Today was a new day and we were all excited to go and explore. Since its the second day of being alone, we were pretty confident. But I was unsure where I should go. Hampi and Anegundi were extremely different from each other. I was more interested in Hampi because of its temples as well as the people in and out. I wanted to base my project on experiences.
Experiences don't remain fixed and I know that it seems like a vague topic. But I wanted to make something that could show the actual truth and the facts at the same time. Hampi has now become a tourists place completely, agreed. But at the same time, it has not lost its people completely. Everyone has a different opinion about the same place. It depends on the individual as well as on the background he or she is coming from. It is subjective. And it's completely fine because you can't completely avoid it when you are researching in a special place like Hampi.
Hampi as well as Anegundi has two kinds of people in it. Those who are against the involvement of UNESCO and those who are not. Even the local people have different opinions. Not everyone is against the UNESCO's involvement. Some consider it to be beneficial for the place as well as the people
Anyways, we set out to visit the Underground Shiva temple that we left out last day. I was least interested in the place at the beginning, but once I got to know about the place, it seemed really interesting. The place was really creepy. We didn't expect it to be too underground, even though the name suggested it. We passed the drainage water and further walked down. After a while, it became too dark and suffocating. Still, we didn't stop and further walked down.
After visiting the Shiva temple, we left back to Virupaksha temple. We wanted to know more about the place. To know something we haven't heard so far. After talking to few local people as well as tourists and listening to their stories, I came to an understanding that not everything is fairy tale perfect. Every decision made has its own consequences and its the local people who have to face them. It's not fair but life isn't fair sometimes.
We decided to take a rest for a while due to the heat. We met a man there and started a conversation with him. His name is Mohammed Basha. He has been working with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for the past 20 years. He stated that the restoration process began in 1972. The structures were damaged not only during the siege. It has been destroyed due to natural causes too. The constant digging by the pigeons to build nests too weakened the structure leading to destruction. Hampi was originally a forest area. But since transportation, as well as maintenance, became difficult, they started clearing the area. Even though the restoration process have been going on since ages, they have managed to maintain the original carvings. The stone carvings are left untouched except for cleaning process. Even the restoration is done using the original stones. They do this by completely breaking the structure down and rebuilding them. Now, they are trying to restore the deity stones in every temple to make them functional. The reason why there are no deities in all of the temples is because the broken or cracked statues are considered to be unholy.
With this new found information, we decided to leave. And, that's when I began to actually notice the monkeys there. They fascinated me with their actions. I could begin to make connections, observing them. Even their actions portrayed funny stories and this helped me finalize on my final project. After coming back from the trip, and after putting a lot of thought, I decided that I wanted to make a children's book.
This marks the end of my Hampi trip. The last few days, I was not well that I couldn't visit Hampi again. It made me angry but now I think back on the trip, I am glad that at least I got this opportunity. This was the best trip that I ever had in my life and it's not because Hampi was such a great place. Hampi is a special place to me because of the stories that it had to tell as well as the people it had. I am really gonna miss everyone that I met here. The best thing is that I could really make a connection with the people here despite not knowing the language. One of my biggest fear was communication, but it turned out to be fine at the end of the trip.
The most important lesson that I learned from this trip is that having communication with the local people does not mean that you have to know the local language. You just have to be patient, understanding and kind to the people that you meet. And SMILE. A smile can bring happiness to those around you. It will also make them comfortable to talk to you when you are trying to have a conversation. I am sure that Hampi will no longer be a tourist place to me. It will feel a lot like home. And I hope that I will have this opportunity, later in my life.
The things that I missed the most were the morning walks as well as the coracle ride. I could go for the morning trek only once and I am glad that I made it that day. It was a surreal experience. And the next best thing is that we even had the company of Buggy. We will surely miss her.
Bye, Bye Hampi. I will surely miss you and everything that you gave me. Every single experience that you gave me will remain as a special memory. Also, I would like to say thank you to everyone who has shared their story with me. Also, this trip wouldn't be as memorable as it was without the people that I accompanied with. Thank you everyone.
Experiences don't remain fixed and I know that it seems like a vague topic. But I wanted to make something that could show the actual truth and the facts at the same time. Hampi has now become a tourists place completely, agreed. But at the same time, it has not lost its people completely. Everyone has a different opinion about the same place. It depends on the individual as well as on the background he or she is coming from. It is subjective. And it's completely fine because you can't completely avoid it when you are researching in a special place like Hampi.
Hampi as well as Anegundi has two kinds of people in it. Those who are against the involvement of UNESCO and those who are not. Even the local people have different opinions. Not everyone is against the UNESCO's involvement. Some consider it to be beneficial for the place as well as the people
Underground Shiva Temple.
A water canal system inside the temple.
A not so cute Dracula (bat-vampire).
Deity Stone.
We could feel something moving around us and we began to hesitate. We turned on our flashlights and to our surprise, it was bats that were flying around. We were so freaked out that we decide to leave. As we decided to leave, we saw a small deity stone placed on the floor. We were quite excited seeing that since all the other temples were empty. But later we found out that it was not original. Everything is being replaced by ASI as they are trying to restore the place. Hearing this, we were quite disappointed.Then we headed back.
Picture - Perfect Ruins.
The other interesting thing about this temple is its structure. Even the ruins seemed very interesting. The lighting was amazing and everything looked picture perfect. It had a cool and peaceful atmosphere. It was a great place to reflect on everything that we have seen so far.
After visiting the Shiva temple, we left back to Virupaksha temple. We wanted to know more about the place. To know something we haven't heard so far. After talking to few local people as well as tourists and listening to their stories, I came to an understanding that not everything is fairy tale perfect. Every decision made has its own consequences and its the local people who have to face them. It's not fair but life isn't fair sometimes.
We decided to take a rest for a while due to the heat. We met a man there and started a conversation with him. His name is Mohammed Basha. He has been working with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for the past 20 years. He stated that the restoration process began in 1972. The structures were damaged not only during the siege. It has been destroyed due to natural causes too. The constant digging by the pigeons to build nests too weakened the structure leading to destruction. Hampi was originally a forest area. But since transportation, as well as maintenance, became difficult, they started clearing the area. Even though the restoration process have been going on since ages, they have managed to maintain the original carvings. The stone carvings are left untouched except for cleaning process. Even the restoration is done using the original stones. They do this by completely breaking the structure down and rebuilding them. Now, they are trying to restore the deity stones in every temple to make them functional. The reason why there are no deities in all of the temples is because the broken or cracked statues are considered to be unholy.
Daily Temple Rituals.
"Monkeys !!!...We're the Monkeys."
This marks the end of my Hampi trip. The last few days, I was not well that I couldn't visit Hampi again. It made me angry but now I think back on the trip, I am glad that at least I got this opportunity. This was the best trip that I ever had in my life and it's not because Hampi was such a great place. Hampi is a special place to me because of the stories that it had to tell as well as the people it had. I am really gonna miss everyone that I met here. The best thing is that I could really make a connection with the people here despite not knowing the language. One of my biggest fear was communication, but it turned out to be fine at the end of the trip.
The most important lesson that I learned from this trip is that having communication with the local people does not mean that you have to know the local language. You just have to be patient, understanding and kind to the people that you meet. And SMILE. A smile can bring happiness to those around you. It will also make them comfortable to talk to you when you are trying to have a conversation. I am sure that Hampi will no longer be a tourist place to me. It will feel a lot like home. And I hope that I will have this opportunity, later in my life.
Sunrise At Hampi.
Buggy !!!.
Bye, Bye Hampi. I will surely miss you and everything that you gave me. Every single experience that you gave me will remain as a special memory. Also, I would like to say thank you to everyone who has shared their story with me. Also, this trip wouldn't be as memorable as it was without the people that I accompanied with. Thank you everyone.
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