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The days in Hampi were spent unhurried, with little regard to time, but always yearning for the sunrise and sunset hours to stretch longer.
Matanga Parvata is one place that defines my Hampi, and I found myself climbing up the hill in the pre-dawn hours again and again. The initial ten minutes of the climb always felt mundane until I reached the other side, opening me up to the vistas of the meandering river and the boulder-strewn, mysteriously beautiful landscape which has no parallels anywhere. Once up the Matanga, it was a matter of finding comfortable seating and wait for the sun to unfold his morning drama.
It is a scene I can watch every morning and never have enough of. The silhouettes of the mountainous landscapes appear at a distance few minutes before the dawn, giving a glimpse of what to expect. Curves of Tungabhadra reflect the gentle light of the dawn, revealing herself among the rocks. Outlines of a few Mantapas located here and there among the boulders start showing up, which appear to be placed strategically to enhance nature’s own decorations. The sun eventually presents himself, tearing himself out of thick line of clouds enveloping the horizon. He looks like a crimson fireball dispatching soothing rays to illuminate the world and waking up its life forms. Plantains in the plains, boulderscapes, the flowing river, and gentle breeze with a mild chill are all soaked in the sun and work together to fill my heart.
Life kick starts as the sun walks up, and a few monkeys living on the hill start their wanderings. Some of them come close to us ‘tourists’ and look up with curiosity. One of them finds me harmless and gets closer to try its luck. I sit quiet, and encouraged by my acceptance, it tries pulling a string or two from my trousers and carefully examines my sandals. I stretch a hand of friendliness and the hand becomes another subject of curiosity, as it pulls my hand with its and looks carefully into it. It finally moves on after realizing that I have nothing really interesting to offer, but only just another ordinary boring human. Its herd is all activity at a Mantapa just below and there are a few tiny tots playing with their elderly and having small fights among each other, making beholders hearts to melt and bring out a smile.
In the meanwhile, sun is moving up, turning from crimson to white and changing the hues of the world along with his. It becomes warmer and feels just right in the morning breeze. We sit back and pass an hour or more until the sun is high and blazing. As we walk back, there is a flurry of activity in the world below. The bazaar is awake and people are walking from one place to other. Far in the river, coracles and boats are ferrying people from end to end. Just below the hill, many birds have started their day and among them are noisy colorful parakeets, a coucal that is hopping from place to place, bulbuls that sing melodiously and a few more unknown birds. ‘I shall come back the next day’, I tell myself and return to savour the same drama unfold all over once again.
Coracling in the evening sun
The evenings were spent sitting next to the river, watching it flow in a hurry below us in a shallow stretch and manifest itself unruffled and deep a little further. Rivers have always held me in a charm and it is all the more so in Hampi, drawing me into it to spend hours sitting beside her. And as I write this, was reminded of the magical sunset on the way back from the river one of these evenings – with boulders sticking out to the sky, silhouette of a lone tree in the crimson background, and then suddenly walking into a Kalyani with a Mantapa on the premise of Vithala, which was reflecting the riot of colors in the sky within itself.
The river flows by..
Boulders, river, and Anjanadri at a distance
Each day spent in Hampi was an experience complete and fulfilling leaving its memories to last forever and making me look forward to more of them.
Watching the sun go down at Hemakoota parvata
Continued at In Hampi, One evening..
The pictures of the coracles on the riverside is very beautiful, and also those of the meandering river.
I haven’t had a coracle experience till now.
Excellent pictures! Thanks for sharing.
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[...] is the list of stories from my Hampi and Badami trip. You can also go to the first post and use the navigation to read all of them in sequence. Also see: * Images from Badami, Aihole and [...]
[...] Hampi. The World Heritage site of Vithala Temple and the stone chariot may come to your mind. But Hampi is much more than that. It has a beautiful boulder strewn landscape spread on either side of meandering Tungabhadra River. Read A drive to Hampi, Walking in Hampi and other travelogues on hampi [...]