EXPLORING HAMPI - DAY 1

After the lovely pastoral walk along the banks of the Tungabahdra we arrived at possibly the most iconic temple of Hampi, the Vitthala temple.
It was built at the zenith of Vijayanagara architecture in 1509 -1529 although the core was 100 years earlier.
It is dedicated to Lord Vitthala, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.Three gopuras tower over the central courtyard on three sides. 

The stone chariot is in fact a shrine to Garuda the sacred bird which transported Lord Vishnu. As can be seen from the mid nineteenth century photo the shrine originally had an ornate tower which has since disappeared. The stone wheels were designed to turn but have now been fixed to preserve the mechanism. The disproportionate elephants were a later addition, originally there were horses which must have been victims of the destruction in 1565.

An interesting photograph take in 1856 by amateur British colonial photographer, Alexander Greenlaw who was the first to extensively photograph in 1855- 56.

The  intensity of stone carving is wonderful, all the pillars in the various mandapas have carved plinths with a huge variety of subjects, sacred and profane. Below are Krishna with traces of the original painting which adorned the temples, a rare carving of Ravana, armed men on a mythical creature, tiger legs, horse body, hare ears and lion head, a drummer rapt in his music.

These music columns, made in solid granite, were played to accompany devotional chants, vocal music and dance performances.

 

There was a spectacular view over to the other side of the rive and the Anjanadri Hill with the 575 steps up to the Hanuman shrine, yet to be untaken.

After leaving the serene atmosphere of Vitthala, we continued our walk along the river past goatherds, pilgrim shelters,coracle crossings, sugarcane juice vendor and a sacred tree festooned in rag bundles enclosing pebbles, each pebble  is wish for a child and beneath the tree were crudely made miniature shelters, desires for a home.

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We climbed a hillside, an unbroken expanse of granite with some ancient carvings,worn steps led to the top where we were to take a tuc tuc ride on to the Palace of Vira Harihaha .

A distant view of the stunning gopura of the Virupaksha temple to be visited tomorrow.

Not much left of the Palace of Vira Harihaha which dates from 1377 - 1404 but from the remaining foundations it must have been a magnificent sight, the secular part of the sacred city. The most well preserved area is the zenana, womens quarters. It is surrounded by tall protective walls, still intact, huge asymmetrically cut rocks laid with great precision, there are three remaining watch towers and at the back of the area are the elephant stables but the miraculously intact wonder is the Lotus Mahal. Thought to be a summer retreat for the royal ladies, it was originally surrounded by a moat, there was a pumping system through terracotta pipes inlaid into the walls which had a cooling effect in the intense heat of summer. All the remaining buildings are in the Indo-Islamic style of the 16th century.

On leaving the zenana we stopped for yet another coconut juice, the most refreshing thing in the world after a hot sticky day of being intense tourists. Just by the coconut juice vendor was a very special entwining of two of the most sacred trees, a Peepul also know as Bodhi, the tree of enlightenment and a Banyan, tree of life. Underneath these especially auspicious trees were several shrines with smashed coconuts and flowers as puja offerings.

Goa to Hampi- a train ride through the Western Ghats; arrival in Anegundi

Our much anticipated journey to Hampi started from the busy town of Margao about an hour from Panaji. It's not an easy journey to Hampi, there are no rail or air connections and it's a long way from any large town. Hospet is the nearest train station, we couldn't get a direct train from Margao so the big railway crossroads of Hubli was the first stop, we knew that the connecting train we needed from Hubli to Hospet was fully booked,what to do?  Stay in Hubli for a night and go by train the next day or get a taxi to our destination in the village of Anegundi immediately?
We were so excited, for years Hampi had been a place of magical attraction, Lucy had been brought up with my fascination and we love the Frédéric Fougea film, Hanuman which is typical of his style with some documentary techniques and wonderful cinematography, all filmed in Hampi.
Once we were settled on the train we tried to work out which side would give the best views of the Dudhsagar waterfall, after about one hour we found out that in fact both sides gave good views as the train track was on a huge curve so we saw it from a distance and then as we went through a tunnel and over the bridge quite close up. The waterfall is on the course of the same river that flows down to Panaji, the Mandovi, it has a 310 metres drop in four tiers, at the end of the monsoon it was really a stunning sight.

After this excitement we could relax and enjoy the scenery through the Western Ghats, endless emerald paddy fields, mountains and jungle.
As we approached Hubli it was already after 8 p.m. After much thought we decided to push on to Annegundi by taxi, knowing it would take a further 3 hours. A little alarming negotiating with the taxi drivers, not simple as most didn't want to undertake the long journey there and back at that hour. Finally we found our man but we had to argue that he would be the only one coming with us, didn't fancy being in the car with two guys. Then we had to go through a  rather silly pantomime of pretending to call ahead to a totally fictitious  husband who was waiting anxiously and needed us to take a photo of the taxi registration.........which we did with much assurance from our driver and 6 friends that we needed to feel safe, there were still qualms but after agreeing the price of 4000 IR (52€) for 300kms we hopped in and off we went. The first 100 kms were spent with me grabbing Lucy, grabbing the front seat and quietly whimpering or actually shrieking at some points much to the amusement of Lucy and driver. I thought my hands would never un-clench again as we overtook convoys of lorries with horn blaring, whizzed through villages dodging cows, pigs and small children, speeding through the night with radio cheerfully blaring Bollywood hits. Soon I realized that our driver knew what he was doing, he was young with fast reactions, seemingly second sight and overwhelming confidence as we covered the kms with headlights blazing and  horn still very active. As we reached Hospet after 3 hours I knew the agony was nearly over, we left the main road and drove at a relatively sedate pace on country lanes through amazing scenery, towering rocks and endless banana plantations. We reached Annegundi  after 11 p.m., all was peaceful, was so happy to go to bed in one piece. We were staying in Peshegaar House, one of the houses in the village owned by a cultural trust http://www.urammaheritagehomes.com/uramma-cultural-residency  We were met by Siraj the manager who proved to be super helpful throughout our stay, always there to answer our many questions and help us to organize our time to the best effect.
In the early morning light I explored our space and saw that although the house was ancient with some really interesting features like huge slate slab floors and ceilings, a walled garden and a covered porch, it was all beyond shabby and terribly basic, the rooms were clean but the bedding was very scanty and a bit grubby. It reminded me of early days in Morocco.

We went off to breakfast which was in the main property of the trust, Uramma cultural residency which is set in a tropical garden. After a gentle moan about our rooms we were shown one of the cottages and decided to move immediately for the rest of our stay, more expensive but really great, a spacious bedroom with en-suite bathroom, in Peshegaar House the bathrooms were outside in the garden and the monkeys were very curious as they played in the overhanging trees.
 After a substantial breakfast we asked Siraj to find a guide for our first foray into the Hampi sites.

                               
All was arranged, we were to meet Mr. Ghopal on the other side of the river and then walk along the river to the first temples. We decided to explore the village of Anegundi later as we couldn't wait to wander through the wonders of  Hampi.

The walk from Uramma to the banks of the river Tungabhadra took only 10 minutes but was so wonderful, just a narrow lane through the paddy fields ablaze with marigolds, small ancient pilgrim houses were hidden among the coconut groves.

A little way from the village was another small community which we learnt later was the settlement for the untouchables,  the cast system is still taken very seriously and these people were literally outcasts, their humble houses were clean and tidy with many small children coming out to see us and practice their English words. There was a humble shrine by the road with some smashed coconuts as offerings. Women were sprinkling chalk dust in precise patterns on their doorsteps to welcome any wandering deities into their homes. Cows with blue horns in honour of Shiva grazed where ever they felt like it.

We arrived at the riverbank where an old boat went backwards and forwards all day taking people, motorbikes, bicycles, goats, sheep,dogs and luggage. The boat was low in the water but it was a short distance, fabulous views while on the water to the Hanuman temple and further up the river.

We arrived safely and there was Mr. Ghopal waiting for us, a calm amiable man who proved to be an excellent guide, mixing historical fact with anecdote and even sharing some personal details which gave us insights into the Hindu religion, culture and its reaction to modern times.
We walked at a leisurely pace by the banks of the river, this was a wonderful introduction to the more spectacular splendours of the ancient city of Hampi.

PART 2 - ANCIENT HAMPI - OUR EXPLORATIONS COMING SOON!