The Travel Pundit

Hampi - Glimpses of the Magnificent Past

2017-11-25T06:12:00.000-08:00

A Dose of History
Sometimes we wonder what is the purpose of our existence in this world; as we perish in the sands of time, will our name still remain? Will people remember who we were and what we have done? Well, you would feel these questions melting away as you walk through the exalting past captured in the structures and monuments of Hampi, where every single piece of rock has a story of its own. It is here we realise that our name is just an illusion; what matters is our contributions to the society, whether big or small, that shape up the lives of the future generations and inspires them to do something even better; something extraordinary. Who were the people responsible for such intricate carvings, the people who made a grand city out of nothing but rocks and boulders working tirelessly and patiently carving out the rocks elaborately, we may never come to know. Nevertheless, their names may be forgotten but their legacy still lives on; their hard work and ingenuity still lives on; inspiring us even today.

Hampi, located in northern Karnataka, used to be one of the richest and largest cities in its prime, is no less than an architectural and historical wonder; a city carved out rocks and boulders; a city that still stands grand as ever surrounded by the same rocks and boulders. The city has a rich and profound history; the first human settlements date back to 1 CE and what is even more interesting is the fact that this region was once a part of the great Ashokan Empire back in the 3rd century BCE.

Hampi lies within the ruins of the city of Vijaynagara, the capital of the great Vijaynagara Empire. The major architecture that still remains belongs to the Vijaynagara period but one can find monuments dating back to the Chalukyan period and Jain architecture also.

Prior to the rise of the Vijayanagara Empire, the Hoysala Empire was quite prominent in South India, rich in architecture and culture, its growing prosperity attracted the foreign invaders. The Empire was first crippled by Alauddin Khalji and then decimated by Mohammed bin Tughlaq, both of whom had pillaged and destroyed the kingdom which eventually led to the downfall of the Hoysala dynasty.

This was not the end of the Khalji and Tughlaq dynasty hostilities, the kingdom of Kampili was next. The Hindu women of Kampili committed Jauhar as soon they realised that the war was lost. Mohammed bin Tughlaq, yet again became the destroyer of another Hindu Kingdom. But this was not the end of Kampili Kingdom; the Vijaynagar empire arose from the ashes like a phoenix from the ruins of the Kampili Kingdom and became one of the most prosperous Hindu empires, lasting over two centuries.

Vijaynagar Empire in its glory was the second largest medieval city after Beijing and probably the richest in India. The rulers were keenly investing in public infrastructure and agriculture, the magnificence of their architecture was widely known and the prosperity of the empire attracted traders from faraway places. The empire boasted of an immensely powerful army which could not be easily defeated, thus, the Muslim Sultanates formed a coalition to beat the unbeatable. It was at the Battle of Talikota in 1565, where the last king of Vijaynagar was beheaded and the pillaging and destruction of the empire continued for another six months, and when all was looted, it was left in ruins, thus bringing an end to the mighty and glorious kingdom and its abandonment.

Travel Guide

Hampi is quite literally huge and exploring the whole site can take days as it is spread over 26km square, no wonder UNESCO describes it as an “austere, grandiose site”. There are around 1600 remains of the last great Hindu kingdom scattered around Hampi. To make it simple, we are going divide the site into two parts:

Hampi - South of the Tungabhadra river covering all the major historical monuments (awe-inspiring for architecture buffs)

Anegundi - North of the Tungabhadra river (a delightful place for cycling and exploring the lesser explored site which older than Hampi and definitely an amazing spot for chilling!)

1. Hampi

Exploring the southern part of the Tungabhadra river can take a considerable time as there is so much to see and learn. Ideally one should hire a guide if they seek to have a better perspective and understanding about the vast history of the structures surrounding the site. Walking or cycling is the best way to explore Hampi as the whole site is spread out as an open museum but the place can get quite hot in the summer. The most notable structures include the Virupaksha temple, Hampi bazaar, Narasimha temple, Hazara Ram temple, the Stone Chariot at Vithala temple, Elephant stables, Lotus Mahal, to name a few.

The magnificence of the architecture leaves one awestruck as each structure has a story of its own to tell. A day at Hampi must be ended at the top Matanga hill to experience the most alluring sunset ever.

Intricate wall paintings

Elephant stables

Narasimha

2. Anegundi

North of the Tungabhadra river lies Anegundi, regarded as the old capital of the Vijanagara Empire and its history predates that of Hampi. It is believed that Kishkinda, the Kingdom of Monkeys existed here, which is so elaborately described in the great epic of Ramayana. Lord Rama and Lakshman reached out to Hanuman and Sugriva in Kishkinda, to help them find and rescue Sita.

Legend has it that this was the place where Parvati finally managed to pursue Lord Shiva to get married to her after several failed attempts. It was on the banks of Tungabhadra river, where Parvarti made Lord Shiva give up his ascetic way of life. Thus, the river came to be known as Pampa river (Pampa is another name of Parvati). The Sanskrit word Pampa transformed into the Kannada word Hampa with the passage of time and the region where Parvati pursued Lord Shiva came to be known as the present day Hampe or Hampi.\

Anegundi is being developed as a tourist spot and is also a UNESCO world heritage site like Hampi. Although, most of the tourists visit the southern part of Tungabhadra river i.e. Hampi, Anegundi is actually the place you would want to be at once you are done exploring the spectacular structures of Hampi. To get to Anegundi, one needs to hop onto a very cheap ferry service available from the Hampi side of the Tungabhadra river, which runs from morning till probably six in the evening, thus making it imperative to catch the last ferry to Hampi in case you are not staying in that area.

Once you cross the river towards Anegundi, it is advisable to rent a bicycle if you truly want a wholesome experience, if not, then mopeds and motorcycles are also available at a fair price, the trick here is to bargain to get the best deal. After that is sorted, head out to one of the cool restaurants lining up the area to relax and chill for a while, my pick is the Laughing Buddha restaurant as it offers a great view of the Virupaksha temple complex, you can simply enjoy the view, read a book maybe and have a cold beer to go with it (unexpected for a place like this). Other restaurants that are worth a try are the Mango Tree, Funky Monkey, Waves and Taste of Hampi. All these restaurants have a great ambiance and food is quite decent too.

View from the Laughing Buddha restaurant

Anegundi has its own fair share of temples and monuments to visit but the following three must not be missed for their significance and beauty:

Anjana Matha Temple on Anjanadri Betta

Believed to be the birthplace of Hanuman, some five hundred steps or so take you to the top the Anjanadri Betta or hill to a tiny Hanuman temple, with monkeys frolicking around and offering breathtaking panoramic views of Hampi, a must visit spot indeed.

Panoramic view from the top of Anjanadri Betta

View from the steps leading to the Hanuman Temple

Pampa Sarovar

Pampa Sarovar is about a kilometer away from the Hanuman Temple. It is one of the five sacred lakes according to the Hindu mythology, the five lakes collectively known as 'Panch Sarovar', the other four being the Mansarovar, Bindu Sarovar, Pushkar Sarovar and Narayan Sarovar, as mentioned in the Shrimad Bhagvata Purana.

Legend has it that Parvati pursued Lord Shiva at the banks of Tungabhadra river to marry her. At Shiva was oblivious of the fact that Parvati wanted to marry him as being an ascetic he was in a deep meditative state. Thus, Parvati reaches out to the gods to get his attention. In turn, Indra sends Kama to awaken Shiva from his meditative state, Kama shoots Shiva with an arrow of desire, unfortunately making Shiva open his third eye and burning Kama to the ground (poor Kama!!). Parvati still doesn't give up and starts to lead an ascetic life herself, eventually getting Shiva's attention . Shiva disguises himself and meets Parvati in an attempt to discourage her by telling her about Shiva's weaknesses. Parvati pays no heed to all that (even gods can't convince women!) and Shiva comes to an understanding that no matter what he does, she won't give, and finally decides to marry her. It was at this lake probably where Lord Shiva gave up his ascetic life and the lake was named Pampa after Parvati.

Legend also has it that this was the place where Lord Rama and Lakshman met Shabri on their journey towards Lanka to rescue Sita, who further directed them to seek help from Hanuman and Sugriva.

Pampa Sarovar is filled with lotuses throughout the year and it is a spectacle to watch when the lotuses bloom.

Sanapur Lake

Cycling through Anegundi

Cycling from the Hanuman temple to the Sanapur lake is a tranquil experience, which is about five kilometers away in a sparsely populated village of Sanapur. Away from the hustle and bustle of the city life, cycling through this village would take you back in time, and the rather steep roads that lead to the lake, make the whole experience thrilling and at the same time pleasant. As you get closer to the lake, there will be a wall and if you while cycling you can see the lake on the other side of it, an amazing experience I must say. The lake is visited by very less number of tourists and the area is pretty much untouched. A perfect spot to chill and unwind after traversing through Anegundi and enjoy the pristine surroundings, ending it all with an exciting coracle boat ride.

Sanapur Lake

Crocodiles?!

Traversing through Anegundi would leave you spellbound but wait there's still more. It would be a loss if you don't get to experience the sunset on the ferry ride back to Hampi.

Getting There

Hampi is located 13kms away from the town of Hospet.

It is at a distance of 266kms from Hyderabad and 376kms from Bangalore.

Plenty of buses operated by KSRTC are available from Bangalore and Mysore.
Hospet is also well connected by rail too.
Getting an auto from Hospet to Hampi is a piece of cake and fairly cheap too.

Interesting Facts

The ruins of Hampi were first surveyed in 1800 by a Scottish Colonel named Colin Mackenzie, the first Surveyor General of India.
Hampi was the second largest medieval city after Beijing and the richest in Inida in its prime.
It is believed that Lord Rama and Lakshman met Hanuman for the first time at Anegundi, the old capital of the Vijanagara Empire.
Hampi is derived from Pampa, Parvati's other name as it is believed that Parvati managed to pursue Lord Shiva to marry her at the banks of Tungabhadra river.
The Vijaynagara Empire came to an end after the Battle of Talikota in 1565.

Asola-The Land of Lakes

2012-03-19T04:07:00.000-07:00

In a city like New Delhi scarcity of water prevails.In such a hot and humid climate where even a single single drop of water dries up in a flash,the idea of finding a lake or for that instance a group of lakes seems to be too wild.But as Gail Tsukiyama once said “Beauty exists where you least expect to find it.”

On a day like any other,I received a call from my friend Himanshu and he asked me if I would like to go for a trek and discover some lakes located on the outskirts of Delhi.The question itself was bewildering but my curiosity left me with no scope of refusal,so we finally planned to go there along with some of our other friends.

So on the decided day we met at our respective metro stations and from there went straight to Badarpur Metro Station.We knew that it was going to be a long journey so we bought some refreshments and water from a local shop on our way to Suraj Kund Road.We continued walking on Suraj Kund Road and soon we reached the spot Surajkund is famous for,the Surajkund Crafts Mela, held during spring every year from February 1-15.Further,we crossed the 'Haryana Silver Jubilee Gate' and 'Jungle Fowl Camp'.

Thereon,we were supposed to go straight but instead we took a left and ended up in the middle of the jungle.You can easily get lost there if you don't have GPS enabled device because the area is huge and it's impossible to find people who could help you out.But as soon as we realized our mistake,Himanshu took no time to connect to GPS on his mobile and we continued in the right direction.Some say gadgets are indispensable,and true it is we figured.

We had walked about a kilometer or so to reach small village dwellings and farmland,and stopped at one of the huts to ask for the way but we changed our mind as soon as we saw four drunk men as they could attack or mug us,the place was desolate and we couldn't take any chances.We quickly fled the place to find ourselves standing in front of a village lady who advised us not to go ahead as a gunshot was fired there a while ago.The four of us trembled in fear,we couldn't go back because we didn't want to bump into those drunkards again and there was no point going back unless we had reached the lakes.Frightened as we were,we hastily ran the next few miles to suddenly stop and see a beautiful animal which we believe was a 'nilgai',running down the hill and disappearing into the forest.At that moment we let go of our worries and continued walking tirelessly through the forest.

At last all that trekking had paid off,we finally reached one of those numerous lakes.Somehow,we got to the bottom of the hill to get to the shore,getting scratched and pricked by thorns in the process,but it was worth it-we were finally there.The water was crystal clear,suitable for swimming or just to put your feet in and relax.There it was,the lake,surrounded by mineral-rich hills,in a dry and rocky forest,a place where you least expect it to be.We stayed there for a while and finally had something to eat,it was time to go but we didn't want to-you never get to see such a place in a city like Delhi.We continued walking towards 'Manav Rachna College of Engineering' on Surajkund road to get out of the forest and on the way discovered about 4-5 lakes which were similar to the first lake we saw.It was about a 15 kilometer trek but was worth every penny.

Facts: The lakes are located near Asola Wildlife Sanctuary and Surajkund famous for the Surajkund Crafts Mela held every year from February 1-15.

Best Time: November-February

Where: Near Manav Rachna College of Engineering,Sector 43,Surajkund Road

Travel Route: If travelling from Delhi-Get to Badarpur Metro Station.From there reach Manav Rachna College of Engineering.On Surajkund road take the trail on the left leading to the forest.(This is the shortest route to get to the lakes.Me and my friends took the long one for the sake of adventure and trekking.You may prefer it if you're adventurous and don't mind walking long distances.)

Google Maps Link:Asola-Land of Lakes

Travel Advice: Preferably travel in groups as the area is deserted and is not that safe.Carry plenty of water and food because you'll definitely need it and most importantly don't forget to carry a GPS device because chances of getting lost are high.

Run Rudolph Run!

Together we're stronger

Mooing along

View from the top

A step closer to paradise

Moment of zen

The second lake...

The third one...

The fourth one...

The road less trodden

And finally the last one

Goodbye Eleanor!

All will go but I will stay.I'm as old as old can be.

Bhondsi-Epitome of Serenity

2012-03-17T13:48:00.002-07:00

Bhondsi,an emerging Eco-tourism hub is located in the hilly region of Haryana surrounded by what we can call the remains of a forest,it is a place to escape the chaos of the city and breathe in some fresh air and relax during the weekend.

Bhondsi was actually designed as a getaway resort and was the farmhouse of the former Prime Minister & MP,Chandra Shekhar.The area spread over more than 500 acres was handed over to the village Panchayat some time ago.It is home to several temples,the most popular of which is the temple of Goddess Bhuvneshwari and statues of various gods from the Hindu mythology,yet the most entrancing is the statue of Lord Shiva at the top of the hill which you would surely fall in love with.

So,as we finally traveled all the way to Bhondsi from Delhi by metro rail and a couple of auto-rickshaws,we finally got to the road leading to Chandra Shekhar's property,our destination.As you enter the road you can find many BSF Camps which makes the place safe for an outing.As you continue walking down the road you'll also find a couple of farm houses and two BSF check posts.After crossing the second one avoid the steep trail which leads nowhere on the left but instead walk straight towards 'Buddhay Baba's Ashram'.Don't be surprised if you find yourself delighted by the sight of a peacock because there not just a few but tens of them frolicking around the place.Keep walking straight and you'll end up at the trail that leads to the temple.Take the trail on the left if you intend to walk or the one on the right if you're driving,it's clearly indicated at the entrance,though in Hindi.Straight ahead you'll find many small cottages and a lake set in picturesque location surrounded by hills,a place in Haryana but far away from it.The lake though dry these days is a great example of the beauty of rain water harvesting.The place is surrounded by tens of statues of gods scattered around the place.Keep traveling up towards the temple and you'll find a couple of guys sitting in a near a pond,they're probably priests and will offer you 'prasad' don't refuse to take some.Stop by at Goddess Bhuvneshwari's temple,then cross the bridge that leads you towards Lord Shiva's gigantic statue.When you reach it,I'm sure you won't be dissapointed and will be enthralled by the beauty of it.

Facts

Bhondsi is all set to become the next eco-tourism hub and is to be massively renovated.It was to be develpoed as an eco-tourism site for the Commonwealth Games but failed due to lack of funds.Once completely renovated,would attract a lot of foreign tourists,generate employment and protect the local wildlife and environment.Though any income generated from the area would go to the Panchayat fund as the site is owned by the Bhondsi Gram Panchayat.

Best Time: October-February

Where: Bhondsi,Haryana

Travel Route: If traveling from Delhi-Get to HUDA City Centre metro station,from there take a shared autorickshaw (avoid individual autorickshaws as they would charge more) to Badshapur and from there towards Bhondsi but tell the driver in advance to drop you at Chandrashekhar.Take the street across the road.Autorickshaw fare-Rs.10/person.

Travel Advice: Take some water and food along as there isn't any decent restaurant around.Don't hesitate to ask BSF soldiers or the temple caretakers for any help.

I walk alone...


One of the many

Don Ram???

Waiting for the rain

One of the abandoned cottages

Where the priests gather

Holy cow!!

Threads of dreams

Goddess Bhuvneshwari

The destroyer of evil-Lord Shiva

Sorry but I'm an atheist

Golden words

The way back