Having arrived at Hampi (to know about what is Hampi redirect yourself here) I felt myself being pulled back in years. As I stood there with my eyes hungrily taking in everything, I knew it deserved a blog post, the place had to be put into words. The first place I visited was the Virupaksha temple and seeing the towering structure I didn’t immediately connect to its history however later on on entering the place I felt a loss for words.
I ran my fingers over the aged stone and I actually trembled at the thought of all the effort and dedication that must have gone into chiseling each rock to perfection and maintaining the same exact design on every rock.
The thing I saw next blew my head off.
this was the inverted image of the front tower seen deep inside the temple, far away from the actual structure, through a pin hole. I do not know if the artists stumbled on this by chance or the builders did it on purpose. If they did it makes you wonder the intelligence that was there more than 2000 years ago.
I didn’t want to stop looking at the sculpted rocks, wanting to just sit there and absorb the magnificence of the whole place. But Hampi isn't small and to explore the place you need to keep moving.
When I saw these carvings the very first thing I did was smile at the perfection with which a simple classical dance form had been presented using plain chisel and knife.
this particular carving seem to reflect through out the place varying in sizes yet remaining same in desige, probably being the royal symbol.
this is the Ramayana (an epic story sacred to the Hindus) represented on rocks through carvings.
I seem to have taken a liking to dance forms
.
the most famous structure in Hampi, the rock representation of a chariot.
But what really made my jaw drop was the 100 pillars each of which could create the sounds of different musical instruments when tapped.
it was inside this place the temple dancers entertained the kings while the musicians used the pillars as their instruments.
Hampi has left in me a feeling I cannot put into words. The very magnificence of the place makes me wish I was alive during the period, to be a part of such a beautiful city. I feel a part of me is still there, roaming the places once walked by people ages ago. The culture and imagination that filters through their work leaves you awestruck. It makes me proud to say I belong in a country where great kings and craftsmen have lived and have immortalized their finesse through structures which will forever leave us singing praises in their honor.
