North Karnataka 2014

Hampi is an enchantress! Ever since we left her on our first visit four years ago in 2010, with some places still unseen, the urge to finish it off rose steadily. Also, the nearby Chalukyan and Rashtrakutan sculptures at Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal were totally missed the last time. So, when it is decided to visit these places, how can we leave out Bijapur and Gulbarga? Once you see the monuments of the vanquished at Hampi, it is only natural to compare them with that of the conquerors at Bijapur. This formed the motive of our trip which we named North Karnataka 2014, and included Hampi, Aihole, Pattadakal, Badami, Bijapur and Gulbarga, in that order.

Day 1: Dec 25, 2014

It was Christmas Day, and our journey commenced from Aluva by the Ernakulam – Bengaluru Intercity Express at 9.30 am. It was quite impressive to watch the railway staff keen on keeping the station and tracks clean and in fact, we were astonished to watch two women personnel on duty collecting rubbish from the tracks and earnestly moving them to somewhere else in two sacks! Here, the true spirit of the Prime Minister’s Swacch Bharat campaign appears to have been assimilated by the staff. But one thing stood out like a sore thumb. The cleaners didn’t use hand gloves and they pressed down the rubbish heap in their bags with bare hands! Railways must address this issue that directly concerns the health of its employees.

Day trains are inherently boring and this was doubly so. It looked like the train had lost all interest to complete its trip once it reached the outskirts of Bengaluru. Long holdups on the track and on inconsequential stations conspired to delay our journey by one hour and we reached by 8.50 pm. Hampi Express, which was to leave at 10 pm arrived on time from Mysore, full of Western tourists. It left Bengaluru on time and we resigned to a night on the train.

Day 2: Dec 26, 2014

The day broke with the train reaching Bellary. But soon after, it again lost the determination to reach the destination as on the previous day. We reached Hospet, which is the serving railway station for Hampi at 8.15 am, one full hour late than normal. The cab was eagerly waiting outside the station and we left immediately to Hotel Mayura Bhuvaneshwari at Kamalapura. This hotel is run by the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC), which is the nearest establishment to the ancient monuments at Hampi. All other hotels are at Hospet, which is 13 km away.

Temple courtyard and stone chariot at Vittala Temple

After occupying the rooms and having light refreshment, we proceeded to the first destination at Vittala Temple. This is dedicated to Vittala, an aspect of Vishnu, worshipped mainly in the Maratha countryside. It is believed to date from the 16^th century. An example of supremely ornate sculpture, Vittala Temple stands majestically amid the wilderness strewn with huge boulders. Vijayanagara architecture reached its zenith in the construction of this temple that is not used for religious worship now. If you have time to visit only one monument in Hampi, this should be it. The perfectly crafted stone chariot on its courtyard is a symbol of Hampi and its image is widely used as the cover of history textbooks in India even now. It is one out of three famous stone chariots in India, the others being at Konark and Mahabalipuram. Archeological Survey of India (ASI), which manages the place now, is performing conservatory work on the Mahamandapa of the temple. We recollected with amusement that the same building was undergoing renovation even four years ago when we first visited the place. Perhaps, archeology is not something you do in a hurry! Four years required to renovate a structure that was in ruins for four-hundred years is of course nothing to complain about. One curious addition we observed this time was the employment of battery operated four-wheeled vehicles used to transport about ten people from the parking lot to the temple, which is nearly one kilometer distant. This is a clean mode of transport without any smoke or combustion gases that may damage the monument, but the dust it wafted into the air running on the unpaved road more than compensated for the advantage! Vittala Temple is swarmed with tourists, which included hordes of children in school uniforms coming on study tours. Though they ruined many photo opportunities, the carefree abandon in their demeanour and the innocent wonder sparkling in their eyes touched our hearts. A long line of structural remains of commercial buildings dotted both the sides of the road leading away from the temple. It is said that once upon a time, this bazar was filled with gold, diamond and pearl ornaments.

We saw another Shiva temple nearby, being brought back to life by the strenuous effort of ASI. This temple also had a long bazar in front, going at right angles to the one of Vitthala. In Vijayanagar, only the most important shrines had a bazar attached to their front tower and so we may rightly conclude that this place of worship, drowsily rubbing its eyes and waking back to life turn out to be another gem. The initial looks are very promising, as the pillars are comparable in ornateness to that of Vitthala. After spending about two hours at Vitthala Temple, we left for Hampi Bazar, which is the main street stretching eastwards from the tallest tower of Virupaksha Temple.

The time was already 2 pm and we searched in vain for Pallavi Hotel, about which we had had a very good opinion expressed in one of my earlier posts on the trip to Hampi. What we found was that the line of ramshackle buildings on which this restaurant functioned was completely torn down. Our helpful driver hinted that all unauthorized buildings in the Bazar area was demolished two years back and our dear restaurant might have been one among them. In this changed circumstances, we had a quick lunch at another ramshackle outfit near the Bus Stand. But here, the food was not something to write home about and we never visited the place again during our itinerary in Hampi.

Achyutaraya temple nestled among boulders

Visit to Hampi invariably include lot of walking as most of the places are either inaccessible or where vehicular traffic is not permitted. At 3.30 pm, we resumed our trek towards Achyutaraya Temple on the eastern side of Matanga Hill. This temple should be called Tiruvengalanatha Temple, but it is incorrectly named after its founder, the brother Achyuta, who succeeded Krishna Devaraya on the throne of Vijayanagara. Built in 1534, it is one of the final grand creations of the dynasty before its fall hardly three decades later. The foot trail ascends over a small hillock and wends its way through boulders and profuse growth of cacti. Achyuta Temple is also in a state of partial devastation. The vigorous demolition of culture that is reported to have raged for five months at a stretch had not entirely obliterated its structural and sculptural beauty. One can still see marks of soot on the mahamandapa where the invaders must have made a bonfire of all perishable articles of supreme craftsmanship. All brick and wood superstructure is irretrievably lost and the hard stone defied the invaders with its stubborn tenacity. The trunks of all elephants forming the balustrades are broken, the round breasts of female deities are chopped off and the idols are smashed. After completing a round of all the artifacts inside the temple, we walked through the street that runs northwards to the river, which is also called Soolai Bazar (Courtesans’ Street). Damaged stone structural skeletons lined the street on both sides, which historians say were teeming with merchants and courtesans on the empire’s halcyon days. We made a detour near Varaha Temple and the riverside back to Hampi Bazar from where we started. Circular-shaped coracles made of bamboo and leather ferried passengers and tourists across the river. The evening sun, which had already bent low on the horizon added deep shades of crimson to the wavelets in the river. A deep thrill came upon me when I remembered the lines of Domingo Paes, who visited Vijayanagar around the 1520s mentioning the coracle ferry across the river. Is it possible that nothing has changed in the five intervening centuries? Am I witnessing an event that defied time across centuries?

After making this round trip and reaching back Hampi Bazar, we quickly moved by car to the Zenana Enclosure, which houses Lotus Mahal and Elephant Stables. The entry tickets purchased at Vitthala Temple is valid here also, if it is on the same day. Basements of several palaces are seen inside the enclosure protected with high walls and watch towers. It may seem amusing, but the administrators of the complex have chosen to install modern CCTV cameras very near to the location where the watch towers stood! The Lotus Mahal somehow escaped destruction by the attackers. The building itself is in Islamic style, with not much stone used in its construction. Perhaps this syncretistic style might have made a soldier drop his crowbar and move to another building. The Elephant Stables is not in the enclosure itself, which can be accessed through a narrow passage. The structure is very solid, but not very elegant nor impressive. A small dirt path goes past the stables to unbarricaded areas where the archeologists are bringing several temples gone underground back to life. Hampi is really vast and might still be harbouring many a wonders under its hard soil! After completing the exertions for the day, we retired back to the hotel.

Day 3: Dec 27, 2014

On this day, we wanted to visit Anegundi and its suburbs on the other side of the river. It hardly takes 10 minutes for a coracle ferry to cross this distance, but you have to go on a roundabout way in a car, clocking 40 km both ways. We can still see signs of an aqueduct or bridge connecting the two places that existed in old days, but since a modern bridge was not available, we preferred to go by car. Our first inclination was to drive via Kambili, which was the seat of another ancient kingdom. This plan had to be scrapped as the road was reported to be in a very bad shape. Travelling through Hospet was the other alternative and we drove that way. A part of the journey is through a stretch of NH-50, an access-controlled, six-lane highway built with international standards in mind. However, we could find stray cattle roaming this road too, and the drivers carefully dodging them without any fuss. Perhaps this happens only in India, where the ancient nibbles its way into the modern, but still looks congruent. The journey progressed through some of the scenic rural countryside of Karnataka. Farmers ploughed the fields with bullocks, irrigation canals from the Tungabhadra Dam provided enough water, and villagers chatted in the junctions with looks of content on their faces. All this scenery is framed by hillocks of medium height and heaped with boulders made smooth with eons of weathering. Green fields extended as far as the eye could see.

 

Scenic beauty of Anegundi around Anjaneya Hill

We had a glimpse of Anjaneya Hill on the way, with a temple dedicated to Hanuman at the top that can be reached by steps going up the hill. Having not much time at our disposal and the steps looking too steep under the mid-day sun, we decided to skip this attraction for the time being. Our first stop then was at Virupapura Gaddi, exactly opposite to Virupaksha Temple on the other side of the river. There is nothing interesting here, except the path leading to the ferry. Several resorts and home-stays have cropped up around this area, with the foreigners in mind, who flock to this place in drones. Somehow, the place felt like an ideal place for someone looking for narcotics! Spending a few minutes here, we proceeded to Pampa Sarovara, which is ascribed to be the Kishkindha of the epic Ramayana, where Hanuman met Lord Rama for the first time. But this place was a total disappointment. Apart from a lake that appeared to be built a few years ago and a temple nearby, there is nothing here that is attractive. When we reached there, a prayer meeting was scheduled to begin in a few hours, as the large tent was teeming with paraphernalia to meet the demands of a flock of devotees. Gagan Mahal and Ranganath Temple completed our itinerary at Anegundi. The former was a palace, which now forms part of the other civil buildings in the street. The Ranganath Temple is a small one and is still used for worship. After about three hours of sightseeing, we returned to Hampi. Everywhere we went, we saw many local women and children working hard, but the men idling their time.

The Royal Enclosure was our next target. The Mahanavami Dibba retained its charm felt at our previous visit. Remains of other buildings and the Hazara Rama Temple, which is considered to be the personal shrine of the king added spice to the walking trip. The statue of Ugra Narasimha is also a symbol of Hampi and we visited this idol next. A refreshingly cool stream ran past the structure and the water of this stream fills the sanctum of the Badavilinga Temple nearby, in which the unusually big phallic symbol is carved out of a black monolith. The Krishna Temple with its bazar and pushkarani (lake) is nearby. Conservation work was going on in the main tower and it stood surrounded with a dominating scaffold that discouraged all attempts at photography. The pillar inscriptions in ancient Kannada inside the temple added interest. The lake on the side of the dilapidated Krishna bazar is still full of water. The lone pavilion in the middle looked picturesque.

A visit to Hampi will not be complete without a visit to the Virupaksha Temple, which is even older than Vijayanagara Empire. Its imposing main tower that can be seen from anywhere in Hampi was commissioned by Krishna Devaraya himself. The temple is still used for worship. Paes describes how he managed to enter the shrine by bribing the Brahmin priests on duty. The temple charges Rs. 10 for the entry of each person and a hefty Rs. 50 for the camera. Photographing the deity is not permitted, but the camera ticket itself sported an image of it. Possibly, the authorities might not have been aware of the irony! After completing all the chores of the day, we retired to the hotel at 6.30 pm. The Matanga Hill eluded us this time too and perhaps we might come here for a third time in future to finish off all pending items in the check list.

Day 4: Dec 28, 2014

This was the day we bid farewell to Hampi and left at 6.15 am to Aihole. The highway, as mentioned earlier, is superb and exhilarating to drive on. After approximately running for 100 km on the highway and paying toll at three places totaling Rs. 115, the road to Aihole branched at Hungund. Driving through vast open spaces, we reached Aihole by 9.15 am. The Durga Temple complex is the star attraction here, which houses many temples of the Early Chalukya and Rashtrakuta dynasties. Durga Temple is the cynosure of all eyes among the group and contains fine sculptures of Hindu deities. However, we could not find them on par with the sculptures at Hampi as they looked somewhat crude. One reason might be that the Aihole structures were built about eight centuries prior to that of Vijayanagara, and the technology for carving and transportation might have been less mature. There is an archeological museum run by ASI in the same compound, but separate tickets are required for it. You won’t know this until you have reached the porch of the museum. Then you have to either go back outside the complex to get the tickets or bribe the guard to get inside. Photography is prohibited inside the museum which houses only stone artifacts. We are not sure what prompts ASI to stipulate such a farcical instruction on the visitors. In fact, you won’t be losing much if you decide not to go inside the museum. Local residences hem in the temple complex and it is said that the area was reclaimed from locals by ASI. This explains the curious name of Lad Khan Temple to one of the structures in the complex. Don’t think about a historical Lad Khan building this temple in a sudden surge of secular feeling! A more prosaic explanation is that the area housing the temple was acquired from the landed property of a Lad Khan in the area! After completing a general survey of the temples in the locale, we moved out of the walled complex. Street peddlers thronged both sides of the street. Tourists would surely find the sweetness of ripe guavas paired with masala ready for sale lingering in their mouths for many years to come. On the way, we visited a rock-cut temple, called Ravanaphadi Cave nearby. This shrine is the oldest in the neighbourhood, and is dedicated to Shiva. Strange it might seem, but the place is still used for worship. Visitors are urged to maintain decorum, even if the place may look deserted.

 

Galaganath Temple, Pattadakal, with its Nagara style gopuram

A brief drive brought us to Pattadakal at 11 am, where the temple complex looks majestic than those at Aihole or Badami. A mixture of Dravida (South Indian) and Nagara (North Indian) temple architecture is seen here. Virupaksha Temple is the grandest and unfortunately, this is presently used for worship. The idol of Nandi facing his lord, Virupaksha, is crafted in black stone and looks very impressive. Kashi Vishwanatha Temple, Sangameshwara Temple and the Galaganatha Temple are a few other attractions inside the complex.

Badami beckons nearby with its finely crafted rock-cut temples of which there are four in number. Cave 1 is the only one dedicated to Shiva and Cave 3 is the most artistically executed. We can even see the remains of colour in mural paintings written on the walls and ceiling. The steep ascent through the stone steps leading up to the caves may be intimidating if the place is crowded with tourists as in our case. You can get a stunning view of the lake and the northern group of temples across it from the top of the south bank on which the cave temples are located. This is the earliest form of temple construction in India, in which unwanted portions are chiseled off from a monolith. However in this case, the rock still forms part of the hill and the deities are carved on to it. We got down from the hill and walked to the other side of the lake through one of the dirtiest streets in India. It is narrow, with rows of low-ceilinged houses on both sides and the children engaged in games amid the refuse of men and animals. But the walk is definitely worth the effort, as the breathtaking view of Bhutanatha Temple amid the background of the cliff face of red sandstone is worth the effort. There is also an archeological museum which we didn’t visit.

 

Breath taking majesty of Bhutanath Temple, Badami

After completing all engagements, we reached Badami railway station at 3.15 pm. This was a bit early for us, as our train to Bijapur was scheduled to arrive only at 5.35 pm. But there was no other way and we waited at the platform amid threats from mischievous monkeys roaming the place. The passengers are always on the alert of their bags and food material, since the monkeys are rather bold and adventurous. The Hubli – Solapur Intercity Express arrived 30 minutes late, but it made up for lost time while running and we arrived at Bijapur Station at 8.20 pm, 7 minutes earlier than the scheduled time and checked in at the hotel.

Day 5: Dec 29, 2014

We started early at 8 am and moved straight to Gol Gumbaz, the tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah, completed in 1656. Its dome, having a diameter of 44 m is said to be second only to the St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. It was lucky that we came early, as the place was free of visitors. There are four octagonal towers in the corners of the mausoleum through which visitors could ascend to the gallery which surrounds the dome. The steps are narrow and steep, making it difficult to manage under crowded conditions. The chamber is vast, with Mohammed’s tombstone looking so insignificant in the middle, inviting comparison to the irrelevance of a single human life on the grand scale of the universe. The vastness of the interior causes sound to be echoed round and round and the visitors, especially children were roaring about. The gallery on the top, which can be reached from the side towers, offers a superb view of the interior. The hand rail of the gallery is short, and it is not recommended for people with vertigo to go near the balustrade. Having a height of 51m, a splendid view of Bijapur can be obtained from the top of the monument.

 

Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur

The tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shah II, the predecessor of Mohammed, was our next destination. Called Ibrahim Rauza, this is a finer monument than Gol Gumbaz. The latter impresses by sheer size and scale while the former exudes beauty and style. There are no carvings inside or outside Gol Gumbaz, which is boringly plain. The Roza is much more modest, but with fine carvings on the doors and sculptures on ceiling. Even the doves seem to have abandoned the Gol Gumbaz and lives in droves at the Rauza. It is said that the design for the Rauza served as an inspiration for Taj Mahal. Tasty guava with masala is available here also. The next location was called ‘Malik-e-Maidan’ (master of the planes), the largest medieval cannon in the world, 4m long and weighing 55 tons. It is said that after igniting the cannon, the gunner would remain underwater in a tank of water on the platform to avoid the deafening explosion. The gun looks intimidating, but sits alone on a platform and is not surrounded by anything impressive.

 

Ibrahim Rauza at Bijapur

This completed our list of attractive places in Bijapur and we left for Gulbarga by car at 11.15 am. The road is very good, even though only of two lanes. The traffic is rather quiet and the road goes through a semi-deserted landscape. As soon as the town limit was past, the shrubby wilderness of Deccan enveloped the car to make us the only living beings amidst the mind boggling vastness of the barren landscape. One can only wonder at the revolutionary changes this place would undergo if the ambitious river linking project ever takes off. Here you have hundreds of square kilometers of arid land which is either uncultivated or a single crop of cotton or sugarcane is cultivated after the monsoon rains. There are no good restaurants on the 165 km drive to Gulbarga. So, be prepared with sufficient food, or settle for local food at Jeevargi, which is the closest thing resembling a town.

The Buddha Vihara run by Siddhartha Vihar Trust was our first destination in Gulbarga. We reached there by 3 pm and had to wait for an hour on the outside, as the entry is permitted only from 4 pm. It is regretful for me to say so, but this place was the most disappointing in the entire itinerary. The management of the vihara simply tries to impress the visitors by making hefty demands that sounds silly. In the central chamber, no visitor is expected to touch anybody else, even of the same sex, because that may be distractive. Then again, women are urged not to wear revealing attire as it would be distractive (to whom? The notice is silent on this). Does this imply that morality can be maintained only when there is no temptation? Mobile phones and photography is prohibited inside the premises, but the management arranges photography by their own photographers and on their own terms. The central chamber housed a grand, gold-coloured statue of Buddha. What is even more impressive is the elaborate chandelier that dominated most part of the inside of the dome. There is a meditation hall beneath the central chamber, where continuously burning incense sticks strive to create an atmosphere of piety in vain. The overall arrangements looked pompous, and hence undignified. Banning of photography inside the central chamber is understandable, but limiting the campus also outside the limits of cameras makes the visit worthless for a tourist. In my opinion, this place may best be avoided.

Jamia Masjid inside the Gulbarga Fort and Sharana Basaveshwara Temple completed the trip for the day. Practically nothing much is attractive at both places. The Masjid was constructed during the Bahmani dynasty, but not used for worship. Historians say the lack of facilities for ablution and minbar might have restricted its use as a mosque. Sharana Basaveshwara Temple was teeming with people, but renovation was going on the main tower which was enveloped with scaffolding, and it snatched away a photo opportunity. It is the Samadhi of Sharana Basaveshwara, a Lingayat saint of the 18^th century. As the driver has to go driving back to Bijapur alone, he kept on pestering about completing the trip and dropping us at Gulbarga railway station as early as possible. We reached the station at 6.15 pm, but the Mumbai CST – Thiruvananthapuram Express arrived only at 10.50 pm. The long wait on the platform helped us get a view of the Gulbarga populace on a Monday evening.

Day 6: Dec 30, 2014

This was another eventless full day on the train. And we arrived at Aluva station by 10.45 pm

Accommodation

Hampi: We stayed at KSTDC’s Mayura Bhuvaneshwari at Kamalapura. Booking was done online sufficiently in advance. The check-in time is 12 pm, but they graciously provided us rooms at 10.30 am when it became available. The ambience is of calm and quiet, totally unlike that of a hotel at a popular tourist site. The location of the hotel is also very quiet and it is housed in a big campus. Hot water was always available. Rooms were tidy and spacious. However, the restaurant is really a mess – literally. The waiters appeared busy always and looked condescending even to take the order after forcing the guests for nearly half an hour. A few of the waiters provide prompt and courteous service only to foreigners. Nobody from the outside comes to avail food here, but the inordinate delay is delivering food is unpardonable. The bill sometimes came scribbled on a scrap of paper and at other times, price for additional food were simply paid direct to the waiter. We had to use this restaurant on two nights as there was no decent eatery in and around Hampi, otherwise we wouldn’t even dream of taking food from this hotel’s restaurant.

Bijapur: Here, we stayed at Hotel Kanishka International on the main road. Booking was done through ClearTrip which made a goof up. The reservation was done three weeks in advance. But when I phoned the hotel just before starting the journey, they gave a shocking reply that they were not aware of the reservation. I frantically contacted ClearTrip through their portal, but couldn’t speak to the customer executive even after trying for 2-3 times because, “all the lines were busy”! I raised a complaint through ClearTrip’s Twitter account, which still remains unanswered. Finally, someone answered the call and after checking the details, apologized that they have somehow missed to send a mail to the hotel regarding the reservation. This was immediately done and the reservation was confirmed. I don’t blame ClearTrip for forgetting to intimate the hotel regarding the online reservation, which is a human or system error. But the non-availability of telephone lines is worrisome for a customer on the hurry.

Hotel Kanishka International is just an average hotel. Rooms are tidy and spacious, a very good LCD TV was provided in the room, but only Kannada and Hindi free channels were available. The room was provided with an antiquated window AC unit, which was noisy but working in good order. Hot water is available from 6 am to 10 am only. A good vegetarian restaurant is attached to the hotel, which is too expensive for the hotel’s standard.

Travel

For all long distance travel, we used Indian Railways, which was generally prompt. Online reservation for all sectors was done 60 days in advance which is the maximum number of days before which the passengers can reserve seats.

In Hampi, we used a taxi car arranged by Hamsa Travels. They offered a package for two days of travel in Hampi and a day for Badami – Aihole – Pattadakal. The rate was a bit on the higher side, but it was more than compensated by the courteous service of Shri. Gokul, who was our driver for three days. He speaks English and is very gentlemanly. He always reported at the exact time we specified and was always available near the parked car. Full marks must be given to him in this regard.

In Bijapur, the hotel staff reserved a car for us. The rate was very high at Rs. 4000 for sightseeing in Bijapur and dropping us at Gulbarga railway station. We should have arranged a car by ourselves. The driver, Shri. Prakash, was courteous and helpful, but he seemed to be terrified at the prospect of driving the car back to Bijapur alone in the night. So he kept whining about finishing the trip as early as possible.