We started from Bangalore at around 5:30 am though we wanted to start earlier. We hit the NH 7 in about half an hour. But then the nightmare was just begining. The road to Nelamangala from Jalahalli cross was totally destroyed, in the name of future infrastructure. The roads were slushy, narrow and full of vehicles of all sizes and shapes, and all of whom were in such a hurry, I almost felt we were the only 'non-ambulance' type of vehicles. We decided to make the best of the situation and had breakfast of hot idlies and sambar from a hotel in Nelamangala and by then the traffic was a tab bit better. We had lost 2 precious hours and still not yet crossed the city. Finally we reached Tumkur and found diversions and traffic piled up for kilometers long. We almost thought we'll give up and head back home, but somehow I found a gap amidst some trucks and just managed to edge past. Found that the traffic pile up was a result of a tempo having run out of fuel right in the middle of the road. I mean how dumb can someone get not to fuel up, and what are the chances of stopping completely dry right in the middle!!!!
We just thanked our stars that we could edge past and said a silent prayer for all those holidayers stuck between the trucks who could neither go on nor come back and had to spend the time pacing up and down in their holiday attire, with the family inside the vehicles. Once we crossed the toll plaza(exhorbitant tolls), the NH7 headed to Pune was really smooth. Well, it was worth the money paid at the toll booth. Straight stretches of 4 lane roads and one can see straight ahead for miles and miles, rather as good as one's vision. We took a break and had some home made tea from a brand new flask which we bought after our last trip where we found it difficult to get tea when we needed it. After a bit of stretching, we headed back on track.
The roads were good till Chitradurga, after which we had to take the NH13, to Sholapur, a diversion to the right from Chitradurga. This was a 2 laner, catering mainly to the trucks. We were oggled at by the truckers as we stopped for a breakfast of bread and peanut butter. The roads were pathetic and they looked like the surface of a meteor struck planet! Constant shifting of gears took a toll on the hands and feet and tired is a simple way to describe the situation. Finally we saw the shimmer of water from the side and it was the beautiful Tungabhadra river. The river is huge and its not even possible to see the other end, it looked like the sea. After clicking a few pictures, we were off. In another hour we reached our hotel at Hospet. We had to ask around and the interesting thing was that every Tom Dick and Harry knew the hotel and guided us in the right direction. At long last we reached, checked in and had lunch. The room was decent and the hotel had a centralized airconditioner. We rested our weary legs for a while and then set out to the TB dam. The dam itself was huge. Sadly, normal citizens are not allowed on the dam. You have to be a Central Govt employee to walk on the dam. This is ridiculous as who wants to come all the way walking up(ya you cant take your vehicle even close if you are not the aforesaid Govt. employee) if you cant even walk on the dam. So we just took rest for the hard trek uphill, I had some chilled maaza and DH had hot tea. And then got chased by a bunch of monkeys and ran downhill.
TB Dam:
Back at the hotel, a room dinner later, we were fast asleep in no time. The next morning, we got ready and drove to the historical town of Hampi. A google search can give more detailed and thorough information about the history of Hampi, but in brief, it was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. It was in its glorious peak from the 1300s to the 1600s AD. The most successful king of those times was Krishnadevaraya. Hampi is famous as one of the most organized townships in those periods. Stone structures, carefully carved and beautifully made were the important landmarks. The whole region of Hampi was classified into six regions. The main ones being Sacred Centre, Royal Centre and Riverside ruins. The Sacred Centre has temples and monoliths of a beautiful Ganesha, almost 12 ft in height.
Temples specific to each deity and rich in the carvings was the predominant structures in the Sacred Centre. The Royal Centre had a beautiful queen's bath, where water would be directed into the pond like structure, which was plastered with cement and built like a palace in itself. The mahanavami dibba came next, which was a platform for all cultural programs of the era. This was a 3-tier structure and views from each level were simply amazing. They had beautiful carvings and depicted stories on their walls. The public bath is another marvellous structure, with the stone pipes running miles carrying water into the artificial tanks. There was a T-shaped tank, there was a tank with innumerable tiny steps which made it a brilliant work of optical illusion.
A stone doorway marked the entrance to this region, albeit it was on its sides. A watch tower, and underground secret meeting center are other interesting monuments here, all made entirely of stone. There is a mosque a bit ahead, build by the Islamic emperor, when Krishnadevaraya had built a harmonic relationship in his kingdom. The structures display a unique blend of both Hindu and Islamic architectural styles, unmatched till date.
The stone doorway:
The best of the best was at the Riverside ruins. The famous stone chariot, the sangeeta mantapa(which this time was out of bounds for tourists), the lotus mahal, the elephant stables, the Vittalla Temple! Wow! What architecture! The river could be seen from the gates of the mahal and the old capital of the Vijayanagara empire, Anegundi was on the other side of the river. There were remains of a stone bridge build across the Tungabhadra river, which was used by the common people, the Royal family, and the entire army of elephants, horses and troops, for more than 2 centuries. It is a bigger surprise how the people were able to destroy such great pieces, with no guilt whatsoever. We took a 10 minute coracle ride to get closer to the bridge. This was a nice experience, the two of us in a round basket like boat, with the boatman taking us on a tour of the river. He asked my DH, 'Sir round maadbeka?' (Sir do you want it to go round?). DH thought he meant around the bridge, so said yes. But what he actually meant was make the boat go round in circles like a merry-go-round. 'No-no-no.. please stop!' Errr that was not me, it was my sweet heart, scared by the swirling in mid river. Later when I had stopped laughing, he said he was worried as I dint know swimming, and not because he was dizzy. Hmm, ok my dear leo, I accept the explanation.
The stone chariot:
Our camera worked hard to capture the history in frame, who know how many more years the sructures would withstand the test of time and atmosphere, most importantly, humans! Then we headed back to the hotel and had a quick lunch. It was quite tiring, thanks to the heat. We then took a quick ride into the Hospet town, to tank up Thanai. It was so awefully crowded, with people shopping for the impending festival the next day. I soon learnt the trick of driving like a true Hospetian. Keep ears closed to honks from behind, keep eyes opened for everything that might pop up in front of you, keep your thumb on the horn and keep honking in bursts something like "kee-keee.... ki keeee....", like what they did from behind. No one will turn back as they are so used to this, but you can pass comfortably. Finally we got back to the room. We ordered room service anticipating a huge crowd at the restaurant. And we had to wait nearly 2 hours for grub. Turned out that was a good decision, atleast we could relax and watch TV. People who decided to go to the hotel had to wait for their tables and at their tables for equal amount of time, with the only entertainment being noise and slapping mosquitos! Finally we hit the bed by 10:30 pm. Next morning, we had planned to leave by 6 am, but the food had caused a turbulence in my digestive system that resulted in us leaving only aroudn 7:45. The retracing of the path to Bangalore was pretty much the same, with the trucks and potholes filling the first half and rain and traffic at the fag end taking maximum of the journey time. Driving in the rain was actually fun. Well, we reached back home at 5:30 pm, with all the lunch break, tea breaks, general stretching breaks and nature calls. It was an awesome experience, being transported back in time, to the 15th Century AD.
Linear Mode
