Hospet - Hampi - Badami - Pattadakal - Aihole - Oct 2nd to 4th 2014
Ashtami...the day after doing Satyanarayana Puja at the office on the occasion of Dussera...we set off for a date with the dynasties which ruled Karnataka some 1600 years ago..the Vijayanagara Kings, the Chalukyas, the Rashtrakootas...Long weekend called for a long chat with these ancient rulers and discuss their contributions..over chai...!! A long blog but do read it...
Oct. 2nd 2014 Bangalore - Hospet - Hampi
Fortunately having booked earlier at Hotel Malligi, Hospet gave us wonderful rates and so, woke up at 4am, and after the boys' luggage and ours too was stowed away, we set off at 6am for Hospet..and were shocked to see the packed highway, chock-a-block with cars ferrying holidaying Bangaloreans out of Bangalore and believe you me it took us over 1 hour 45 mins to crawl to Tumkur with more than 20mins at each toll point thanks to long snaking queues..we breathed a sigh after leaving Tumkur toll booth and stopped at Shree Vrundavan Restaurant for a breakfast of idlis, vadas and dosas as per each one's liking and after fighting off crowds even there, we only felt relieved when we hit NH4 and the traffic thinned and the road was super smooth. Whizzed past Sira and reached Chitradurga and changed to NH 63 towards Hospet and then started our drive on the moon's surface, 120 kms of it...also heavily populated by trucks ...even our luggage protested!! However we had made good time on NH4 and despite the terrible NH63 (why NHAI, why?), we reached Hospet and Hotel Malligi at 12.30pm having clocked 360 kms.
Having stayed here about 15 years ago and having perused the renovated hotel's pics on the net, I shouldn't have been surprised but I was..they had wrought wonders and the hotel was worth every single penny paid. Poora paisa vasool. Checked in and the rooms were also large, airy and had all the usual amenities though the health faucet could have been reworked instead of its hose trailing like a snake below the sink...however I liked the room. Having said this, very disappointed with the untrained staff masquerading as waiters and service staff. This is a big let down..they have people from Bihar and Bengal, just put in uniform with no training, who barely understand even Hindi let alone English or Kannada, do not know how to serve, argumentative..a bloody pain and nuisance.
Went to the open air Blue Mist for lunch and the thalis ordered were adequate if not super. Hit the sack at 1.30pm and after a nap of 2 hours, woke up and got ready to go to Hampi, a world heritage site, which is 14 kms away.
Hampi
Traditionally known as Pampakshetra of Kishkindha, Hampi is situated on the southern bank of the river Tungabhadra. Once it was the seat of the mighty Vijayanagara empire.It covers an area of nearly 26 sq km and is stated to be enclosed by seven lines of fortifications.A large number of royal buildings were raised by Krishnadeva Raya about 500 years ago, the greatest ruler of the dynasty. The period witnessed resurgence of Hindu religion, art & architecture on an unprecedented scale. Extensive remains of the palaces can be seen. The various religious and secular structures which include Hindu and Jain temples, audience hall of the king, the magnificent throne platform to witness the festivals and other events, the king's balance (tulabhara) are awe-inspiring. Temples of this city are noted for their large dimensions, florid ornamentation, bold and delicate carvings, stately pillars, magnificent pavilions and a great wealth of iconography and traditional depictions which include subjects from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The Virupaksha temple still has pujas being performed..flanked by the Hampi bazaar where tales of yore abound where traders sold precious stones like vegetables in heaps...the Vitthala temple is another glorious structure with the stone chariot of the Sun God as in Konark, the Lotus Mahal, the Queen's Bath a reminiscent of the luxurious Antahpura...
God knows how much more is still hidden...Recent excavations at the site have brought to light a large number of palatial complexes and basements of several platforms. Interesting finds include a large number of stone images, both on ground and relief, beautiful terracotta objects and stucco figures that once embellished the palaces. In addition many gold and copper coins, household utensils, a square stepped-tank and a large number of ceramics including the important variety of porcelain and inscribed Buddhist sculptures of 2nd -3rd century AD have also been unearthed.
Open till 6pm..we required every minute of it. And entrance fee to the monuments - Rs.10pp !! Well, as we drove off in to the sunset (literally)...everyone was silent, ruminating on the grandeur of those times and wondering why if the monuments can be meticulously maintained by ASI is the approach road so filthy, patchy and unkempt...wah re mera Bharat!
Everyone was tired, sweaty and the pool welcoming in its coolness, a quick dip as it closes at 7pm, and an early dinner had everyone asleep by 10pm.
Oct. 3rd. 2014 Hospet - Badami - Pattadakal - Aihole
Ranga took a break and we rented a Toyota Innova to take us to the domain of the Chalukyas. Had breakfast at 7am and left the hotel at 7.45am. Beautiful drive on NH (Bagalkot Road) via the Tungabhadra dam which was super to see with all sluice gates open...and then we got off about 20 kms after Ilkal to enter Badami...and straight to the caves. Unlike Hampi, these are all carved in sandstone.
Badami
About 140kms from Hospet are the rock cut temples of Badami. Badami, the one time capital of the Chalukyas , is noted for several temples, some structural & others rock cut, from the 6th & 7th Centuries. The foundations of Badami, or Vatapi as it was then called, were laid by Pulakeshi I in the 6th century and his son Kirtivarman the 1st beautified the town with temples & other buildings.
The greatest ruler of the dynasty was Pulakeshi II who among others defeated the Pallava King Mahendra Verman I. The Pallava later captured & destroyed Badami to avenge their defeat. Badami was also in the possession of the Vijayanagar Kings, The Adil Shahis, The Savanur Nawabs, The Marathas, Hyder Ali & finally the British who made it part of the Bombay Presidency.
Four rock cut temples of Badami (First one is dedicated to Shiva, the 2nd and 3rd to Vishnu and the 4th is a Jain cave temple.and Boothnath temple ...gave Boothnath temple a miss as we were tired).
Badami's cave temples are awesome to say the least. Just feast your eyes...
Pattadakal
22 kms from Badami is Pattadakal. The town displays both Dravidian (Southern) and the Nagara (Northern) styles of temple architecture.Pattadakal, a place for Chalukyas Coronation (patta - Coronation) kal (stone), was the capital of the Chalukya dynasty of Karnataka in S.India. The Chalukyas built many temples here between the 7th and 9th century. There are ten temples including a Jain sanctuary surrounded by numerous small shrines andplinths in fusion of various Indian architectural styles (Rekha, Nagara Prasada and Dravida Vimana). Nine Shiva temples and one Jain basadi, situated along the northern course of the Malaprabha River, which is considered as very auspicious according to Holy Scriptures. There are numerous Kannada language inscriptions at Pattadakal. Important among them; at Virupaksha Temple, there is 8th century Old Kannada inscription on a victory pillar, in the Sangameshvara temple, there exists an earlier large inscription tablet describing grants made by King Vijayaditya for the construction of the temple.
These group of monuments are the best examples of Chalukyan and Rashtrakoota architecture and fabulously maintained by ASI.
Aihole
The village of Aihole (pronunciation: eye-HO-lay) contains over 125 temples from the Early Western Chalukya and later periods Several temples abound, but by then we were tired, sun beating down and were hungry so saw the Durga temple and Lad Khan Temple ( names remain of people who occupied these monuments as residences during the British period !! ). The name Aihole also has a story..when Parashurama vowed to kill all Kshatriyas for killing Sage Jamadagni' and his calf, he is supposed to have washed his bloody axe in the river and the river turned red which when witnessed by people, they cried Ayyo - Holey (Oh God, the river )..and the name stuck..of course, the reddish tint is thanks to the hematite in iron rich soil of the Bellary - Bagalkot belt.
On our way back, Toshu's GPS saved the day and we stopped for lunch at Kamat restaurant at Ilkal. Ranga bought me an Ilkal cotton saree and we headed back to Hospet, we reached the hotel at 4.30pm, ready to drop...relaxed for an hour, then hit the pool...went to the lounge bar for dinner and sated again went to sleep at 10pm barely able to keep our eyes open.
Heart was full of pride for our past yet so unhappy with the upkeep of the surrounding villages around the monuments..bad roads, filthy surroundings, people defecating in the open..monuments themselves are maintained very well (with entrance tickets of barely Rs.5 or Rs.10 pp )...sigh, what a dichotomy...can we have the Government shedding its apathy OR accept its inability and hand it over to private players to please clean and worthy of the treasure trove they are holding in their midst?
Oct 4th 2014 Hospet - Bangalore
Checked and found an alternate route back to avoid another back breaking drive...so after breakfast at 7am, we checked out and started our drive back. With a brief lunch stop at Kamat Upachar near Sira, reached home at 3pm to find Bangalore beautiful with empty streets like in the 80s ...well, going back 14 centuries did raise some dust but it was worth the effort.
Log
On the Odo - 780kms
Routes taken
Going - Bangalore - Tumkur - Sira - Chitradurga - change to NH 63 - Kudligi - Hospet - 360 kms
Return - NH 19 Hospet - Bellary (bypass) - Challakere - Hiriyur - change to NH 4 - Sira - Tumkur - Bangalore - 370 kms. (trust me, this road is excellent and worth the extra few kms)
Weather - Hot days, pleasant nights. Sunscreen, shades and hat an absolute must.
Best time to travel - October to February
Oh yes, we did see the Tungabhadra dam in its full glory as all the sluice gates were open..what a lovely sight !
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