Day 5

          Day 5                                                                                                               10/12/16

    Not every day is a perfect one!

Sometimes when you are in a group, everybody has his own opinion about things and has an action plan to work out. But when these opinions clash and differ from each other, adjustment and sensible behavior is a must. In a group of intellect people quarrels, arguments are bound to be happen. This day something like that happened and ruined my morning. So in the morning time, I practically could not do anything. But you have to keep at it. So I decided to go with my plan in the second half.

   Ali came to help

As I had planned I went to Hajarirama temple to meet the person from ASI department. He was a knowledgeable person and took out time from his busy schedule just to provide his help. That day I felt that I have understood that temple, palace, and the ruins completely. I wanted to know the meaning of the carvings, the stories of common people of that time, and I got everything. Apart from that he shared his own opinions about the place and whether really it was destroyed by the Muslims? His contention made us belief in what he was saying. The 40 minutes of the conversation that took us back into those times were involving. After that we saw other places such as queen’s bath, Lotus mahal, Elephant stable, Zanana enclosure etc. These structures were built in Indo-Islamic architecture showing the harmony between these two cultures. 

                                                                    Mr. Ali

                              

                                               Carvings Hajarirama Temple

                                               A bold figure of a women hunting

                                           The intersection of the heads od a bull and an elephants
                                         shows the healthy relation between vaishnavaits and shivaits.

                                                       A madari ( monkey charmer)

                                                 Hampi festival elephant processions.

                                              Arab and the King having a conversation

                                                       Celebration of Holi(color)festival.

                                                Trade of horses and the khsatriya ( warriors)

The Concert in Hampi!

Indeed a break from whatever we were doing for past few days. A musical concert was arranged in Hampi by government and social activists. It was a great concert and for the first time I got to hear the musician, singer Prem Joshua live! The allurement of Hampi was seen even more in the night. The shrine of the temple was lit and seemed as if it is made out of the gold.

Although it was a great concert, my friend and I took a detour and went back to the Virupaksha temple. That beauty of that structure enhanced more in the night!  The reason for going there was an interesting person, the shoe keeper of the temple. His name was Siddhesh. We were totally surprised when he started talking fluently in English. He had a job in a factory in Bangalore but fate made him come back to his native town. He met with an accident which is why he had to leave the job and whatever money he had earned over the years were gone in his treatment. So he took the job as a shoe keeper in the temple and now he has find his solace within the walls of the scared temple. He knew the stories of Hampi in his own perspective and was happy to share with us. That day I realized that if you really look carefully around you, even the simplest people can teach you greatest things. 

The Concert

The glimpses of the Virupaksha temple in the night.

                                                      Mr. Siddhesh