The third solo travel...
A blush when the title was typed! Also the first sentence!
After 1006+ days of wait in finding the profound meaning of peace!
Had alot of trips in awhile but it feels heavy to say the feel of travelling solo was never even close!
Hampi! they say a backpacker's paradise... Perhaps the reason is because it sure is!
In Persuit of not the lost treasures hidden somewhere inbetween those rocks or beneath the flowing river but in Persuit of something that was long lost in the path of life...
It was an hour early drop off at hospet which is 13 km away from the city of Hampi...
Managed to get an autorickshaw and I reached Hampi at 5 in the morning...
I reached the famous Virupaksha Temple at Hampi and took holy dips in the dangerously flowing Tungabhadra river bed and spent some time in the ever beautifully carved Virupaksha Temple premises...
I still remember the conversation with the auto drivers to no extra miles other than that tallest hill I could see from the banks of river Tungabhadra!
I was amazed at the answer of the driver boy "Yes DONE"
Eagerly waiting to see the other side of that mighty block of stone, the journey began...
Plans were forming roots in my mind and I most certainly was overridden by the thought of "Where do I pitch the tent?"
Some extra cool breeze in one of the hottest places of the state was all I enjoyed along the route to the destination!
Eureka! Eureka! I found it!
A beautiful place to pitch that tent which was folded skilfully n covered with dust in the corner of my room since an awfully long time!
The story of a river bed camping on the night next of the Century's longest lunar eclipse.. Yeah! The ball of Helium was a magnanimous sight in the context I had been waiting for!
Snacks and some water was good enough after a good meal as well...
When it was late in the evening.. I made the tent and it was all ready to move in..
I stayed up in the dusk until it was pitch dark
Moon was bright and was mirrored by the flowing river!
A Peace filled magnanimous night that was, for sure!
A walk of around 2-3 km with my heavy rucksack and the camera back pack, the roads lead straight to sleep in a matter of seconds on sliding my body into the sleeping bag.
After a relaxing night on the banks of the river, I woke up to one of the most serene sights of my life so far. The sunrise in the east and the a moon set in the west. The extravagant feeling was at peaks and the euphoric me was dancing for the favourite songs I have heard so far. Questions though were growing roots very rapidly in the head, I chose to stay calm and lived every bit of that moment.
Every second slapping me to remind why I should not stop travelling and throwing explosive thoughts at me to realise if I waited for someone to come along, I'd never go!
It's a delightful experience each time, I don't plan things and just get lost with a thought in the morning in my hometown and living the same thought in a different place the next morning! Feeling? Hours just pass in the blink of an eye!
With nothing but a flowing river, a couple of species of rare seen Kingfishers, Iguanas and some place beneath the only tree along the banks, I felt I had almost everything.
Hunger wasn't a matter as I enjoyed some delicious village food on time by walking a 3-4 km distance and back every time I felt I was losing some energy.
After the lunch time and a walk back to the tent spot, I slid into the conversation with the local boatmen on the small bay which I had to cross to make it to the place where I pitched my tent.
It was truly a mesmerizing destination and I'm glad to have found that and to have spent my time in my first ever trip to this mysterious ruin of one of the most prominent dynasty that ever ruled in the region of Karnataka!
Only by their beneficial advise I chose to pack back my tent and explore Hampi with curiosity clipped to my rucksack and trust me that was a good move!
I came back to the Virupaksha temple area and booked myself a room to sleep for the night! Cheap and best cottages, I managed a room for as low as INR 545 and spent the night walking along the banks of the river with all the baggage safe in the cottage!
I do not remember the time I walked back to the cottage and slid to sleep. But I knew when I wake up the next morning I'd be chasing the town as a tourist and I hated that feel.
Late in the evening yesterday when I decided to move out to have a look around the town of Hampi only to find it more curious and go back centuries in my mind to pour some life into these places which are nothing but precious gems buried in the history of time already.
The underground Shiva temple is a marvel in architecture. It left me awestruck and I salute the skills of the sculptors who lived the reign of the Vijayanagara empire. Though a ruin now, it upholds the religious spirit that our Motherland is adhering to, since centuries even before time existed.
I believe you have bargained the hell out of the handpushed carts that carry fruits and vegetables in a city like Bangalore. Such was the way preciously rare gold, diamond and precious gems were sold on streets during the reign of one of the prominent rulers of the Vijayanagara Dynasty, Sri Krishna Devaraya. For an empire with rich culture and heritage, such valuables were just a mere aesthetic additions to their external body and the masses were living in Peace and never bothered about anything but living in harmony.
Religion, Valor, Devotion, Peace, Agility, Literature, Trade and Architecture were upheld during the reign of this notable Empire in the history of India's most effective ruling dynasties.
With an absolute clear sky in the evening, I witnessed the last sunset in the the town and booked the bus tickets back home with a heavy heart!
Cheers to this getaway!
Loved.. Lived.. Travelled.