once upon a time, during hte time of the rama-laxmana partnership, the mighty monkey kingdom of kishkinda was ruled by a very able and pious king named bali....! ..it is all too well known that the simian king bali met his end at the hand of Ram-laxman duo, breathing his last, after having thrown the million dollar question of those time why did you kill me..??! ..kishkinda, being on the banks of the great river tungabhadra, was very fertile n green though rocky ...! ....adjoining the hillock of kishkinda was the rocky mountains of atreya, matanga etc, all under the kingship of different monkey kings ...! ...all these are on the western side adjoining the banks of the tungabhadra ..! ..all this was before the birth of Christ ..!

they are still as they were, except for the mighty kingdoms ...instead they are now under the reigns of smaller chieftains from the simian lineage and protected by the human inmates of the ashrams on the footsteps of the mountains ..!

however, at the other side of the tungabhadra, where humans ruled the roost, the story was different ...! ...the region saw a lot of action, turmoil and an extended lull...! ..it underwent a single cyclic change from being an un-inhabited place to being discovered and then transferred gradually to one of the most revered and admired and then to one of a desolate and decimated ruins ..! ...Hampi, has a lot to tell than the huge rocks and boulders resting in amazing combinations balancing against each other with absolute precision, in total harmony with the nature ....! ...each of those rocks will have their own version of story to tell of a glorious past that was and gory tales of destruction ...!

..hampi, for beginers, was the capital of the vijayanagara empire a thriving and wealthy city and seat of an array of kings, glorious amongst them being krishnadevaraya! eastern and western travelers compared the city with great European cities like rome and Milan in elan and wealthier than Persia and Mesopotamia ! spread over an area of 40 sq kms, the city still retains its charm of its former self by way of its intricate carvings and massive sculpturing, all in stone ! the sprawling complexes which housed the royal household, queen folk and nobles bear testimony to its once-upon-a-time magnificence ! ..more breathtaking is the view from atop the matanga hill, which gives you a panoramic view of the entire vintage city of hampi, now decked in its invaluable ruins!

it is said that the best time to visit the place is in the month of Oct, when the days get comparatively cool and always has that breeze to keep you further cooler ! that is also the time when the city celebrates the mahanavami festival ! ..however, what brings hampi more closer to the people of the outside world is the Hampi utsav, when people descend from all parts of the world to this heritage village to celebrate the glorious past, when appreciation of art in all forms was at its peak ! .the fest this time year was celebrated from 3-5 of nov. I missed the first two days, but was right in time to catch up with concluding ceremonies of the fest !

for all those who are interested in the geo-location hampi lies 12 kms north east of hospet, a bustling small town smeared in big dust ! ..hospet (rechristianed as hosapeta) is about three Indian Railway hour drive from hubli on one side and guntakkal on the other ! buses ply between hospet and hampi and if you are more luxury seeking creeper, you can rely upon number of force make or bajaj rikshaws, that spew a heady mix of fumes, that will leave you in a dizzy !! ..in hampi, I will recommend you to go around on a hired bicycle (if you want to be on your own) or a motorized cycle (if you are with your own) or finally, an auto ! I opted for a tvs excel moped, as it gave me the relative ease of a bicycle and luxury of a motorized bike ! ..if you are passionate enough, you could take three to four days to complete the entire roundup of the whole area !

.the festivities were held at six different venues spread over the entire hampi village ! ..the grandest of them was set in the backdrop of huge rocks in front of the most notable structure in hampi the virupaksha temple ! .the road leading from the temple towards the stage, which was about 700 mtrs, forms the main bazaar area now, just as it was before .! ..the erstwhile bazaar area has about 30 shops made of stone pillars and slabs in one line on either side of the ground ! a few of them were occupied by state khadi organisations and other NGOs and the rest were left for the general public to take shelter for watching the programmes ! in the olden times there were occupied by small time traders and merchants to sell their wares to the common folk ! the cultural fiesta dished out was a mix of traditional kannada and carnatic folk to modern fusion; kuchipudi to bharatanatyam; hindustani to sufi and other popular and not so popular art forms !

public baths were the next best thing that I found in the walled city ! bazaar areas and public baths were to be found at close proximity to each other ! .and these were mostly found in front of major temples ! ..the baths would have separate rooms for changing and massaging ..! also, there were separate baths for womenfolk and menfolk ! ..the most important and most notable among all the baths was the one I came across in the royal enclosure! ..this was a large bath with steps descending geometrically from all the sides in unison and with an amazing system for constantly changing over the water in it ! .another bath which caught the attention was the queens bath, which was a beautiful building in indo-islamic style, in the midst of an equally beautiful garden!

.virupaksha temple, from where you would usually start your trek, is dedicated to an incarnation of lord shiva, also called as pampapati ! the grand temple has a giant eleven storied magnificent tower at the entrance, which at 165 mtrs is the tallest structure around hampi ! not much is known about when the temple was built but it is assumed that it was built during the time of the hosalyas ! there is a small phallus shaped stone on a pedestal, and on which revolves an interesting lore - if you are able to encircle it between your both palms, then whatever you seek from the lord will be fulfilled! ..as luck would have had it, my desires could not be presented as the number of prospective seekers were more ..!!

.i kicked start alive my sundaram iyengar make moped, with a wildcraft bag hung across my shoulders and armed with a map of the historical site, and set out to explore the area with a few tips and guide from the owner of the agency who rented out the moped to me (u need to keep your photo id card as security)! as I made my way out of the busy street of hampi, I came to the Krishna temple with a grand Krishna bazaar and the grand bath ! the temple was quite a huge one and had intricate carvings on the stone pillars and elsewhere ..! however, the temple has been abandoned with the diety being taken to a museum in Bangalore ..! such a big temple, lying unattended is attributed by the historians to be a result of the shivaite v/s vaishnaivite rivalry ! ..this is noteworthy, as most of the vaishnavite temples have been either abandoned or worse, damaged ! ..a huge stone pot at the entrance caught my attention.perhaps that must have been used as a common pot for placing the temple offerings!

hampi, though rocky, is bestowed with good vegetation too, with the soil being fertile!

.it is said that the vijayangara rulers, especially krishnadevaraya, were very wealthy and had coins of copper and bronze in circulation ! ..some of the coins in use were seen in the hampi historic museum in the adjoining village of kamalpura, to where the city limits was expected to be extended upto ! there are certain other artifacts and remnants also, that will let you travel centuries backwards.! ...and substantiating the importance of coin and economic superiority of the kingdom is the presence of a mint inside the royal enclosure!

..the royal enclosure is one of the most amazing and interesting area in hampi ! ..this area encompasses the royal suites, administrative blocks, the mint, strong rooms, a masjid, darbar, the mahanavami dibba, great public bath etc ..! ..these are just some of the notable structures inside the royal enclosure. ..apart from these, there are many other structures and even underground buildings that were used by the kingdom to run its affairs of the state! no, neither did I hear the hoof steps of the horses ghosts nor did I listen to the whisperings of the courtesans, but I felt great standing there and looking at the vast ruins that lay ahead of me! ..it was a pity to see a great empire built with so much passion and a city built so meticulously, was reduced to nothing in just a few years by some villains of our history !

..the city had a life of only about 200 years before it was reduced to shambles by the sultans of bijapur and neighboring sultanates ! ..plundering and looting after success in war was common during those times and it was no different with vijahyanagara too, with her being stripped the city to its bare! ..however, they did that with a difference along with plundering they took pain to destroy the entire city itself, bringing down those beautiful buildings and palaces! the entire royal enclosure was completely destroyed with the prime intention that the kingdom should not rise again ! however, they were kind enough to spare their ire on the temples and baths and the beautiful lotus mahal in the queens palace area!

.the queen and the royal womenfolk were accommodated at a separate walled complex about 200 mtrs from the royal enclosure! ..the most outstanding building inside the complex is the lotus mahal, a very beautiful limestone building built in indo-islamic style, with resembles a full bloom lotus when viewed from the top ! standing on the first floor of this eloquently styled building, the royal womenfolk would watch the proceedings happening outside! She could get the entire view of the kings palace and the area surrounding it from the first floor of the building! however, they would be looking out of small windows and not from their balconies, lest someone cast evil eyes on them ! ..the garden inside the complex would have been used by the little prince and princess during the evenings to play with their maids under the watchful eyes of the queen! ...the queens palace area also had two watch tower to keep a watch on unwanted elements and enemies, who may try to gain entry into the palace area ! also inside the complex was a temple dedicated to goddess lakshmi!

.adjacent to the queens palace was the elephant stable ! the stable was big enough to provide shelter to 10 elephants, each having a cabin for itself ! This building was in good shape as not much trouble was done to destroy it ..! ..in contrast, the horses stable beside the elephant stable was completely destroyed!

.lunch at hampi is recommended at the mango restaurant ! this is one restaurant that was named in India today as the best restaurant with a view ! i wound up my trip for the day around two in the afternoon and rode to the mango tree restaurant, which happened to be on the outskirts of the town along the banks of the tunga+bhadra ..! .for this I had to come back to the virupaksha temple and take the right side stone paved road that went around the temple and then turned outwards towards the river ! the entire stretch running along the river was stepped with make shift shelters on the banks for the devotees to take bath, change, wash and dry clothes. half a km further ahead, you have to wade thru a plantain farm to reach the mango tree restaurant ! ..set under a huge mango tree, the restaurant serves traditional south Indian meals and other dishes! ..the place was very simple and hygienic and you will feel really at ease sitting under the mango tree and watching the river flow by ! You could squat or spread yourself on the floored area around the base of the mango tree and there is a small stand in the front where the meals are served on plantain leaves! ..the refreshing breeze from the river blows gently on your face as you slowly chew in your meals ! the atmosphere was so calm and cool that you automatically get into that state of ease! I did not have to think more to contradict the conclusion of India today! I opted for a meals thali and a pineapple lassi ! a big swing adds to the beauty of the place and you could swing right into the river, i.e when the river is full! .to cater to the foreign palate, the restaurant also serves foreign dishes !

.with time not in my favour, I missed out some of the other beautiful structures and remains of the great empire like the vittala temple, stone chariot and the musical pillars !

I left the place wishing I could come back again to take another round of the place in peace trying to experience and bring back life to a lost empire through imagination .!

..gs !