To the artist there is never anything ugly in nature. -Auguste Rodin, sculptor (12 Nov 1840-1917)
Up at 6:40 am to he sound of my alarm. Was awake about half an hour earlier but dropped off to dream about buying a new pair of glasses. Suppose it was my subconscious reminding me that Lady Darjeeling needs to find me a new pair of sunnies! While waiting for kettle to boil, took a look out of our bedroom window. Hotel is on the edge of Hospet so a lovely view of palms and green, green sugar cane fields.
Hello Marilyn and Big Al, et al!
Just dashing this off as we have a very, very busy day ahead. Just a long drive yesterday, with no sightseeing, at least at any historic sites, etc., to speak of. Quite a gap in coverage with respect to diaries but life on the road isn't all that easy, in terms of connectivity, time, etc. Will be in touch, with more details, when in Goa for four days. Fondestos from Lady Darjeeling, in the lobby, as I scribe, waiting for our next local guide. Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!PS: Record of yesterday's drive, written, on the fly, so to speak! Pics: You'll have to read everything to learn where pictures were taken!
Hello Kids! Trust everyone is well. Finally had the connectivity and time to put together an account of today's outing. Unfortunately, my words really don't do justice to what we saw today but wanted, nevertheless, to try to share some of the magic that is Hampi. Fondestos from Ms Wind Tunnel, her not-so-gentle snores keeping me company as I scribed late into the wee smalls! Cheers, Patrizzio/Dad!
Day17, Field Report: Friday, November 13th, Hospet-Hampi-Hospet!
Up at 6:40 am to the sound of my alarm. Was awake about half an hour earlier but dropped off to dream about buying a new pair of glasses. Suppose it was my subconscious reminding me that Lady Darjeeling needs to find me a new pair of sunnies, mine having broken in two, on Wednesday, just before we reached our hotel, Hoysala Village Resort, (Superior Cottage), just outside of Hassan. While waiting for kettle to boil, took a look out of our bedroom window. Hotel is on the edge of Hospet so a lovely view of palms and green, green sugar cane fields.
Followed morning routine regulare, (Tea, java, shower/change and then down for tasty breakfast breakfast with Lynne and Peter.) Back to room to collect my laptop. Lady Darjeeling had stayed in the lobby as we had asked the guide to meet us there at 8:30 am to discuss day's schedule. As it turned out, he didn't show but had called Sunil to say he would meet us at the first temple we were scheduled to visit so we headed out just after 9:00 am. After leaving the hotel, we first drove along a large irrigation canal where women were doing their washing, on the concrete steps set into the retaining walls, on either side of the small bridge we crossed over, as well as quite a bit further along, both sides of the canal. Sheets and other articles of clothing were set out to dry on the grass verge of the canal or atop small bushes. Lovely morning, in fact almost the most sun we have seen ever since we left Pondicherry, the rain and overcast skies a result of the Second Monsoon and a cyclone system over the Bay of Bengal.
Caught in rush-hour traffic at the moment, backlog from waiting at a train crossing, tractors and a school of motorbikes first oncoming vehicles through the bottleneck, a fresh chicken stand, cheek-by-jowl next to the roadway having its wares, layer upon layer of carcasses, marinated by the exhaust fumes and clouds of dust thrown up by the heavy traffic! One of our earlier guides said it is quite possible to become ill from breathing in dust alone. Not overly worried myself but something to think about, Dear Reader!
With train having cleared the crossing, back on the highway towards Hampi, encountering many bullock-drawn carts, loaded with sugar cane, en route to small processing factories, much like the one we visited a few days ago. Just passed a bullock-train, [(as opposed to a bullet-train, (Japan), or a land-train, (Australia)], three separate carts, each pulled by two bullocks, in a row! Over a long dusty spot, break in tarmac, with a man behind a water-tanker, hosing down the roadway. More banana and coconut plantations, and a small attractive shrine which looked very much like a fair ground carousel.
As we approached the Hampi site we were soon overcome by the stupendous rock outcroppings, Cyclopean, natural über inuksuks, incredible jumbles of tan boulders, stretching away in all directions, almost as far as one could see. [Hampi has innumerable, giant boulders, split apart vertically, by the 16th century artisans who used the granite to build the temples and other monumental structures one finds here. The split faces of the boulders are so flat and clean that it appears as if these were sliced like cake with a sharp knife. Far from it as the carvers used dry wooden pegs and water to split the boulders to the size required. A chain of holes, (along the line of the split), was drilled into the surface of the boulder and then the dry wooden pegs were driven into these holes. Water was then poured, continuously, over the pegs, soaking them. The resulting expansion forced the boulder to split open. Elephants were used to move these blocks to the work site. Often, along the top edge of the split boulders one can see the grove-like feature of the half-split drill hole.” Also, as one moves around the site, one comes across many drill holes on the surface of the huge, now smooth flagstones which floor the temples and open spaces.
Once we reached the entrance to Sasivekalu Ganesha, our first stop, there were unbelievably mischievous monkeys everywhere, racing around, chasing one another and play fighting with more than gay abandon. It was such a delight to see these incredibly lithe creatures, paying little, if any, attention to us, and having as much fun as a barrel of monkeys, so to speak! One would no longer wonder why this phrase came about or is so apt if you could have seen their hilarious, animated antics.
But recess was soon over and now it was time to go back to school, Dear Reader. Our guide, Nagaraja Jola, (Cobra King is literal translation so I took to calling him King Cobra!), started by showing us the giant monolithic Ganesha statue, locally called Sasivekalu, (given his stomach’s resemblance to a mustard seed), Ganesha, located on the southern foothill of Hemakuta Hill. “In Hindu mythology Lord Ganesha, (aka Ganapathi or Vinayaka), is notorious for his food habit. One day he ate so much of food that his tummy almost burst He caught a snake and tied it around his tummy as a belt to save his tummy from bursting. On this statue one can see the snake carved around his tummy. This monolithic statue carved out of a huge boulder measuring about 2.4 meters, (8’), high. An open pavilion is built around the statue. According to inscriptions found nearby this pavilion was built by a trader from Chandragiri, (in present day Andhra Pradesh), in 1506 AD, in memory of one of the Vijayanagara king, Narasimha II, (1491-1505 AD).”
There was a bit of high cloud, with very little humidity, so with the wonderfully soft breeze, we couldn’t have been more comfortable walking around the site. Aside from the sheer magnificence of the temples and their attendant carvings, the landscape was simply mesmerizing, doted with gorgeous palms and surrounded, pretty much on all sides, by the almost unbelievable clusters and spectacular clusters of boulders, balancing acts that elicited nothing but wonderment. Next stop was Lakshmi Narasimha, the largest statue in Hampi. “Narasimha is sitting on the coil of a giant seven-headed snake called Sesha. The heads of the snake acts as the hood above his head. The god sits in a cross-legged Yoga position with a belt supporting the knees. Narasimha, (half-man/half-lion in local the languages), is on of the ten incarnations, (avatar), of Lord Vishnu. The original statue contained the image of goddess Lakshmi, consort of the god, sitting on his lap. However, this statue was damaged seriously, during the raid leading to the fall of Vijayanagara. The large statue of Lakshmi, carved on his lap, is missing, although the goddess’s hand is visible resting on his back in an embracing posture.”
Sunil, (literal translation is “shine” so I took to calling him Sunny Jim), was waiting for us, in Force One, (The site is son huge that walking from one temple to another, in most cases, is both impracticable and/or well nigh impossible!), to drop us off closer to Hemakuta Hill. Its hilltop and the smooth, flat expanses of granite offer a stunning, more than splendid view of the sprawling site. The hill is sprinkled with a large number of temples, archways and pavilions and was fortified, in its entirety, with tall, wide stonewalls, the ruined remains of which can be still be seen.
Continuing on, we walked north to the bottom of the hill to the entrance to the Vittala Temple complex. This is perhaps the most famous and well known among the ruins of Hampi. The iconic stone chariot is so stunning that it is almost impossible to believe that it is real. One of the massive stone wheels actually moved and was rotated during certain ceremonies/celebrations, according to Nagaraja. The temple also houses a temple with so-called "musical pillars", which create a sound when struck. Apparently, the British wanted to check the reason behind this wonder and so they cut two pillars to determine if anything was inside to produce the sound. They discovered nothing but hollow pillars and one can still see these pillars today. Since archaeological work continues all over the huge site we were not able to enter this particular temple. Nearby, however, was another edifice, typical of the architecture of the period, and we marvelled at the 150 year old frangipani tree growing outside its steps.
Passing back through the entranceway to the temple we encountered one of the many Brahman cows wandering the complex. Incredibly gentle creatures all, this one did not shy from our touch as we caressed the tell-tale hump around its shoulder and neck area. Outside the temple one walks the road leading to the temple itslef, lined on both sides by two-story stone stalls, many, if not most, still in remarkably good condition. This area was once a market or bazaar where horses were traded and all sorts of other products bought and sold to feed and clothe almost 500,000 people, so large was the population at the height of the power of this particular dynasty. On many of the temple friezes one can see images of foreigners, (Persian and Portuguese traders), selling horses in exchange for gold and diamonds, not to mention some pretty erotic, explicit depictions from the Kama Sutra!
Rendezvoused with Sunil, once more, to be driven to The Palace of Vira Harihara a colossal structure within the fortified area of the Royal Enclosure which served as the abode for the King of the Vijayanagara Empire. However, all that now remains of the supposedly grand palace is its base. No trace of the superstructure exists but it is believed that the palace architecture made extensive use of wood and other perishable materials. This theory seems to explain the fact that the structures and monuments built within the Royal Enclosure suffered maximum damage during the attack by the Deccan Sultanate. Nagaraja told us that the fire which destroyed the palace burned for six months!
The whole of Hampi is crisscrossed with a network of irrigation canals of varying size. Connecting everything from temples to palaces to tanks to quarters to the agricultural lands, many of them were made during the Vijayanagara days. A good number of them, especially the ones which run along the valley area, are still in use. Inside the Royal area we saw a number of the very impressive stone aqueducts. At one time, the system brought water to the complex from hills 6 km away. Near-bye is a small sunken, "secret" chamber, apparently used by the kings and their ministers to confer without having to worry about being eavesdropped upon. Peter and I went down the flight of steps leading to an area open to the sky but needed the help of Gareth Jones, (a Welsh teacher travelling, by himself, for three months in India), and his iPhone to see in the narrow, completely dark passageways leading to the small square one sees from above.
Last stop was at the Elephant Stables, one of the least destroyed structures in Hampi. This long building, used to house the royal elephants, consists of 11 domed, (Hindu, Jain and Islamic style domes), tall chambers. Some of them are inter-connected by small manhole type openings to allow the mahouts to enter the elephant compartments. Large grassy area in front made for most peaceful surroundings and it was a more than fitting end to our remarkable tour of this simply remarkable site. Had no real idea what to expect when we were driving to Hampi and now I feel as if I would like to return to spend more time exploring this vast, yet paradoxically, intimate complex. (Forgot to mention that at one point, when visiting Pattabhirama Temple, (as large as the more poplar Vittala Temple, but not as ornate), one takes a "stretch" golf cart from the parking lot to the entrance! Of note here, for example, is the marriage hall. Many of its pillars are carved with fantastic Yali images, a mythical creature often portrayed as part lion, part elephant and part horse, with some bird-like features.)
Back in the van Nagaraja continued to talk about various other points of interest as we made our way out of the site. Thanking him for such a concise tour, given the sheer size of the complex, we tipped him and dropped him off back where we had first met him and returned to our hotel. Had to stop for another train on way home, at same crossing but were so exhilarated by the day's outing that nothing bothered us. Certainly one of the stand-outs of the trip so far.
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