Journey into the Past

October 8 - 16 2005. Long stretch of holidays. Ideal time for a getaway. I made use of this opportunity and I was driving a long way into the ruins which stands as a testimony to the the flourishing Vijayangara Dynasty.

Monday - October 10 2005

My friend Srinivas & me left Bangalore at 7 AM. It took us seven hours to reach Hospet in Bellary district, via the NH 4 & NH 13. The 200 kms until Chitradurga on NH4 is a dream drive. From Chitradurga we have to take a deviation into NH 13 towards Sholapur. The remaining 140 Kms on this NH 13 is not on the same level as the first half, as the roads are damaged & narrow.

Our very first stop was the Tungabadra Dam. We were tired & hungry after the long drive. So we couldnt enjoy much. We drove to Hospet & had a much needed lunch. By the time we were settled in our rooms in a very neat & fabulous hotel in Hospet called Hotel Malligi, it was around 5 PM. We freshened up & strolled inside the hotel premises. Did not venture into the Hospet town as it is just like our Bangalore's Kalasipalya.


Tuesday - October 11 2005

Got ready very early and left for Hampi which is 13 Kms from Hospet. We had our breakfast in the Hampi Bazar. The Vijayanagara Dynasty flourished for over four centuries. It was divided into the Sangam Dynasty [1336-1486], Salva Dynasty [1486-1503], Tulu Dynasty [1503-1569] which had the great Sri Krishna Devaraya under whom Vijayanagara saw a golden era and lastly the Aravidu Dynasty [1572-1680].

Reason behind the ruins?

The great Battle of Talikota on January 23 1565 waged by the Muhammadans which is described as one of the most decisive battles in all South Indian History. The Muhammadans emerged victorious on the third day and for five long months, in the words of Sewell (Author of 'A Forgotten Empire'), " with fire and sword, with crowbars and axes they carried on day after day their work of destruction. Never perhaps in the history of the world has such havoc been wrought, and wrought so suddenly, on so splendid a city; teeming with a wealthy and industrious population in the full plentitude of prosperity one day, and on the next seized, pillaged, and reduced to ruins, amid scenes of savage, massacre and horrors beggaring description"

Virupaksha or Pampapati Temple



The magnificient tower is visible from a distance and this is the only temple in the ruin city which has life. It is not known who built it or when it was built. It was renovated many times and also renovated by Sri Krishna Devaraya.





The main shrine contains a stone Linga which is worshipped as symbol of Pampa or Virupaksha. Parts of the temple are said to be older than the founding of the Vijayanagar itself.



It is said when the Muhammadans were on their work of destruction, a pig crossed their way in front of this temple which is an inauspicious sign for the Muslims. When they returned in the night to resume their destruction they saw the crescent moon which they worship and hence the Virupaksha temple was spared of their wrath.

There is a small dark chamber where the light comes through a small brick opening and the shadow of the tower appears upside down. The pin hole camera mechanism !!!





Srinivas taking the blessings of the elephant.



Jain Temples

The Jain temples on the Hemakutam hill near the Virupaksha temple.Their stepped pyramidal towers stand apart among the ruins. At one time the Jain faith seems to have greatly flourished in these parts. The age of these shrines is uncertain.









As Hampi is declared as a World Heritage center by the UNESCO, there is round the clock security in all the temples. We met a security guard from far off Jharkand in one of the Jain temples & had a brief but interesting chat with him.













At around 12 noon during our walk on the hills dotted with Jain architecture we were caught with surprise on encountering a guy dressed like Lord Hanuman. He was a very friendly guy and we struck an instant rapport with him and for the next two days Ganesh aka Hanuman was our guide & companion. The manner in which he climbed the rocks and mountains was amazing.



Sasvekalu Ganesha

The Sasvekalu Ganesha or the Mustard Ganesha installed in an open mantapa.



Krishna Temple

The Krishna temple built by Krishna Devaraya to house the idol which was brought by him from Udayagiri.













Badavi Linga

The Badavi Linga is the biggest of all Lingas in Hampi. This gorgeous Linga made of black stone is 12 feet in height. The inner sanctum has no ceiling. It is always submerged in water since a canal passes through this temple.





Ugra Narasimha

Closer to the Badavi Linga is the Ugra Narasimha which is the biggest idol in Hampi with a height of 22 feet. Behind the head is a serpent with its hood open. This idol is said to have been carved by a Brahmin during Krishna Devaraya's regime.



Chandrikeshwara Temple

Further down the road is the Chandrikeshwara temple.





Akka Thangi Betta

The Sister's Rock or the Akka Thangi Betta. It is said that two sisters were walking down to Hampi from Kamalapura which is 4 kms away. When they got tired of walking and uttered an insult about Hampi as they had not yet reached it even after walking so long, they turned into these rocks.



One of the scene of he famous kannada movie Sri Manjunatha in which Chiranjeevi draws the Shiva Linga in his blood was shot under this Sister's Rock.



The Paada Kallu or the Foot Rock. (Not sure wether it is called so, it was christened by me)



The Danndanayaka Enclosure

This is covered with huge stone walls which contained important administrative structures most of which were still in the construction phase during the invasion.









A grinding stone of the past.







The Muhammadan Watch Tower is a strong and massive square tower and most formidable of its kind in Vijayanagara.



Mahanavami Dibba

The Mahanavami Dibba which was built by Krishna Devaraya in memory of his conquest of Udayagiri,Orrisa. There are carvings of hunting scenes, dance postures and mythological pictures.Many festivities and competitions were said to be celebrated here.













Queens Bath

This is built of mortar and is eight feet deep. There is a canal for water to flow in from outside. There are four outlets for the used water to flow out.




Pushkarni

The Stepped Tank or the sacred Pushkarni.




Hazaararama Temple.

This was built by Krishna Devyaraya in 1513 and dedicated to Lord Vishnu.
















It is replete with engravings of Yoga postures,gods,godesses and dashavatara.




'The myth' starring Jackie Chan & Mallika Sherawath was largely shot here. Our guide Ganesh claims to have got a big tip from Jackie Chan.




Zanana Enclosure.

The zanana enclosure is a structural complex with tall enclosure walls on all four sides. The structures in it are in Indo-Islamic style of architecture and are judiciously spaced exemplifying manifestations of Vijayanagara secular architecture

The Watch Tower inside the Zanana Enclosure.



Lotus Mahal

The Lotus Mahal is a two storeyed building built of mortar. It is an example of Indo-Islamic architecture.



Elephant Stable

The Elephant Stable was meant for the royal elephants. There are eleven stables. All these are interconnected with small doors. This building with archs is built of stone and mortar and the cielings are dome shaped.







Some of the idols kept on display in the museum inside the enclosure namely the Ganesha & the Veeragallu or The Hero Stone dating back to 763 AD & 92 AD respectively.





Madhava / Ranga Temple

The Madhava temple dedicated to Lord Ranga.










The Underground Temple

The Siva temple which was intentionally built below the level of the surrounding ground so that the Linga might stand surrounded by water.







By the time we covered all these spots it began to rain. The walk back to Hampi in the evening showers combined with the non sense talk of Ganesh was fun.

The ruins in the sunset.



















We drove back to Hospet from Hampi and retired for the day.


Wednesday - October 12 2005

Hampi Bazaar

The famous Hampi Bazaar in front of the Virupaksha Temple.It is said at that time precious stones and gems were sold in heaps on this very street. The old bazaar is now filled with shops and hotels on either side and buzzes with activity.







Achutharaya Temple.

This temple was built by the younger brother of Krishna Devaraya, Achutaraya.This bears similarity with the Vittala temple built by Krishna Devaraya. This temple lies in close proximity with the Matanga Hill.









The Matanga Parvatam has a temple which contains a black stone image of Vishnu. The climb to the top provides a spectacular view of the city,the river and the surrounding country. However I couldnt ascend the hill this time.



The Courtesans Street

The Soolai Bazaar or The Dancing-girls street.The dancing girls are said to have occupied this street. The houses are in ruins now, but sufficient remains to show that it was once a handsome thouroughfare. The scared Matanga Parvatam and the temple gives the street a very picturesque setting.







There is a small tank or bath with a ruined pavillion in its center which is presumed to be used by the dancing girls.



Sacred Symbols

This temple has the stone wall engraving of the Pig, Crescent Moon and the Sword, which played an important role during the Muhammadan rampage, because of which (mentioned earlier) the Virupaksha temple still stands towering amidst the ruins.





It is belived that poor people who dont have a home of thier own would build one very soon, if they make a small house from the stones here.




Jain Temples

Jain temples near the Soolai Bazaar.It stands on rising ground above the pathway facing the river & Matanga Parvatam and has the usual step tower over the shrine which is generally associated with Jain temples.









Kings Balance.

It is said the Kings weighed themselves with gems & diamonds which was later distributed among the poor.







Vijaya Vittala Temple

This is one of the best sculptures of Hampi built by Krishna Devaraya in 1513. The pillars have been subtly sculpted with figures of angels, lotus, swans, yoga postures & horses etched beautifully.





The temple is famous for its musical pillars.









Samples of the mesmerizing work on the stone.









This carving here provides five different views .





It is said that diamonds were embedded on the ceilings for illuminating the courtyard.



'The myth' was shot widely in this temple too.







The world famous stone chariot.






Purandara Mantapa

The Purandara Mantapa on the banks of Tungabadra was dedicated to Shri Purandara Dasa when he was in Vijayanagara in 1540. He propogated the path of devotion through his songs in Kannada.



Admiring the ruins..



Sugriva's Cave

This is the cave where Sugriva kept Sita's jewels and saree which fell down from the Pushpaka Vimaana when she was being Kidnapped to Lanka by Ravana. The marks on the rock made by her saree as it fell can still be seen.



The inner view of the Sugrivas Cave.



The Tungabadra River. The ruins of the old bridge built by the Kings of Vijayanagara can be seen here.It connected Anegundi to Vijayanagar.





We had breakfast at 11-30 and then crossed this river in a motor boat to the Hippy Island which is not an Island in reality. This place has a lot of foriegn tourists.



From here we walked to Kishkinda which is supposed to be the birth place of Lord Hanuman.



It is said that Hanuman as a kid had jumped up from this mountain to catch hold of the Sun which he thought was a ball.



View from the Anjaneya Betta in Kishkinda.



By the time we were back in Hampi it was around 4. We bid adieu to the ruins and went back to Hospet where we had lunch and then proceeded to the Tungabadra Dam. It was raining heavily all through the evening. Here are a couple of shots which I could manage to take,






Thursday - October 13 2005

We left Hospet at 6 in the morning. The drive back to Bangalore was wonderful with a continous downpour all through.

Four days - 750 Kms drive - 30 Kms walk amidst the ruins - Journey into past. Was a perfect break from the usual mundane life.

Random Shots

Shot in my room at 1 AM in complete darkness with a long shutter speed.


Pseudo-Parched.. This was shot on the outer ring road - Sarjapur Road leading to Marathalli



Earthern formations..

A Day to remember

Time: 5 AM. Trrrrrnnnnnn went the alarm. I woke up and got ready in the next 40 mins. I was to go to Shivanasamudra with three others. Due to various reasons two of them dropped out and it was just me and my engineering pal Sunil. I left home sharp at 6 AM. It was such a pleasure driving through the empty Bangalore roads. Took me just 25 mins to reach the other side of the city viz Mysore Road. Sunil who was to join me at The Mysore Road - Ring Road junction was late by sometime. There was a varied mixture of activity as always during the dawn of morning sunlight. Newspaper boys, milkmen, morning joggers, Inter state buses , travel enthusiasts.. et al. The drive commenced at 6-40 AM.



We stopped for breakfast at the famous Janapada Loka Kamat Hotel which is most preffered by many tourists travelling on the Bangalore - Mysore Highway. After breakfast comprising of idli vada, not so tasty dosas & sugarcane juice, we resumed at 8-20 AM. We took a a left in Maddur towards Shivanasamudra.


The monsoon this year was very good and it was reflected by the sight of greenery everywhere. Paddy and sugarcane are the mostly cultivated in this part.


This mean buffaloe was very stubborn. I finally managed to get this shot correct.


The lush green paddy fields was soothing for the eyes used to seeing pollution, buildings, computers & people everyday.



My friend Sunil during one of my numerous photo halts.



I rue myself for the fact that I shaked the camera during this shot. They were most probably those tiny love birds.


Ladies at work.



I dont know what was the cause for the blue colour of the water.



Came across an old temple in ruins on the way.


The Five headed serpent gurding the Shiva Linga.



We reached Shivansamudra which at around 10-30 AM. The Gaganachukki and Barachukki form the Shivasamudra Falls which is created by the mighty River Cauvery hurling down from a few hundred meters.



Gaganachukki falls was where we stopped over first. The green dome which you see far off is the dargha which is located near the Barachukki falls. Though they are located just around 600 meters apart, one has to travel for nearly 6 Kms to reach the other falls. I heard there is another shrine hidden among the rocks in the river, but this we could not see because the river was in its full fury.


Sunil stay stuck at the view point enjoying the beauty and lost in thoughts. I decided to venture down near the bottom where one can experience the natures fury and beauty to the fullest. One has to be careful while going down as the rocks are very slippery. One should not try to act smart and get into the water too. The sound of the hurling water from so close was music to the ears. It is said that during the 16th Century,Nanjaraja, the ruler of the region committed suicide along with hiswife by jumping down the Gaganachukki.



Ninety percent of the crowd was from the IT/BPO industry. Many of them are seen here enjoying the spray of water,



Can you picture yourself standing all alone in the night, with not a soul around..Just you, the deafening sound of the water hurling down furiously & the darkness of the night?


Two white forms of matter viz liquid/water & gas/clouds.



The force with which the water comes down is put to a very good use. The first power station in Asia [Shimsha] was set up in Karnataka at this very Shivanasamudra in 1902 to produce hydroelectric power. We somehow missed going to this.



One of the many tourists who had ventured down to the place of the REAL action. The climb back to the top was done in a single stretch of 2 mins. This left me gasping for air. I cooled down with the help of the refreshing tender coconuts.


We left for the Barachukki falls. There was water, greenery and signs of agricultural prosperity everywhere. Atleast the farmers are happy. Mr Dharam Singh must be one beaming man now. Remember the Three year drought, Rajkumar kidnap and a whole lot of other miseries which SM Krishna had to face.



Nice pose for the camera !!



The Barachukki falls is comparatively less dangerous to the Gaganachukki falls. One cab get close to it and enjoy by sitting on the rocks with the legs in the water.


The Gaganachukki from the other side.






Mommy protecting her liitle one. Caught with the Gaganachukki in the background.






The Shivansamudra Valley in full glory.



After being amidst the falls, we left for Talkad. The scared cow atop the front gate of a temple,


The old man taking the paddy saplings to be sowed in the wet fields, strikes a friendly pose.



The bus zooming on the bridge with the river Cauvery flowing underneath. The drive to Talkad which is around 20 Kms from Shivansamudra is pathetic. No proper roads. Wish the MLA's use the funds allocated in a proper manner.



A farmer ploughing the wet fields.


Prosperity here, there & everywhere.



Wonderful sight of the bald trees in the wet paddy fields.



We reached Talkad at around 3 PM. This place again was full of our very own people - u know who? Beautyful Indian,American,Japanese girls !!!


White silk !!



The fact that there is water upto 25 feet, shows how good the monsoon has been. The boatman told us that in normal circumstances we can cross the river by walking across it as the water is hardly a feet deep.


A Nice boat ride.



A fallen tree looking into the water.



We had food in Talkad and left for Bangalore at 5-15 PM. A nice sight again.


The drive back to reach a place called Malavalli was sooo bad, that we almost repented the decesion of visiting Talkad.
Roads reflect our culture !!! Do They ??



Finally we got past these roads and reached a place where we had to decide wether to take right towards the Kanakapura road, which is not so busy or to go stright towards the Bangalore - Mysore highway. Luckily something in me made me to go straight. Why??? You will come to know later. By the time we reached Maddur viz the Bangalore - Mysore highway it was 6-45 PM. The sun was going down and it was getting dark. This was my FIRST night drive in my 6 months of driving experience. As I had mentioned in one of my earlier posts I dont prefer night driving as this time is a playground for professional drivers. But this was inevitable.


The road from Maddur to my village Byrapatna is a real fabulous one [ The very road where you find this Cafe Coffee Day ]. We did some 30 Kms in 20 mins. Half way through this short sprint we came across a KSRTC Bus coming down from ooty. I suddenly had a brainwave. Why not follow this bus? So from 6-50 PM to 8 PM all the way from Maddur to Bangalore we rode piggyback on the KSRTC Bus. It was a clear case of Master Slave implementaion of the Flip Flops in real life scenario. I have no words to describe this drive. It was just fabulous. Both of us were doing close to 80 KMPH which I could never imagine to do in the night driving alone with the glaring headlights of the approaching vehicles. What I did was just follow this bus. The driver does evrything, I just need to implement the decesion he takes by showing fast reflexes. The kind of turns [ The Lane interchanges, as the road is still under construction ] was ultimate. We had a hearty laugh inside. There was only one instance where we missed the master for about two minutes somewhere in Ramanagara, but I stepped on the pedal and caught up with the Big Boss in no time. Finally, just as we entered Bangalore to the welcome of the towering streetlights, I put the master behind and as a token of Salute honked the horn in gratitude. What if I had taken the Kanakapura Road which is very narrow, isolated and full of curves? KA01 F7713 - I will never forget you. Finally reached home at 9 PM after seeing off my friend. 15 Hrs - 340 Kms - Nature at its best - Drive of a different kind ... Was a day to remember. *** Dont ask me how I got this snap of the Big Boss ;-)

Sankey in September

September start - Mid term exams, US open, Ganesha Habba. The season seems to tell that the curtains are almost coming down for the current year.

This one was shot on Ganesha Festival in Sankey Tank.



The immersion of the idol in Sankey Tank has now become a well organised affair invloving the BCC, Bangalore City Police and others. As a sepearate portion is reserved for this purpose the contamination of the water is avoided.



These were again shot in Sankey at 7-30 PM. The exposure was pretty long. The object in the bottom is a wooden log which is a barricade put up to control the crowds during the idol immersion.

Observe the Stars and the streetlights n billboards in the next snap.