Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Hampi Tour - Day 1

The tour to Hampi, Pattadakal, Aihole & Badami was organized by the Chennai based REACH Foundation which is primarily into preservation and restoration of old dilapidated but historically significant temples in Tamilnadu,India. Around 20 REACH members comprising 17 men and 3 ladies participated in this tour. We two ( my wife Shobha & I) were the only two from Coimbatore;the rest were from Chennai. We traveled by road to Bangalore on 31st morning and then joined the rest of the Group at Bangalore Cantonment to board the Hampi express to Hospet on the night of 31-8-2012. The train reached Hospet on 1st morning and there were two Tempo Traveller vans to pickup and take us to Hotel Mallige. Dr.Satyamurthy, former Superintending Archaeologist ASI joined us directly at Hospet and he was our team leader for this trip. The ambience at Hotel Mallige was wonderful and the rooms were cosy and comfortable. The breakfast spread was sumptuous and there were infinite choices for both the veggies and non veggies.A solid hearty breakfast in the morning is an essential element in such tours. We started the day with a visit to ASI Museum at Hampi which is located around 10 Kms from Hospet.
Brief History of Hampi: Located on the Southern Banks of the Tungabhadra River, Hampi is believed to be the ancient city of Kishkintha of Ramayana fame. Asokan rock edicts located near this place have attested to Grand Mauryan antiquity. Buddhist limestone panels excavated show the prevalence of Buddhism during the 1st-2nd century AD.Hampi was also ruled by various other kingdoms - by the Chalukyas of Badami(5th-6th Century AD), Rashtrakutas (7th-8th century AD),Chalukyas of Kalyani (9th-11th Century AD),Hoysalas (11th-13th century AD) and Yadavas of Devagiri (13th Century AD).
This was followed by the rule of the magnificent Vijayanagara Empire which ruled for close to three centuries and flourished and prospered under various rulers, the most famous and powerful being Krishna Deva Raya who took the Empire to glorious heights.
The ASI musuem contains a large and exquisite collection of sculptures from various periods including the Vijayanagara era. I have clicked several hundred photographs but I am presenting only a few select pictures for your viewing.
Pics of the group on arrival at ASI Museum Hampi
The spacious and lush green carpeted campus of the ASI Museum
Mahishasamardini
Ten armed Virabhadra
Four Armed Bhairava
Shakti Ganesha

Durga ?
Vishnu in reclining pose
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Hanuman
A Scene from Ashoka Vana: Hanuman meeting Sita in the presence of a Rakshasi
Venu Gopal
Garuda
Varaha: An avatar of Vishnu
Lakshmi
Vishnu
Nandi
Shiva Linga
Lakshmi Narayanan
Narasimha in Padmasana
Since ASI person was accompanying the team we were received warmly and courteously and did not have to shell out royal sums of money for still/video cameras.

Please also visit: 

Rhesus Monkeys at Virupaksha Temple-Hampi

Fortune Tellers at Hampi

8 comments:

  1. Good shots of the architectures.
    Waiting to see the real Hampi!!


    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2012/09/belum-caves-deep-down-under.html

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  2. So much to absorb from these sculptures. I heard about Hampi when I was in Bangalore from a blogging friend.

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  3. This must have been such an enlightening trip. Looking forward to more on Hampi.

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  4. We had been there in Hampi just a week ago. You have captured the stone work beautifully.

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. hi..thanks for the post.Are you planning any holiday trip with family.i will suggest you the places br hills resort and also near by place k gudi resort..its a nice place to enjoy with family..do visit..

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  7. Good to find your impressive post of valuable stuff. Thanks and keep sharing such instructive post with all.

    Hampi Hotels and Resorts

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