Hampi - living up to hyperbole. Review on Hampi

Most archaelogical sites or tourist destinations rarely live up to their billing. You travel miles to see a temple described in a mixture of poetic, historical and archaelogical hyperbole and discover what may best be termed a picturesque ruin with the lingering smell of bats and an army of urchins who, for reason unknown, want your Reynolds ballpoint pen.

Hampi is an exception, definitely an exception and in many ways.

It's brief history in brief.

One day a metropolis of a few hundred thousand souls, a few weeks later, an abandoned ruin. One of the last few Hindu kingdoms to survive in India, Hampi (aka Vijayanagaram) on the banks of the Tungabhadra in the Indian Deccan was founded by two brothers Hakka and Bukka in 1336 AD. Hampi reached the acme of it's power in the 16th century under Krishnadevaraya when it spread from Orissa in the east to Gujarat in the north. But the Vijayanagar kings were foolish enough to deliberately insult and provoke their largely Mohammedan neighbours and the opposition to them finally reached a crescendo.

Battle was joined at Talikota in 1565 AD and at a critical time, the Mohammedan generals in the Vijayanagar army defected en masse to the enemy. Hampi was ransacked, set to flame, pillaged, sacked and left to die. The city described by Portugese and Persian visitors as one of the richest cities in the east, fell to ruin. It was never rebuilt and thus what remains today is the city more or less as it was left by its attackers in the 16th century.

If the history itself is not enough to enchant you, there's the setting. A Martian landscape of reddish granite with mammoth boulders teetering on the edge of still bigger boulders. It is surreal and awe inspring especially in twilight and in my case was the beginning of my continuing love affair with Hampi.

Everyone has a particular angle to historical sites, the reason why they visit them. Mine own depends on my mood. At times, there's a certain pleasure in being as utterly ignorant about the place after you've visited it as before and give free rein to your imagination in speculating what the large oval room you're standing was used for. At others, you want to learn travellers tales or written records left by people when the site was in it's heyday, know who built it and when, why it was built and it's subsequent (hopefully romantic and / or violent) history. In India, the Archaelogical Survey of India make it easy to satisfy the former mood but not the latter. While big signs warn of dire repercussions if you as much as peer hard enough at a statue, they maintain a discreet and intriguing silence on the monument itself.

Hampi enables you to satisfy both moods. Hampi had many visitors during it's glory days some of whom have left written records of their visit. In particular there was the Portugese visitor Domingo Paes who visited during Krishnadevaraya's reign and Ahmed Razak, the Persian ambassador to the Vijayanagar court who visited in the 15th century. Both have given descriptions not only of the monuments but also about the kings who ruled then.

According to Paes, Krishnadevaraya was a man of medium height and fair in appearance. Razak talks of the riches and flowers on sale in the main bazaar of Hampi. There are also fascinating reports by British archaelogists who took part in excavations in the early 20th century. These two sources provide a wealth of detail which bring Hampi alive. And best of all enable you to be your own guide to the ruins and not depend on some shark who'll parrot out some canned mythological text. At the same time there are buildings without number in the hillsides and on hill tops about whose purpose or history nothing is known.

But these are, in Hampi's case, only the dessert for the main course of Hampi itself. Spread over several luxurious kilometers, the reddish boulder strewn landscape, the granite ruins are a visual treat especially enjoyable during early morn, late afternoon or on moonlit nights. At different times, Hampi presents too a different appearance and appeals to different emotions. In short, magical.

The only overtly commercial intrusion is in the main bazaar which has a surfeit of restaurants offering pancakes and lemon teas in multiple languages with the clincher footnote, ''Recommended by Lonely Planet''. But this is not too bad and even provides a hint of the busy bazaar it was 400 years ago (though they probably didnt have signs in hebrew or kana then :)).

Hopefully useful information:

Hampi is best enjoyed in winter between October and March before the days grow too hot. Best too during the weekdays (Mon-Fri). It's not too bad on weekends but key sites reachable by road definitely get crowded. The nice thing about Hampi is

that if you don't mind walking or biking there are lot of places you can go to and be the only visitor. Lonely hill top watch towers or temples, the now desolate Bhim's gate which was the main gate to Hampi and thru which the enemy forces entered Hampi after the battle of Talikota.

Hotel Mayura Bhuvaneshwari (Tel no: 08394-51374) of the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) hotel chain is situated at Kamalapuram at the external fringe of Hampi. It doesnt intrude into the ruins but enables easy access. The hotel too is very comfortable and the staff are helpful. Food may not appeal to an epicure but plentiful and quite good. The beer is cold. Since the hotel gets booked solid esp. during weekends and festivals, best to book before you land up. There are basic places near the main bazaar but most are uncomfortable for prolonged stay and the best way to enjoy Hampi is to stay at least a week. If even this is not available then you have to make the long trudge to Hospet where there are several hotels but it is no fun to spend the day at Hampi and the night in Hospet. One of the most enjoyable things in Hampi is walking around by night.

I've not listed down specific places to see because there are too many and I think ruins are best discovered in your own sequence. All right just one, sunrise from the top of Matanga Hill with the golden Achyutaraya temple immediately below and green palms just after. Brilliant.

My first visit to Hampi was in 1998. I took a night bus from Pune, survived a screening of Purab aur Paschim (watching a lust lorn, but fiercely patriotic Manoj Kumar wooing an indecently blonde Saira Banu smoking a cigarette), got off at Hubli and took another bus to Hospet. Couldnt get a hotel in Hampi and stayed at the KSTDC Hotel near Tungabhadra dam, a dire experience, believe me. There was a minor compensation in the form of a musical fountain which brayed out a number from Shankarabharanam. Hampi itself however, was wonderful and made it all worthwhile. Swore I'd return and stay at Hampi itself. Kept my promise in Feb 2002 when we drove there from Badami. The second visit was even better. In fact I don't mind moving in if I can only find a way of making a living amidst 16th century ruins.

So throw in a vitamin filled towel, a few T shirts, a trouser or two, a toothbrush, as many books as you want into a sack, and go there, now.

ps: Pls to refer to tomes like Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide and info on net for details on getting there from wherever you are. If it's really, really far, use your electronic thumb.