Don't Worry, be Hampi

I was trying hard, rather my best but with my limited knowledge of south Indian languages, it was tough to decipher which part of south India did they belong to...

This was a much needed break that D and I had planned and Hampi was a unanimous choice. Only contentious decision was the place to stay. While D was insisting that we stay at a star rated place, I on M's suggestion, wanted to stay at Shanthi Guest House on the so called Hippie Island. It was quite a pleasant surprise for us after we landed up here. After disembarking from the Hampi express at Hospet we bargained a lot with a few auto rickshaws and finally got one to Hampi. We got down at "Boat Point" (which incidentally is also the Hampi Auto Stand) and crossed the Tungabhadra river - which was hardly a 50m stretch -  on a motor boat to reach Virupapura Gaddi, better known among tourists as Hippie Island. As we walked towards the guest house the place reminded me of other firang-infested Indian cities, Goa and Pondicherry. There were firangs all around us and the narrow lane which we had to take to reach the guest house had walls with graffiti, cafes, souvenir shops and even money exchange joints on one side, while serene and beautiful paddy fields on the other. Shanthi guest house was much better than we had imagined. With paddy fields right across our small cottage, a hammock on its porch and basic furniture it was a perfect setting for a lazy weekend.

Boat Point, Hampi

Coming back to the alien south Indian language that i was trying to decipher. The source of that was a group of guys who had come to stay at the cottage next to ours. These guys came in after a day of our stay and were quite a vociferous group. While the night prior to the arrival of this  group was calm and only troubled by crickets and croaking frogs, the next night had more noisy intrusions by this group.

Love, music and drugs have a universal language. With these guys playing Pink Floyd it was not tough to guess what was their preference in Hampi. While D was quite confident that it was Malayalam, I thought it was Telugu as I was sure I had heard an "aypendi" or a similar sounding syllable.

Hampi is quite an experience and the best thing about the place is there is hardly anyone around. And since it is firang-infested it has just the right dose of commercialization. The guest house itself is not out of the world but a few unique amenities here are pretty decent. The eatery with low rise dining slabs and mattress on its sides is the first thing that catches your eye. It is next to the paddy fields again with unique bell shaped lamp shades and pretty neat. The only thing that troubles you there are flies. Being next to a field has its side effect, in flies and mosquitoes but brighter side is the serene view and low hum of  crickets and other insects that makes nights here pretty musical. (By the way did you know that plural of cheese is cheeses, this i overheard - and cross-verified - from the firang group who were chatting at Shanthi Guest House restaurant, next to our dining slab).

The Hampi ruins are amazingly beautiful and certainly takes you to a different world. As Rodney Walker, the pensioner from South Africa, who we met here told us - Hampi is a feeling that needs sinking in and one can easily spend months here finding your own personal spots. A few must sees here are Vithhala Temple (this has the stone chariot which kind of defines Hampi ruins), Achyutaraya Temple and the Pushkarani, both at Krishna Bazar and Ganika Vidhi. The walk from Ganika Vidhi to Vithala Temple is quite a trek and sholayesque. The hills and the route between precaciously placed rocks are strikingly awesome. You can not help but think of the times just six centuries ago. The pushkarani, which was a water body surrounded by stairs was probably equivalent to the modern day malls where people spent their evenings. The scale of the Pushkarni and the Ganika Vidhi as well as the Krishna Bazar complex talks volumes about the lost civilization. Our auto rickshaw driver-cum-guide informed us that Krishna Bazar was the market where gold and other precious ornaments were sold.

The huge expanse of Hampi amazes me and it is equally amazing how such a fledgling civilization ended with so much of the past still in pristine state. I definitely need to look up what the experts say about the extinction of civilization at Hampi.

PS: While returning from our trek of Vithala Temple we lost our way in the hills. We however luckily met a few people and followed them to reach Virupaksha Temple. From there we walked to the boat point again to try our luck to cross the river on boat. And lucky we were, for in that morbid darkness there were a few people who asked whether we need a coracle ride. It was dark like hell and hardly anything was visible. A few lights on the other side of the river was our only beacon. It was a wonderful coracle ride and we survived it to tell a tale or may be to die another day.