My Brief Date with the History

I had a chance to visit back in the past to know what is takes to create history. History which is glorious; history which is powerful; history which is evil. I had a chance to see & touch what I always read in the magazines & text books. In my schooldays, I barely dreamt of visiting these places of great importance. But I managed to leap into the past recently on an extended weekend of Jan 26th 2007. I would like to share with you all what I saw & experienced. I hope I would be able to kindle an interest in some of the spirited ones to visit one of these places.

My itinerary: Bangalore--> Bijapur--> Badami-->Pattadakal--> Aihole-->Hampi-->Bangalore

Bijapur Jan 26th 08:20 a.m. to 01:30 p.m I reached Bijapur by a Volvo bus from Bangalore on Jan 26th 08:20 a.m. This was a comfortable journey and I almost slept for 5-6 hours at a stretch. Bijapur is a Muslim-majority town with not a very high class infrastructure. What Bijapur boasts of is the high quality Islamic architecture of Medieval India (around 14th century A.D.). Each of the historical monuments are class apart. I had made a list of monuments to visit here & the best way to visit each of them was the famous 3-wheeler autos of India (equivalent to Tuk-Tuks of Thailand). Just Rs 200/- including guide fees. What a bargain! I first started with the Gol Gumbaz . After rounds of echoing whispers in the Whispering Gallery at the 7th floor, I decided to move on to the Asar Mahal, Jami Masjid, Gagan Mahal, Barah Kaman (12 Arches), Upri Burj, Malik-e-maidan (55 ton cannon) & finally to Ibrahim Rauza. It is said that architecture of Ibrahim-Rauza was the inspiration behind the world famous Taj Mahal. It was at Ibrahim-Rauza below, where I met a Japanese fellow who was traveling alone in India for quite some time. After the 4 hours tour in Bijapur, I moved on to my next stop, Badami. Lo & behold, the next bus to Badami was at 4:00 p.m. & it was only 1:00 p.m. at that time. I decided to take the alternative route via Bagalkot. Bagalkot is about 130 km from Bijapur. This was a route via the farmlands & it was a pleasant site to see farmers preparing their farms for the next season. The view of the picturesque Almatti Dam was magnificent. On my way, I was fortunate that our bus tyre deflated when we reached the highway. We immediately boarded the next bus within 5 min & reached Bagalkot. Again my luck that the next bus to Badami was about to leave & I hopped on.

Click here for Bijapur pics

Badami Jan 26th 05:20 p.m.to Jan 27th 06:15 a.m. Badami is a small town 36 km from Bagalkot. In the evening I had sufficient light to vist the cave temples. But my camera battery was dying. Curse....I had to remain content with whatever little pics I could shoot. Observe the intertwined bull & an elephant on one of the temple walls. Night came up & I had to look for some hotel for a good night's sleep. Room rent=Rs 800/- , Cash in hand..Rs 1200/-, ATM=None, Credit Card=No acceptance...Next day was going to be a hell with almost no money left after paying Rs 300/- to the Auto driver next day for Pattadakal & Aihole. I think the best way to deal with such situations is to not think about it much & move on.
Click here for Badami pics
I woke up at 5:25 a.m. next morning & started for Pattadakaat 6:15 a.m.

Pattadakal Jan 27th 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. This is a World Heritage site 28 km. from Badami. Here is a cluster of Shiva Temples in all sizes. These were built in 7th-8th century during the reign of different rulers. Many of the temples were built by the Queens to celebrate the victory of their Kings. Almost all except one temple are invaded & ruined. The only thing intact in all the temples here are the Shivalings. The invaders destroyed the Nandi Bulls & the carvings. A devout Hindu may really feel sad on seeing this. I was the first person to enter the site early morning so I had a chance to do some good photography in peace. Hope you appreciate them.

Click here for Pattadakal pics

Aihole Jan 27th 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. I moved on to Aihole which houses the strewn temple sites across a small village. Had a great local breakfast of freshly steamed Idlis here. People around this area are very soft spoken helpful. Whomsoever I approached for directions, I got them correctly. Aihole is famous for the Durga Temple, Ravanphadi, Suryanarayan Temple. Archaelogical Survey of India is taking a good care of these sites. Time for me to move to Hampi.

Click here to view Aihole pics

Hampi Jan 27th 03:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. I took a shared Auto to Amingarh & caught a State Bus to Ilkal from where I would get the bus to Hospet. On my way I saw school girls riding on a bicycle back home. I was impressed by the Govt. of Karnataka's scheme of distributing bicycles to young girls of underprivileged famiIies in villages to enable them to cover long distances to their school. I slept for most of the time during my 4 hours journey. I was relieved to see SBI ATMs in Hospet. There is a famous saying in India, WHERE THERE IS NO OTHER BANK, THERE IS STATE BANK. After having lunch at Hospet and cash in pocket, I moved on to Hampi on shared Auto. I met a Jain guy enroute who was attending a Jain Ashram at Hampi for quite some time. It was quite sunny today . I had put to on my hat out in Hampi. Unware of the vast landscape of Hampi, I hired a bicycle only to find in the next 10 min that it will not be possible for me to cover 24 k.m. route within Hampi site in 3 hours on a bicycle. I immediately exchanged the bicycle to a 3-wheeler auto (tuk-tuk). And there started the tour of one of the erstwhile strongest region of India, the capital of Vijaynagar empire. It was fascinating to view the now destroyed kingdom. But one can make out how illustrious the life was in those times. The Hindu architecture was at its peak that time. Sadly it was the Muslim Kings' invasion of the empire in 16th century which saw the demolition of important sites & idols. Many of the sites were buried deep into earth which are now restored back by the Govt. of India Here I made two Australian friends, Lia & Tom. They were a real delight to talk with. I was really impressed with their ken, their command in various subjects of social importance & especially their knowledge about India. Tom is a Lecturer in Political Science in Melbourne University & Lia is pursuing her PhD. This was Lia's 3rd visit to India & Tom's 1st. We exchanged our views on range of subjects like tourism in India, social status of aboriginals in Australia, "World is a small village", economic status of India, etc.

Click here for Hampi pics

What I learnt in this trip?

• India has an illustrious past of royal rulers. The architecture from 7th century Badami cave temples was outstanding and lots to learn about our heritage.
• "Swastik" symbol can be seen in Pattadakal temples & Badami cave temples which are as old as 6th century A.D. This is definitely not an evil representation of Nazis, but the legacy of Dharmic religions-Hinduism, Budhhism & Jainism.
• Religion was the inspiration behind the ancient Indian Architecture.
• Wars destroy legacy & create history. Fragmentation of Indian Kingdoms made us more fragile to invasions which led ourselves succumbing to foreigners.
• WHERE THERE IS NO BANK, THERE IS STATE BANK.
• Total electrification in rural India is a must. I observed the way water sprinklers were used in farming. It was just the right way to farm in this plateau region.
• I appreciated Govt. of Karnataka's scheme of distributing free bicycles to young schoolgirls of underprivileged village families. I learnt that such schemes will definitely result in lowering the school drop-outs & raise the literacy rate.
• To get back the lost glory, India now has to become an economic superpower by creating world-class conglomerates.

Please do post your comments on the post.