Raghuram’s travelogue

Kids at Hampi uploaded on 10 November 2007

People of Hampi are not camera shy and the kids love to be photographed.

Kids at Hampi uploaded on 10 November 2007

People at Hampi are not camera shy and the kids love to be photographed.

Vitthala Temple uploaded on 10 November 2007

The Vitthala temple has pillars of stone, which were struck gently with Sandalwood drumsticks to produce sounds of the Tabala, Veena and other traditional Indian musical instruments. Temple dancers performed in the temple to the music produced by doing so!There is a huge stone chariot installed in the temple. It has been carved out of a single stone and the wheel can be still rotated!

Pushkarni uploaded on 10 November 2007

A typical man made water tank which the inhabitants of Hampi visited for their morning prayers etc.

Sri Krishna Temple uploaded on 10 November 2007

Until UNESCO stepped in, declared Hampi as one of the world heritage centers and took control of things, we were blissfully ignorant of the continuing ruining of the city.The gopura of the Shri Krishna Temple temple.

Chandrasekara Temple uploaded on 10 November 2007

Royal Stables uploaded on 10 November 2007

This building is a fine example of Indo-Islamic style of architecture.The rooms were used as Elephant stables. The elephants were tied to the chairs hanging from the centre of the ceiling as can be made out from the iron hooks embedded in some of the ceilings. These were not the military elephants but were the ceremonial ones which were used by royal household. Apart from the royal elephants, temples also had elephants of their own to perform various pujas. One such elephant can still be seen in Hampi.

Stone Chariot uploaded on 10 November 2007

The Vitthala temple has pillars of stone, which were struck gently with Sandalwood drumsticks to produce sounds of the Tabala, Veena and other traditional Indian musical instruments. Temple dancers performed in the temple to the music produced by doing so. There is a huge stone chariot installed in the temple. It has been carved out of a single stone and the wheel can be still rotated.

Blessings uploaded on 10 November 2007

Lakshmi, and 18 year old elephant blesses the devotees at the Virupaksha Temple.

Gopuram of Virupaksha Temple uploaded on 10 November 2007

The Virupaksha temple is a magnificent work of art, showcasing a range of amazing things starting from beautifully sculpted stones, pieces of Indian mythology in sculptures and paintings to a larger than life pin-hole camera mechanism.Long before Michelangelo painted the Ceiling of the Sistine chapel, the people of Hampi had already dedicated the hard-to-reach ceiling of the Virupaksha temple to print odes to the gods. The paints which were made of dyes extracted from vegetables and plants are still stunningly bright till date.