Happiness is Hampi - part 1.

" hampi , hampi , hampi "  shouted the autorickshaws as I dropped down from my overnight bus at this small town of Hospete. Though small it is world famous as the entry point for Hampi.  I didnot take the autorickshaw , as they asked for something around 200 INR. I being as always , a megre budgetary backpacker , went on foot to search the local bus stop and find a goverment bus plying for Hampi. As my bus geared off , finally I could feel all the excitement cropping up from one last month planning Hampi.

Once a close backpacking friend had remarked " Hampi , how can you have not gone there being a backpacker !! Its pure happiness !! " Well that is true , wandering around for five years around my country, yet , there are places , so known yet unknown to me. Last three years had passed mostly on the mountains doing what I love to do and doing it for money. But now with a little stability in my mountaineering career , I am ticking my rest of MUST DO checklist in India and hampi was a prioirity which got the tick in month of October 2016. I did not take much time when a plan for Hampi was floated by my dear friends and I finalised it , taking no much time.

After seven months in Kasol , settled for the longest bit of time in the near past , the trip to hampi felt like a refreshing cold wind blowing in the days of hot and humid summers. Change of scenes , diversity and most of all a new place to explore and learn. That was enough to excite the exploring soul to move towards the ancient capital of vijaynagara empire.

Hampi came into existence around 7th century and bloomed under the best of times during the 10 - 14 century , being the extravagent capital of an all powerful kingdom in those days. Those pride and past is what still remains there and amuses the millions of visitors that come here each year. The ancient stone cut temples are still in use and of worship by the locals , where as the myths shouts out the tale from epic Ramayana and its most famous heroes. If you are just into nature also , the scintillating landscapes of huge boulders and rock hills around the vast paddy fields and serpented by Tungabhadra river through , is an amazing place to explore and go around. And to mention most specially , the sunsets from Hampi is the most beautiful ones I have seen undoubtedly. 

The first day of Hampi went in just to feel the vibes around the place. The paddy fields , the tall coconut trees, the brown boulder hills bordering it and the surprising calmness around this place got happiness into me. The dirt road through the paddy fields by the hills at one side were my favourite to walk on. Now that I look back or write here it feels more special.

I had some of my friends tagged along with me ,whom I met through travel only, so there was no shortage of special people. There are lots of budgetary cool accomodation , homestays and hotels , but we chose one of the best that was recommended to us. The Goan Corner as it was called , was indeed made at the farthest corner of the modern settlement of the Hampi. It is no doubt , a great place to stay and hangout , spacious , in budget , a cool cafe and loads of backpackers from round the world hopping around. It did not take much time to settle down , and we lazed off our afternoon in the cafe , sipping drinks such as watermelon juices or nibbling at salads and other delicacies. I felt queit a same vibe as my own hostel in Kasol , hence it was like a home. 

The paddy fields , coconut trees that makes the most of landscape with boulder hills bordering and making the background.

The Tungabhadra River, the lifeline of hampi.

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As Hampi is situated in the central part of India , the afternoon can touch heights of 40 degrees , which is too hot, specially for people like me staying in Himalayas , so first day was a test for me after seven months been in Kasol. But as the sun started dropping, the wind and breeze had started to play and we were out to chase the most beautiful sunset in the town. 
Talking to locals we found the " Monkey temple" , made atop the highest hill in vicinity was the place to be to get the best view of sunset. Now what is the " Monkey temple "?
If you trace back mythology , Hampi is the place where , it is said to be the empire of kish-kindha, from the epic of Ramayana, and the monkey temple is actually Anjani Mata temple or the birth place of the famous Hanuman ( The monkey god ). 

We took sometime to reach it , and started hiking towards the top. It is like 900 odd steps you need to cross in order to reach there. 
By the half way the sun looked like a golden plate and it was about time for the sunset. So without much being concerned about the destination atop , we found our own hill top enroute the temple , and settled to see the sunset.

It has been some days since I had enjoyed the sunset. Even though I stayed mostly in kasol , but sunsets are not so apparent there, and I did not remember, when was the last time I had taken out time specifically for such a thing. The view I saw , mocked me in every sense , telling me , what I had missed for so long or did not give my time too.

Undoubtedly , it was the best sunset I saw, the golden orb slowly going behind the horizon. The horizon turned into organe and shades of it scattering in all directions of heaven and earth. The brown hills made of boulders , reflecting it and in turn turned reddish , as if blushing to the wonder they have fallen for. The other side of the hill showed the region of hampi all turned brighter with the golden lights falling for the day one last time. The tungabhadra river , like a giant dragon in the valley laying there all red , reflecting the last rays and as if going to sleep. The green paddy fields bidding its goodbye to the sun for the day , reduced its vibrancy and the city with brown ruins of a long lost strong empire was falling into sleep as the golden ob finally descended down into invisibility, no more to be seen. What I saw , I stayed speechless, capturing photos sometimes and looking with all awe. I was in LOVE and it was just the beggining.

The sunset is one time , all the travelers come together at one place to enjoy!!

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To be continued .. Next blog.