HOLA !!!. Welcome to my Blog.

My name is Maria Rose George. I am currently doing my first year of college in Bangalore, India pursuing a degree in Contemporary Art Practice.

I started this blog to share my experiences in Hampi the temple town where we were taken for our first Interim course. I hope you enjoy going through my posts. Please feel free to leave your feedback. Looking forward to reading your comments.

Exhibition Day.

The day has finally come. Can't believe that almost a month has gone by. We have been preparing for this day for almost a week and oh my god, I can't believe it. It's almost time to end a great journey filled with great memories and awesome people. The journey that we had is indescribable. We all were super excited for the final exhibition.

Charlie And Lola. (not so original version)

Final Project - Sneak Peek.

Watercolour Illustrations - A Sneak Peek.

For my final project, I made a children's book telling stories of the temple town from a monkey's perspective. What better way is to conclude our experience on the trip to Hampi, formerly known as Kishkinda, the monkey kingdom.

That Neglected Feeling...

Out of 3600 Temples in Hampi, Virupaksha temple is the only functional temple. All ceremonies are celebrated here.

Scorching Heat.

  Daily Makeup Routine of Laxmi, the temple elephant.

The elephants in temples give blessings to its visitors, when offerings are done. In Hindu culture, the elephant represents Ganesha, the Son of Shiva - Virupaksha. He is the god of Serendipity, Happiness e.t.c.

The above pictures were used as inspiration to make the story as given in the Children's book. The medium used for the illustrations inside the book is Watercolor. These are some of the scenes extracted from the story.

The story focusses on the subject of Neglection. Hampi being a temple town, is famous for its temples as well as its culture. But nowadays, it's slowly losing its essence. After being renowned as a World Heritage Site, tourism has become more important than the temples. Instead of treating the temples like a place of worship, it is being treated as a tourist place. As a result, a lot of the stories are being lost. Only a few people are fully aware of the stories that the place has to tell.

The only we can truly protect these sites is by respecting the place. As tourists, it is our responsibility to respect the place in its true essence. It means, when you are coming to a place like Hampi, to visit the temples, instead of just roaming around, you should be able to understand the relevance of the place and the activities in the true sense. And that's how you truly experience a place. When the real people were driven out from their place, what we lost were the tales that connected to the place and which were carried down through generations. Instead of turning the place into a barren land with protected monuments, the UNESCO could have encouraged the people to protect their own land. Now, it's our responsibility to protect whatever is left and make the rest of the world aware of what is really being extinguished. The only thing that is left to do  is telling stories and sharing each of our experiences.

Mats were laid on the floor to recreate the local restaurant scenes in Hampi.

A visitor viewing one of the exhibits.

Shops were set up outside the studio to recreate the Hampi Bazaar.

We sold handmade accessories and books.

The Final Discussion.

The exhibition was totally a different experience. It was my first exhibition and it has been a great experience for me. Hearing people's appreciation and critics on my work, it has helped me to understand what I have to do to further improve my work. Thank you everyone for appreciating as well as giving suggestions to improve my work.

Happy Hampy : As the Journey Ends.

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

Underground Shiva Temple.

A water canal system inside the temple.

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.

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."

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.

Sunrise At Hampi.

Buggy !!!.

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.

All that is left In Hampi To See....

After visiting the Hampi bazaar, we set out to see the rest of the sites. We made a great deal and took an auto to see the sites. We had a long conversation with the auto driver on the way and he was willing to share everything that he knew about the place.

Vittala Temple.

Musical Pillars.

For some weird reason, even the ground fascinated me.

The first place that we visited is Vittala Temple. I was excited to see the musical pillar at Vittala temple, even before going to Hampi because I have heard a lot about it. I wanted to study more about how it was producing the sound. But to my dismay, the pillars were not open to the public since it was under reconstruction.

Stone Chariot. A not so Monolithic structure.

Stone Chariot - Front View.

Beside the Vittala temple, is the Stone chariot. It was so majestic and beautiful. The chariot had some deep carvings and was very detailed. No one could believe the amount of details it had. Even though it is called a stone chariot, it's actually a shrine built like a chariot. In mythology, Lord Vittala is an aspect of Lord Vishnu. Garuda is the vehicle of Lord Vishnu. The shrine is empty now though it once contained an icon of Lord Vishnu. In front of the chariot, two elephants are positioned as if they are pulling the chariot. Initially, instead of the elephants, horses were carved in that position. The elephants were attached later on. The tail and the rear legs of the horses can still be seen behind the elephant structures. An uncle that I met told me about this story of the stone chariot. A lot of other tourists were there as well. The place became crowded after a while.

Tour Guide.

We had over own pretend tour guide. He was following us throughout the temple complex. Even though we couldn't give him what he wanted, he continued to smile. It was fun listening to him. This is Ram and he is a tour guide. He sells travel maps as well as give private tours to interested parties. This is his only source of income. 

Hazarama Temple.

Entrance.

Detailed Carving.

Telling a story.

Comic Strip.

Movement.

The Hallway.

The Lawn.

The next site we visited was the Hazara Rama Temple. In olden days, this temple was used only by the royal family. The temple is famous for the Ramayana stories that are carved on the walls of the temple. The walls tell a thousand stories from the epic poem  Ramayana. It is located right at the center of the royal area. 

Description of Hazara Rama Temple in Braille Translation.

The next strange thing that I observed in this temple is that, out of all the temples that I visited so far, in addition to Hindi, English, and Telugu translation, the description was translated to the braille language so that, even the blind can read.

Oh, I wish I was a Queen.

The Hallway.

After Hazarama Temple, we visited the queen's bath. The place was huge. It was very beautiful, especially the garden beside it. The interesting fact is that even the bath area had extremely detailed carvings.

Lotus Mahal.

The interesting fact about this is its unique architecture style. The building is shaped like a lotus and, hence the name. It is also known as Kamal Mahal. This structure is part of the Zenana Enclosure, a secluded area reserved for the royal ladies of the Vijayanagara empire. It is one of the few structures that still remains intact, even after the siege of the city. Since it's considered to be a protected site nowadays, the public is not allowed to enter. 

Elephants Stable.

      

It's one of the few sites that has been left least damaged after the siege. The interesting fact is that all the 11 chambers are structurally symmetric. They follow a dome style architecture, having influences from Islamic architecture. However, the tower of the central hall resembles temple architecture. It was used to store the royal elephants. Metal hooks used to tie the elephants can still be observed from the inner roof.

Sister's Stones.

There are many versions of folk lores associated with these boulders. The story goes like, 'Two sisters were cursed for ridiculing the place and converted into stones'. There are different versions on why they were cursed by the Gods. It's not exactly a monument  but it attracts many tourists on the way to other temples in Hampi.

It's been a long day, that we were extremely tired. We were so busy that we forgot the time. We realized that we haven't had our lunch until it was late afternoon. We were so tired, that we decided to continue the next day.

We met a Scottish girl, on the boat ride back. She is from Scotland but lives in Germany. To our astonishment, she too is an art student. It was interesting to talk to someone from the same background. She had a whole new perspective on Hampi. While everyone is busy observing the architecture style of buildings, she sees colors.  It is interesting to find how various people have a different mindset towards a place. After spending some time together, we parted our ways and left back to the resort.

Hampi Bazaar...

Today we were asked to go in small groups to start the research on our project by collecting stories. I decided to visit the rest of Hampi because only then I could decide which site I wanted to work on.

Hampi Bazaar.....



Initially, I had decided to work on the Hampi bazaar because it interested me.

We had conversations with a lot of the local shopkeepers. Initially, we made a mistake of interviewing them instead of just having the conversation. Because they were being reluctant to answer us. But as soon as we began to spend time and have real conversations,     they too opened up to us. We could learn a lot from the conversations. Most of the shopkeepers have been living here since generations. Some are happy with the changes that are being made and at the same time, some are not.

The Happiest Lady.

I don't know her name but I can never forget her smile. At the beginning, she considered us to be like the regular tourists who just comes to 'buy' stuff. She didn't smile. She was only concerned to make a sale. But as soon as we started to have conversations with her, she began to smile. She felt so happy that even made us smile. She was so eager to share her story with us. I couldn't fully understand what she was saying but I could try guessing them from her actions. She lives in a nearby village since no one is allowed to stay at Hampi since UNESCO has declared it to be a protected site and renowned it as a World Heritage Site. Her village is called Kamlapura and she takes the bus daily to come here. Her village is near as she said that her bus ticket just costs seven rupees. She was eager to know about us too. When we asked her whether her business has been affected by the sudden change, she said that it was fine. Since Hampi is a protected heritage site, tourism has increased. That has been beneficial for her. But at the same time, she had to shift her home. She is not happy nor angry with the changes that are being made. She makes her own jewelry and sells them. She also showed us the various things that she sells. 

After that day, whenever she saw us in the later days, she smiled. She was very happy to see us.

Uncle.

This is Venkata Raja. He is from Hyderabad. He has been living here in Hampi since generations. His father started his shop and he has been maintaining the business since he took over. His family also stays here in Hampi. He is not comfortable talking in Hindi and therefore he conversed with us in Telugu. Thankfully, one of us could understand Telugu. We had long conversations. When we asked the same questions about the changes being made, he told us that he was not happy. He said that he was displaced from his own land. He had to shift his house as well as shift his business. Everything has been affected by the change. His business is not in profit like it used to be. His expenses have increased. People coming in his shop has reduced. There is no more local craft work here. Everything has been imported from various part of the country. Hampi has lost his true essence, he says. The only thing that remains are the temples. People don't go to the temple to worship anymore, it has become more of a tourist place rather than a place of worship. Everything has changed and there's nothing we can do about it.

Chechi.

This is Priyanka. She too is from Hyderabad and is not comfortable talking in Hindi. She was eager to know more about us. She asked us more questions than we could ask her. When I said that I am from Kerala, she smiled and called me, 'Oh, Chechi'. And, that's the only Malayalam word that she know. It was fun talking to her. She was a very happy person. The shop is owned by her family and she is helping her parents run it. Everything that she sells has been imported from either Gujarat or Rajasthan. When we asked her about the local craft works, she said there isn't any. We were shocked to hear this since we didn't expect to hear this reply. I mean, Hampi is a world renowned tourist place and is famous for its bazaar. Yet, it has nothing to offer, on its own. It is slowly losing its essence.

The Island...

Later that day, we decided to go the island crossing the river.

Waiting to get on the boat.

The boat ride.

The boat ride was long and amazing . The sight was very beautiful.There were birds around us. The water was very cold.

The Perfect Atmosphere.

Even though there was nothing much to see on the island, it felt very calm. The atmosphere was very peaceful accompanied with gentle breezes. Even the rocks looked aesthetically perfect, balancing on something small. We could see the entire island in just a short period of time.

Broken, not so Broken Diyas - Clay Pot.

 We saw a temple as we further walked on the island. The strangest thing that I have seen around the temple was the diya clay pot laid on a pile. I have seen diyas being lit during the festivals in temples but I have never seen these many piled up in a hill on a large scale. Some were broken while others were perfectly alright.

Grandma's Story

 An old woman was sitting on the entrance gate of the temple and she was saying something. I couldn't understand her as I didn't know the language. She was telling some kind of stories to us. She was friendly and was very eager to know about us. Some of us even tried having conversations with her.

Skipping Stones.

After visiting the temple, we decided to leave and get to the other side of the river. Unfortunately, the boat was not ready and we had to wait for it. In order to pass the time, we played skipping stones. It was super fun. I never knew that our faculty was an expert at skipping stones. I was really happy when I scored one point. It was the first time I did. Sorry, most of us joined in the game. I am sure that we all looked like a bunch of crazy people throwing stones on to the river. But we had great fun. After a while, we returned back to the other side.

The Ruins.

The Way Up.

The carvings were so beautiful inside the fort.

Mystery.

The source of light.

Earlier today, we visited the ruins of a palace, now regarded as a protected monument. It was spooky and so cool at the same time. We could see a lot of Anegundi from the top of the fort.

We then headed out for lunch at a local restaurant. We had to wait for a while since the place was completely full.  We had a kind of a sadhya for lunch. It did not feel exactly like onam, but it felt good to have tasty home food.  The food was served in Banana leaf.
After lunch, he headed back to the resort since most of us were really tired. Our body was sore from yesterday's trekking too. Anyways, today was a pretty good day.