We sat on the porch of the homestay that would be our home for the next four days in Hampi, on the traditional side of the river. After having hot coffee as relief from our bus journey, we freshened up and rode off to the Virupaksha Temple. We were clueless about the stories behind the carvings and the statues, especially the inscriptions that were in old Kannada. With the help of a guide, who showed us around the entire temple for Rs 200, we were able to understand the history behind the construction of the temple, the many additions done to it by the kings of the 4 dynasties who ruled Vijayanagara and the smaller temples inside it. Then, we trekked up the Hemakuta hill to watch Hampi dissolve into the glowing rays of the setting sun. There we were, surrounded by beautiful boulders that seemed to reflect the sun's rays. After having a cup of tea, we came down and sat at the entrance of the temple, watching the sky go from yellow to orange to red to purple and pink, and then deep blue. Hampi certainly boasts of dramatic skies.
After having a piping hot cup of coffee, we left for Hippie Island at 9 in the morning. Even for this late in the day, it was chilly and the rickshaw whipped hair into our faces. We crossed over to the other side by boat, and got down on the 'chill' side of Hampi, the place where people come to let loose, smoke up and relax. This gives it it's name, 'Hippie Island'. We rented a 'luna', a rickety cross between a cycle and a bike for 300 rupees and set off exploring the uneven roads. In a while we got used to the bumps on the road as we headed off to Lake Sanapur, a quiet and tranquil place to have a dip and be with yourself, or so we were told. But we stopped in the middle of the road when we saw this gorgeous temple, absolutely quiet, and emanating the smell of wet earth. We went inside and sat down,leaning against the carved pillars and stared into the bright blue sky.
We rode around all day, sighing and laughing as each one of us took turns to ride the luna. The day was a collage of endlessly stretching rice fields, cirrus cloud formations, old stones and pillars and roads shadowed by coconut trees.
In a veil of FOMO, we set out to explore the famous ruins of the Vijay Vitthala Temple and the nearby ruins. When we were walking around, mesmerised by how these people could've built all this before the advent of any modern technology, our guide told us that there were 2500 monuments that would take 3 months to fully explore and understand the history of.
We stood under the Elephant Stables, wondering how they could've born the weight of those magnificient beasts, looked at old stone statues of Garuda, Bhoomidevi, Hanuman amongst many many others, and stood under the breeze filled trees, soaking in the familiarity of the barren landscape.
We explored the ruins of the King's royal quarters and sat at 'Pushkarni', the step well where women must've come to bathe and exchange stories.
As the sun was setting, we bid a painful goodbye to the ruins and drank the last of the buttermilk that a lady sitting outside the ruins, under a huge tree, was selling. Wiping off our buttermilk moustaches, we rode off, with the last rays of the sun hitting our faces, like they were reinforcing that we were leaving.
We got into the bus and fell asleep almost immediatelyfor a good two three hours. I am sure we dreamt of Hampi and it's setting sun, the colours never leaving our mind.
