical sites in this country.
The hampi site was swamped with people like western and indian tourists and school children. What I noticed was that the number of people whom I can qualify as serious visitors interested in knowing history, understanding the art and way of living of those times was few if not impossible to spot, the western hippie looking folks as it always happens skim through the superficiality in their search of nirvana. The indian tourists walking around can be easily found walking with some puja-samagri (worship material) which they need for the actual reason of the visit, spending hours outside the active temples offering prayers and on the side they happen to give a glance at the ruins which added with the ill-knowledged tourist guides reassures them of the glory of their hindu past. Talking of the guides, they speak like tape-recorders recorded with some summary bullshit without any enthusiasm or love for the ruins they are talking about. I noticed all the guides seemed to have read some common pamphlets (certainly not books) as their verbal content matched word by word.
Now for anyone who might plan a visit to Hampi I can suggest some points that might help. Do try to book the KSTDC Maurya Hotel which is situated at a distance of 4 kms from the site and best located between the ruins and Hospet city. The hotel can be booked from any KSTDC office in bangalore or elswhere. Plan to spend atleast three days to see all the interesting sites, I missed many. Don't hope to get any good guide (though most of them are seemingly certified, most of them even carry business cards), what the guides speak you can find out by reading some articles on the internet. When you reach Hampi Bazaar, there are number of shops selling books but there is one which looks better than most others and is run by an old man, he has a good collection of books and try to get some of them and read as much as you can. The old man was the only person whom I found talking with so much passion about the history of the kingdom. A small glance into the contents of the book one can make out the best ones, the old man's advice in this regard seemed more motivated by price. The best way to go around the sites is by renting a moped or a bicycle, its cheap and i was told that there is no fear of theft. Alcohol is not sold in any of the restaurants at the site or in the bazaar. We could get beer at the KSTDC hotel. The people at Hampi certainly are the least aggressive compared to many other touristic places in India, you know what I mean right !!
