[eclectix 1st]

Well done Samurai. The title could've been
"Re-discovery of HAMPI by Samurai"

Even though I've seen Hampi as late as 2006 (going again in July) the depiction of History along with the photographs in this thread is fantastic.

For those who haven't been there, you've provided a platform to do so without traveling all the way to Hampi.

couple of things I'd like to mention

• Only a small fraction of the ruins have been excavated & a even smaller portion of it is open for the public/tourists.
• Only after UNESCO declared Hampi as the World Heritage Site a couple of years ago, some funding has been made available to expand the excavation projects. Even then the excavations are going at a snail pace because of lack of skilled personnel.
• If we are lucky we might see the full city of Vijayanagar in our life time.

cheers
cheers:

[magiceye]

Samurai,
Thank you for an excellent virtual tour of Hampi.

[BomBatt]

Thank you Samurai. Nice travelogue.

You can appreciate some places only if you know some history.

During my early college days, I had been to Chitradurga fort with my friends. We spent whole day there having lot of fun (with lot of beer and hot drinks etc) One of them being a local guy, he showed us nook and corner of the fort. But none of us could find anything great about the place. It was just a time pass with lot of liquor and fun.

At the same time, I was into book reading, and I came across this Kannada book called "Durgastamana" by TaRaSu (T. R. Subba Rao). This book was about "Madakari Nayaka" who was the ruler of Chitradurga and his battles with Hyderali/Tipu Sultan.

After reading this book, I have visited Chitradurga fort atleast 10 times, and each time, I get very excited and thrilled.

[troy_aikman]

Wow ! - this deserves an episode in the History channel. I sometimes watch this channel and like Samurai mentioned about the Romans and aquaducts - there was this episode about how water was brought to many of the cities thru these ducts and the methods employed by them. It also gave a window into the lives of ordinary people. I always thought that of all the places Hampi offered the best chance to gain insight into how our people went about their daily lives in the past.
thanks for bringing this to light. Great pictures also.

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by BomBatt

T We spent whole day there having lot of fun (with lot of beer and hot drinks etc) One of them being a local guy, he showed us nook and corner of the fort. But none of us could find anything great about the place. It was just a time pass with lot of liquor and fun.

This is the most odious thing people can do at historic places .

[diabloo]

He did it during his innocent years. He will not do now. There is no reason to be frustrated.

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

This is the most odious thing people can do at historic places .

[NRKUMAR]

Hi Samurai,

Your pics & commentary is like a rediscovery of Hampi for many of us. Thanks for sharing your thoughts

[madan80]

samurai - what is the camera setting for the krishna temple picture? i loved the contrast between the blue sky and yellow autorikshaw.

[mayurpalav]

Samurai, An epic travelogue to be precise.Very informative, Keep up the good work.1 Suggestion - Please do visit Andaman & Nicobar Islands (I know you can't drive till there), But nevertheless the place is awesome. And I think you can do justice to the islands by showcasing them here.

[Samurai]

Thanks everybody for your kind comments. History makes even a dull looking stone more interesting. That is why I wanted to sprinkle historical tit-bits all over this travelogue.

In my great-grand mother's house, I had always seen these 3 rooms that were made of mud unlike rest of the house. Even the floor was mud, so I didn't like going there much. But about 12-13 years back I found out that those 3 rooms were the original construction, dating back to 14th century. After that I started pestering all the older folks in the family to find out more, those 3 rooms became the focus of my attention during my visits. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to visit there in a long time because of a property litigation in the family.

That's what history can do, it literally breaths life into ordinary looking relics from the past.

Originally Posted by madan80

samurai - what is the camera setting for the krishna temple picture? i loved the contrast between the blue sky and yellow autorikshaw.

Thanks Madan, I'll have to check at home, it a raw file from E-500. With E-500 I practically went with gut feel settings for each shot. I haven't developed the same confidence yet with E-3.

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by diabloo

He did it during his innocent years. He will not do now. There is no reason to be frustrated.

Thanks for the consolation dude I think you ought to realize that this is something that needs to be discouraged. Old or young needs to understand that you cant do such a thing at a tourist spot .

You wanna drink go find yourself a pub/bar and drink till you drop. No-one will stop you.

Samurai sorry for going OT but then I hate to see people doing such things at tourist places. I am sure no-one else here also appreciates the same.

[diabloo]

There is no point in educating the educated. You have to educate the uneducated.

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Thanks for the consolation dude I think you ought to realize that this is something that needs to be discouraged. Old or young needs to understand that you cant do such a thing at a tourist spot .

You wanna drink go find yourself a pub/bar and drink till you drop. No-one will stop you.

[csentil]

A picture is worth a 1000 words. Here the words were worth a 1000 pictures/history classes. Enuf said.

I'm going to dig into my Hampi fotos and see if I've anything that you have not posted. You have actually covered more than what we covered in almost 3 days so I doubt it.

When I was there the Tungabadra was in spate. A lot of bridges were closed and we had to take some detours.

I heard that when it rains Hampi is even more beautiful. Anyone seen it like that?

Badami is next in the list.

[BomBatt]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

This is the most odious thing people can do at historic places .

Come on rjstyles69, that was long long back, just when I stepped into college. We just had some drinks at some remote corner and had some fun. Thats all.

[Raps]

Originally Posted by Samurai

The Matunga Hill, this hill is visible from everywhere in Hampi, almost acts like a lighthouse. This hill has been mentioned in Ramayan, this is where Hanuman was born and where Sugreev was in exile. Vaali couldn’t enter this place due to a curse from Rishi Matunga. Anybody remembers the story? (Matanga Hill | Hampi)

Attachment 13148


To be Continued.

Sam saar ,

Excellent writing and beautiful pics. It reminds me as if we are walking through the ruins of Hampe. Its also my wife's grandparents place (Kamalapura). Whenever I visit Kamalapura I make sure I visit some place or the other which I have not visited. Last time I visited Anjanadri Betta (hill, also called Kishkindha - as told by the local ppl) also called Matanga hill as u mentioned. We can cross the river and reach reach Anegondi. From there you can reach the hill. From the top of the hill we can view the entire ruins of Hampe.

Cheers,
Raps