Exploring the Ruins

Last weekend I took my first journey beyond Bangalore. 20 of us interns chartered a bus (with a driver and assistant driver!) and drove ten hours North-ish to the towns of Hampi and Badami to see the ruined cities and abandoned temples there.

We left in the wee hours on Saturday, expecting to sleep on the way. Unfortunately, the conditions on the Indian roads had other plans for us, including a pothole bounce so violent that I experienced free-fall. Arriving mid-morning (apparently the roads aren't well marked, even in the local language), we hired a guide and set off on an all day trek.

What we saw was well worth the ride out. The weather was nice - a little warm with just a few clouds in the sky. The first city, Hampi, looked a little like Pompei...if the Pompeians had worshiped a god with an elephant's trunk rather than a lightning bolt. Skeletons of temples and shrines littered the landscape. Apparently, during the height of the local king's power, a new temple was errected for each victory in battle.

The largest in the first area, Virupaksha, was still active, so we removed our shoes and went inside to see what it was all about. In addition to people praying and holymen daubing red paint on foreheads, there were monkeys. Quite a few monkeys, in fact. All eager to get the bannanas that some interns had purchased outside. But better than that was the elephant. It would happily eat bannanas, too, but if you put a ruppee coin in its trunk it would (after giving the coin to its handler) place its trunk on your head in blessing. I was blessed by the elephant. Twice.

To reach the next site, we rode down the river in primitive boats called coracles. With rocky hills and ancient stone temples rising along the banks, it was an Indiana Jones moment. The second temple site, Vitthala, had intricate carvings above the gates, on the columns, walls, pretty much anywhere stone was exposed. Some parts were crumbling, so I hope the 100 rupee entrance fee goes towards preservation. In one of the buildings, the columns were constructed to actually be musical. So striking them with your palm produces a tuned sound. Some had a sound like drums, others more like bells, and one set was even reminiscent of plucked violin strings. A security guard is posted to prevent people from hitting the columns (they're fragile since invading armies burned the temple a few hundred years ago), but for twenty rupees, he wandered off while our guide put on a concert.

The next day we visited the town of Badami, where a king in the 16th century had built four temples into the sheer rock cliffs surrounding a small lake. Two were dedicated to Vishnu, one to Shiva, while the fourth was a Jain temple - another religion somewhat similar to Buddhism that developed in India. The statues carved into the walls and ceilings of the temple-caves were awe-inspiring.