Date:28-30 Dec 2005
‘Hampi’ New Year- The trip to Hampi
This is my first travelogue. A trip gives you time- to reflect, think and ideate. A trip gives you experience and not to mention loads of knowledge for a quizzer like me- on the place, on the history and on the people. I traveled to Hampi with my junior and it was a refreshing trip that hopefully set the tone for a ‘Happy’ new year!
Instead of writing down a Ramayana(and Hampi is very siginficant from that aspect!),I’ve tried to structure the travelogue so that (I appear fundoo in the process and) navigation becomes easier and spares you, the reader of reading the whole post.( And a grand treat for those who do read the whole thing!)
Hampi is basically ruins.Ruins of a bygone era when diamonds and pearls used to traded on the streets, of an era which attracted the Persians and Mongols to trade, of an era which spawned from Kerala to Orissa,of an era which gave South India one of its most glorious periods. It also has lot of mythological importance.Kishkinda- the monkey kingdom of Vali is close to Hampi. Hamuman was born in Anjanadri hills, close to Hampi. It was in Hampi that the monkey army(Vaanar sena) was gathered
and headed towards Lanka.Hampi is basically ruins. Yet these ruins have lots of stories to tell
So, here we go to Hampi.
1.People – Me, Sandeep, Emily, Natalie, Venkatesh,the guide, the soda-wallah and Hero Honda Splendor.
2. Journey/Experiences-
3. Memories-
2. Micheal Jackson – ‘Heal them young’
3. Fu#k-you-ok!
4. Hawkers
5. Hybrid Gods.
4. Places visited –
3. Anjanadri
4. Queens’ Bath
5. Conclusion?!
JOURNEY
Everytime I miss the proverbial bus, but this time I almost missed the train!Having reached the station five minutes before the scheduled departure and the general compartment was only at the begining of the train. So there ran our Ben Johnson(I was on drugs, I had cold you see!). Midway I realised I had not performed my railway station duty- that of buying a magazine. I picked up Businessworld and thought its cover story on the change of guard in HLL will provide enough food for thought for the two hours journey.My two cents worth on this.I thought Mr.Banga's Powerbrand strategy was working very well until the price wars began.Moreover, it was in tune with Unilever's global stategy of pruning its brand portfolio. It remains to be seen how Mr.Manwani and his new team at HLL perform in wake of stiff competition from P&G and Reckitt-Coleman.
During the course of the journey, chatted up with the chai-wallah and got to know that it is the Railway Police's palms they have to grease and not those of the ticket checkers, whom they believe to be next to God.If only the TCs were considerate and genial with us, who travel with valid tickets and just need some adjustments. They spend around 1000 rupees every month on the grease and end up earning a measly 2000-2500 per month. When he finished narrating his sad story,everyone in the coupe bought tea instantaneously. His eyes were gleaming with real gratitude and his chai provided us relief from cold, our gesture brought him happiness.
After two hours of businessworld-peanuts-three cups of tea-waving at village urchins-humming 'jiya dhadak dhadak jaaye' at the door, came Koppal.
Sandeep had come to recieve me at the station. Koppal is like any other town in North Karnataka.One main road,one 'market', one 'chowk'(and most of the time it is Gandhi Chowk!). Koppal derives its name from..wait, this is about my trip to Hampi and not Koppal. More about Koppal sometime later.
At Sandeep's home his mother cooked us a delicious dinner. Dinner was a huge initial serving of rice with Sambar, followed by equally huge serving of rice with 'gojju'- a thick curry, speciality of South Karnataka. There was a third equally huge serving of rice with buttermilk. Never had I eaten so much rice in one meal!
Dinner was followed by a discussion with Sandeep's father on studies,engineering,future,MBA and on how money is not everything in life(well, that he said!).Before we slept, me and Sandeep watched a hilarious Gujju spoof of Kill Bill, chatted for a while about this, that and all that.It was decided that we'd start for Hampi at 7:30 the next day.
End of day 1
It was 7:45 when we woke up on day 2.But we didnot miss either the bus or the train, because we were to go to Hampi on a Hero Honda Splendor!!. This made the journey more exciting, the prospect of riding a bike on a very busy National Highway. The trucks carrying heavy load with light-hearted message at the back did not trouble us as much as the pot-hole ridden roads. Wearing a helmet is a must not for safety, but for shielding our eyes and ears from dust and insects, especially at night.I was the pillion rider for half the journey and took over the reins near Hospet. We went off-track for some distance in Hospet town and with the help of two gentlemen and a lady, took the correct road and reached Hampi safely without any mishap.The tourism department has indeed spent some money on Hampi. This was very much evident as we approached Hampi.A huge arch welcomed us and we were in for a pleasant surprise.We were no longer riding on roads, we were flying.There was sea-change in the quality of roads.But dear sirs in the high offices, it is of no use if only roads for 6 kilometers towards Hampi are fine. Are people supposed to land at the arch and then take the road leading to Hampi?!What about the roads leading to the arch.
We sighted a few ancient temples and knew Hampi was close. We headed straight to the Virupaksha Temple first. As is the case with most South Indian temples, the shop keepers selling coconuts beckon you to buy from them and tell you to be carefree about your footwear.If ever I'd have to choose someone to guard Jayalalithaa's huge footwear collection, without an iota of doubt I'll choose the guy whom we trusted our footwear with!
The entrance to the Virupaksha Temple has three Gopuras (towers), each built by a different king to commemorate different occasions. The entry fee is Rs.2 but I had to carry a ridiculously high Rs.50 to carry my camera inside.
And it's a crime to get video-cameras,one has to pay a fee(fine?!) of Rs.500!!More on ridiculous entry fees to follow.
As soon as we entered the main temple, we met Venkatesh, the guide.He promised us to 'told us the complete details of the glory history of the big fantastic temple'. His offer was too tempting! And he wouldn't budge and reduce his 'guidance fees' of 50 rupees.We decided to try him out. Minutes into his guidance, I had my belief strengthened that if I spent a few days brushing up my history and get to know some trivia from the locals, I can be a much better guide than anyone around in Hampi.
More on the temple and Venkatesh, here and here respectively.
Then we proceed to the Yantroddhara Hanuman Temple,where Lord Hanuman was imprisoned in a 'yantra' as he was being too mischevious. Hampi has lot of prominence in the Mahabharata as the place where lord Hanuman was born and brought up,the legendary battle between Vali and Sugreev was fought, and finally as the place where the Vaanar sena was assembled.Read about the historical significance of Hampi here
And it was on the way to the yantrodhhara temple and subsequently to the Vijay Vitthala Temple that we 'met' Natalie and Emily. We actually came across each other at the entrance of the Virupaksha Temple where they had parked their cycles. I think that it is a very good idea to cover a place on wheels rather than walk around. But then we were on a bike,much better than cycles.But I'd like to see such a system being put into practice at other tourist destinations.It was a curious me asking Natalie about the cost of renting out a cycle and I didn't realise then that we'd actually 'meet' later and cover the rest of Hampi together.
On our way to the Y'ddhara temple, we again came across Emily and Natalie searching the way to the Vittaka Temple.With a page out of their 'survival guide'- Let's go,they were looking for places mentioned in that guide. According to me, it is no doubt helpfiul to have a guide, but the best way to explore a place is to
get there and gather from the locals about the places to visit.But then, E & N were lucky in a sense. They had locals in the form of me and Sandeep showing them the rest of Hampi
After a long walk in the hot sun for about 3 kilometers, we reached the Vitthala Temple. In the course of the journey, I had a conversation with Natalie which was unlike any conversation I've had with a foreigner. Most of the time it is me who asks lots questions about their place,culture,interests e.t.c. But his time we were to play Indian ambassadors and talk about the condition of women,their freedom in the society,'frustrated' Indian men. I believe I and Sandeep did good enough to clear their doubts,misconceptions and made them aware of the changing face of the Indian society.
Example 1
Natalie :We saw a Tamil movie in Chennai and the heroine was being beaten up by her father for going around with the hero.Does it happen so in India?
Me :Well,not actually!.In earlier days....
Example 2
Natalie :Ok, now you guys are traveling on your own. I don't see any girls coming here on their own. Aren't they allowed to go out on their own.Most of the girls I see here are married.
Me :Well,not actually!It's not like this everywhere. In cities, you can indeed find girls going out on their own.
Their subsequent visit to Goa and Mumbai must have given them an idea how different is one part on India from another.More on Natalie's questions and not actually, [here].
At the Vitthal Temple,the ridiculously high entry fees forbade them from entering inside and they had to wait outside.I find this amusing. The government on one hand wants to promote tourism and fixes such high entry fees that actually acts as a deterrent. Here, it was Rs.10 for us and Rs.250!! for 'foreigners'..call them 'tourists' or 'foreign tourists' atleast. Foreigners sounds too hard a term and creates a mental divide the moment one come across it. 'Incredible India is fine on paper and it is better on the website!, but on the ground make it conducive for tourists to actually visit important locations. Anyway, there was nothing much worth 250 rupees for them to see and marvel at. And for us, it was just a question of trading a bottle of coke to gain entry inside. More on the Vitthala temple,[here].
After the doubt-clearing sessions and a tiring long walk back to the main street passing through the market place where it is said that diamonds and pearls used to be traded like day to day commodities.We had not had anything since the time we had left Sandeep's place and without our realisation,it was already 2:00pm. We then decided to have lunch, the need driven by the need to sit and rest and more than that by the most basic human need- hunger. E & N again looked into their survival guide to find out a listed hotel where they'd get 'clean' place and 'good'food.None of the places around actually looked any better than each other.All of them were like any other restaurants one will find on South India. Wooden tables and chairs, steel tumblers and jugs, owners doubling up as waiters, in a lungi rolled up well above their knees, with a napkin on their shoulders. It appeared to me that they were not too keen on having food at such a place. We've had had food at far worse places. And then they looked up in their 'survivor's guide' and found out that the 'Hotel Welcome' that we were standing infront of,actually found a mention in their survivor's guide. So, we were welcomed by its genial owner doubling up as the waiter and his crisp english actually took me by surprise. Then my philosophy of eating out was feinforced. It is not about the place and the price, it is about the food and the people of that place. Food was good, we settled for chapatis with 'cheese kofta' and a second round of chapatis with 'ordered for spicy, but not so spicy' dal fry, we talked movies(mind movies- ESOTSM,The Butterfly Effect,Memento, Being John Malkovich), music(Led Zep,Coldplay,Sum 41-'hey,one of the band members looks like an Indian books,religion,change of names of Indian cities. It was here that we got to know that Natalie had travelled to nearly 3 countries and she's only 25!. Emily earlier used to work in an Indian restaurant in New York and she was Natalie's 'walking talking menu'
Natalie and Emily work in Japan for The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme.Emily is from New York and Natalie from Vancouver.Yes, there are lots of Indians in Vancouver!.It's tough for them in Japan.They are only foreigners in the towns they stay in. It's only six months more before they move our of Japan. Emily later wants to work in an art museum(who wouldn't love that!) and Natalie with a degree in sports medicine wants to work at the forthcoming Winter Olympics at Vancouver in 2010. Talking to them sent me wondering about the choices they get make regarding work,studies and all this in turn does have a profound impact on the way they live. They are so much more'independent'-that's the word. But then it has everything has its own trade-offs. Let's blame it on the 'Grass is always greener on the other side syndrome'!
Then we proceeded to see the rest of Hampi. It was never explicitly stated that N & E would see the rest of Hampi. The connection was somehow made. The arrangement suited both our groups quite well I guess. We had nice people for company and they had guides for free and one guide in particular going on about Hindu Gods and mythology and would ultimately end up at animal Gods!!. Me and Sandeep on the bike and they followed us on cycles. It was indeed tiring for them. We managed to visit the Mustard Ganesha,the Lotus Mahal, the ruins of the noblemen's quarters. We also went to a place where excavation was on and excavators had just discovered a tower dating back to the pre-Vijaynagar era. One young kid enthusiastically showed us around the place and we were pleasantly surprised when the kid asked us for a pen rather than money. We were more than happy to spare a pen for him. I wonder if he goes to school. His parents work at the ruins throughout the day and he has to take care of his baby sibling. That was pen(ny) well spent!!
Then we came across the soda-wallah who was behaviuor indeed quite obscene. 'Madam, wants drinks?','Lots of drinks, lots of enjoyment, come we have fun.masti'. He basically wanted a cigarette and when Emily got down from the cycle and started opening her pouch, his eyes lit up like a race punter whose horse wins. And his face was a treat to watch when Emily offered him one full pack of 555 beedis!!! That was one lesson well taught, and hopefully the soda-wallah learnt the lesson well and learns to be genial to foreign tourists(ok, not foriegners)!.Then at the underground Shiva temple, which Raja Krishnadevaraya had built as a gift for his mother, we exchanged mail ids and I promised to put up the trelogue on my blog. We then got to the main road and took their leave,carrying happy memories of the place and happier memories of the people we befriended.The trip more importantly was a refreshing before we got back to the 'academic rigour with all vigour'!!
The return journey to Koppal on the Hero Honda was a trip which made me aware of the harsh realities of the road. It taught me quite a few lessons which'll keep me in good stead as I look forward to do a lot of traveling once I have enough money,time,a bike and an equally enthu partner. While on a bike, you are the one in action,which is not the case is a car or in a bus or in a train. You get extremes of everything, the best of the beauty and the worst of the dust,heat and the weariness. And it is an experience in itself riding on Indian roads.It is not the heavy trucks which I fear, it is their very bright headlights. Most of the time as it gets darker, you start riding on intuition and God save you if there are any potholes. And as it happens most of the times,there are potholes and God saves us!
We changed the rider at a tea-stall
I returned back home to Dharwad!!!
Our guide Venkatesh was a very ingenous guy. He said he had studied Bachelor of History(As far I know, there's no university in Karnataka offering such a degree!).He used to switch between languages to show off his language skills(that's again a business trick, attracts customers). We were tired of listening to maginificent,fanatstic,great over and over again. He was explaining us in Kannada and there appeared a foreign tourist couple. Dropping the explanation midway,he started off the whole explanation again in English and rattled out dates like I did in my history classes in 6th standard. Voila, it worked! The couple agreed to wait for him till he completed 'guiding' us. And he jettisoned us giving us a cursory explanation of the various things around. Who cares about our fifty rupes. He was going to get close to two hundred from them. And we said..Venkateshaa Namaha and decided to explare the rest of Hapi by ourselves. One doesn't need a degree in history to be a guide, one needs passion and interest in history and most important, the rioght facts!.
2. Micheal Jackson – ‘Heal them young’
Places Visited
