Hampi..... A Timeless Fusion

 

Finally, we set off for Hampi.  A visit overdue by decades. The trigger that got us planning the trip was reading ‘Tejo Tungabhadra’, writer Vasudhendra’s brilliant historical fiction in Kannada translated to English. The story is set in Vijayanagar kingdom in the sixteenth century during the reign of Krishna Devaraya. Present-day Hampi, a UNESCO world heritage site, was the capital city.

The Drive Up

We drove to Hampi from Bangalore at an even pace. Bursts of pink Tabebuia blooms and bright yellow Nile Tulips on Bangalore’s roadside, messy roadworks in Tumkuru town led us to the excellently crafted highway with road dividers full of pink and white bougainvillea blooms. We now picked up speed, but of course were no match for the daredevil speedsters who raced past us in their cars at breakneck speeds. Our long smooth cruise on the road was shattered when we got off the highway. The instructions sent by the hotel to navigate our way from this point did not look as precise as it had at home in Bangalore. We sought help but even the all-knowing Google seemed as confused as us. It was late afternoon by the time we entered Ballary district to pick up again, with relief, landmarks from the navigation sheet. We stared out of the car at the massive set up of Jindal Steel Works (JSW) - steel and cement factories, hospital, sports complex, airport.

Soon we were at the hotel – about 35 kms from Hampi – located inside Vidyanagar. This is the JSW township, a green wooded oasis of trees and birds and water bodies surrounded by arid land, giant boulders and ochre stone hills.

Taken For a Hampi Ride

As planned our taxi to Hampi was waiting the next morning.  As soon as the cab began to move Mahesh, our cheerful driver, tried to convince us to book his cab directly for the reminder of our rides rather than through the hotel. We declined politely but eased our twinge of guilt by telling him we’d keep that option in mind. Then we called Basu, our English-speaking government certified guide who we had spoken to earlier. Basu then spoke to Mahesh and they agreed on the pick-up point for him to join us. We sat back to watch the passing scenery when Mahesh tried once again to convince us – this time to dump Basu and take the tour guide that he would organise at a lower rate. We declined again, a bit more emphatically now. A few minutes later there was a call from one Vishwanath to inform us, in a Hindi-Kannada-mix, that he was waiting at the pick-up point for us. Puzzled my husband asked him what for? He said he was our guide assigned by Basu. Basu, we realized, does not actually go out as a guide but operates as the manager who matches guides to tourists. But he doesn’t tell you that and lets you believe he is your man until someone else shows up. A neat piece of work. Feeling tricked we made our annoyance clear to Basu on the phone, and to Vishwanath when we met him. Anyway, we spent the rest of our time at Hampi with Mahesh and Vishwanath. They were sweet guys really, helpful too. By the time our trip ended we had grown quite fond of them, even admired Mahesh’s entrepreneurial zest, treated both to expensive lunches, given hefty tips each evening and top rating feedback. And we never met Basu.

Donning our ‘made-in-China bought-in-Hampi’ wide-brimmed sun hats we began our heritage excursions in earnest.

 

Heritage Excursions into History, Mythology, and Faith

What can I say about the magnificent Hampi monuments and sites that hasn’t already been said. The hype, the wait………it was all worth it.

We spent an entire morning at the Vijaya Vittala temple monuments marvelling at the amazing art that is embedded in every stone. The unbelievable intricacy of aesthetic detail carved onto pillars, doorways, walls depict scenes from the epic Ramayana, from ‘Dasavatharam’ the ten avatars of Vishnu, stories of Krishna - as a child, a flirtatious teenager, as slayer of demons, the protector of devotees. There were figures of animals, dancing ladies, buyers and sellers of horses, scenes of battle and more, much more. It was endless, timeless beauty etched on stone. 

From here a small walk down across a rugged expanse took us to the ‘Purandaradasa Mandappa’, a memorial to the father of Karnatic music. This is where we had our first glimpse of the grey-green waters of the Tungabhadra, shimmering in the sun flowing gently over boulders……. serene, tranquil, ageless……

In contrast to the exquisite carvings of the Vijaya Vittala complex are the gigantic figures of lion--faced Narsimha, Kadalekalu Ganesha (peanut Ganesha), Sasivekalu Ganesha (mustard seed Ganesha), and Nandi the holy bull. These figures, cut out of single huge rocks, are located across Hampi. Charming legends underpin every figure. 

                                 

The stunning stone chariot shrine of ‘Garuda ‘at Vittala temple, the elaborately designed pillared pavilions where music, dance, religious rituals flourished, the majestic elephant stables and tall watch towers within the Royal enclosure give you a glimpse of the grandeur and riches of the Vijayanagar royalties. 

Stone arcades that stretch along both sides on broad pathways were the famed bazaars of Vijayanagar, teeming with people and trade, merchants intensely engaged in selling diamonds, silks, spices. 

The desolate silence arising from these colonnades today fills you with a strange feeling as you try to grasp at images and sounds from medieval times........... 

Faith of believers and abodes of mythical figures beckon you from every direction.  Hampi region is believed to be the Kishkindha from Ramayana, the kingdom of monkeys that monkey kings Vaali and Sugreeva fought over. The Matanga hill is where Sugreeva hid from his brother Vaali before the arrival of Rama and Lakshmana. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                            Anjanadri hill is believed to be the birthplace of the endearing Hanuman. We did not brave the steep climb of five hundred and seventy five steps to the temple at the top. Yet I felt an unreasonable joy chanting the Hanuman Chalisa at the foot of the hill.

Deep tones of “Om Namah Shivai” reverberated in the air as we neared the tall ‘Gopuram’, the main gateway of the ancient temple of Virupaksha (Shiva) and Pampa Devi (Parvati) that is said to be functioning uninterrupted since the 7^th century. 

Hemakuta hill, just a climb up away, is where Shiva is believed to have sat in meditation as an ascetic, but finally gave in to the beauty and charm of Pampa devi. The temple, a celebration of their coming together in marriage, was host to another wedding that day – a young techie couple from Bangalore. 

 A huge bull at the temple’s Northern gate was demanding peanuts from a lady vender. We wanted to believe it was Nandi giving us a live sighting, a ‘special darshan.’

The Archaeological Survey of India Museum, our last tour stop, has a collection of tools and artefacts used by inhabitants of the region in the Neolithic age, predating Hampi’s history and probably its mythology. The museum also has a scale model of Hampi that provides a panorama of the whole area, which we found fascinating. Winding up our site visits at the museum thus turned out to be a nice sum up of everything we had seen.

 

Contemporary in Hampi – including a brush with royalty

Even as we lost ourselves in the magic of Hampi’s history and mythology, inevitably we had to slip out to engage with the contemporary. Encounters that alternated between charming, unsettling, and on one occasion, unexpected!

Young men at the main tourist sites beseechingly pushed souvenirs and booklets at us making it difficult to refuse.

Our coconut water pitstop between sites took us to a roadside cart managed by a bright young woman whose husband was tending their flock of sheep nearby. Their two little children were inside a makeshift shelter of dry grass (or probably coconut fibre), eating sweet tender coconut pulp that they scrapped out of the shell themselves.The woman was friendly, confident, and very clear that she would not take the bunch of coins we offered for payment,saying she would not be able to use them. She insisted and we paid paper money. Digital payments are not the norm here. 

 In another instance two women were managing a bigger roadside stall that had, in addition to tender coconuts, biscuits, crisps, chocolates, and a couple of fridges set up under a tree stacked with bottled drinks and water. There was much cheer and laughter when we found out that the name of the younger woman was the same as mine! 

                                                                                                                                                                             

For lunch, at a much-recommended restaurant, we had pasta served on banana leaf.  Autorickshaws, like in any other town, displayed messages that were wise, attempting profound, in the end a bit wacky. 

An interesting family we met at the hotel pointed us to a series of lectures on Hampi being delivered at the ‘Vijayanagara Utsav’ celebrations. We were almost at the end of our tour but had some time and reasonable energy to spare, and decided to go there. The lectures were being held in the former palace of the Vijayanagar royal family in Anagundi, which was the original capital before Hampi. The palace was significantly damaged in the 18^th century by invading armies forcing the royal family to move into a new palace located just across the street. By the time we got there the lectures were over but a young lady, volunteering for the Utsav, took us on a tour of the palace that is now a museum. On display were household items and artefacts that were used by the royals over centuries. A beautiful brass coffee filter caught my eye! Sarees on display showcased beautiful motifs, an initiative of Devaraya Heritage Weaves to revive traditional designs and support rural weavers. As we stepped out, we saw activity across the street. A visitor was leaving. That is when we saw him! Raja Krishna Devaraya – 19^th descendent from Emperor Krishna Devraya and the present titular head of the Vijayanagara Samrajya. Titles and terminology still in use here. He had come to the gate to see off his guest. An unexpected finale to our trip.

Hampi 2024

What we saw was but the briefest glimpse of an incredible past that eludes the imagination. That is Hampi in 2024 - where mythology, faith, history, and the contemporary meet in a timeless fusion.

 

 

 

Bus to the Library

I

t was a cloudy, chilly Saturday morning. I hoped it wouldn't rain for we had plans for an exciting trip downtown. Pavy and paati (Grandma, that's me) were off to the library. And we were taking the bus! The red bus that we watched everyday passing by on the road below.

In the last couple of months every time Pavy picked up his favorite book " Little Blue Truck" he saw a picture of its companion book "Little blue truck leads the way" on the back cover. He wanted that book too. He looked for it on his visits to the library but it was out - someone had borrowed it. The library had messaged earlier in the week to let us know the book was now available and reserved for Pavy.

Getting ready to head out we gathered up the books Pavy had borrowed and put them into a tote bag. And I added in surprise lunch and snack packs!

Soon we were on our way. We walked down the hill to the busy intersection with traffic lights. Pavy pressed the pedestrian button and we waited. When the stop sign turned to 'go' we crossed the big roads. Now on the other side we walked up the hill to reach the bus stop. Pavy ran and sat on the little bench.

 After a few minutes we saw the red bus coming at a distance. We donned our masks in prep. The bus arrived and yay!! we were on board!

I tapped my bus card on the card reader to pay the fare. The driver looked at Pavy, smiled and said no fare for him. As soon as we settled into our seats Pavy asked for his snacks! Just like his car rides. I told him eating snacks on the bus was not permitted which he seemed ok with. He was too busy looking out anyway. 

The bus stopped at the traffic lights. When it revved up and began moving again Pavy said "bus is going bam boom" - being noisy that is😄

It was a short ride to our stop. Once we got off it was a short walk to the library. Of course our short walk took pretty long as Pavy stopped to watch a couple of police cars passing by, another red bus going in the opposite direction, pet a dog, stopped again to look at sparrows. "Birds are not flying they are hopping about, why? " Then answering his own question,      "They're looking for food maybe."

Finally we reached the library. 

Before going inside, we stopped to return the books Pavy had borrowed. Pavy watched me fumble at the self-check-in slot which closed even as I was sliding books into it. Standing on his toes to reach up he helpfully pressed the button. The slot opened again. 

He grinned at me saying "Paati made a mistake" 😒

Once inside we headed straight for the shelves that had the reserved books. And there it was - "Little blue truck leads the way!" - with a reserved tag tucked into its pages. How exciting! We picked it up and took it to the reading corner in the children's section, sat down and I read it to Pavy.

              

Then we scouted around the children's section for more books. 

The selection process involved taking each book to the reading corner and reading it fully. Unsurprisingly the books mostly themed fire trucks, trucks zooming on highways, and so forth 😀 - trucks Pavy's favourite at the moment! Happy with the books we had Pavy began counting the four we had selected. One, two, three, four......but he didn't stop there! He kept counting.... five, six......he got to sixteen.....when he was distracted and finally stopped!

We checked out our books and we were done at the library. It was close to Pavy's lunch time.  Just outside the library we sat down on the low stone seats by the side of the rear door. I took out Pavy's surprise lunch pack of French toast and fruit. To my delight he devoured it.... then wanted more!

"Who's a hungry caterpillar?" I asked and brought up his snack pack that had dried banana and mango slices, raisins, nuts most of which he ate up. Clearly, he was famished  😍

Now topped up Pavy readily agreed to taking a longer walk to the bus terminus for our ride home. A good call, as it turned out. There were several puddles on the way and Pavy played in each one of them!

At the terminus there were two red buses standing next to each other.  "which one would leave first?" we tried to guess. Shortly we saw the bus on the left start up and come around to us. And we were on board again. As the bus turned on to the main road there was Pavy's library! Pavy waved "bye bye library!"

A little further up Pavy suddenly burst into song, "wheels of the bus go round and round......." then louder, continued....."babies in the bus go wah wah wah.......till I had to whisper,. "paatis on the bus go "shhh shhh shhhh.....": He found that hilarious. We reached our stop, got off and walked up the hill towards home, now both of us singing, " Babies on the bus go wah....... Paatis on the bus go shhhh........ "

Hard to tell who had a more fun bus trip to the library - Pavy or paati!

 Pavy 2 years and 10 months

Redmond, WA, USA 13^th May 2023

 

Sunshine, webs, gems........and more things magical

 

Pavy and 'paati' (grandma- that's me!) are early birds. Mornings we are both up while it is still dark outside. His room is cosy and the rest of the family is still asleep. I cuddle him. He indulges me for a few seconds before moving off to pick up Angy - Pavy's baby or buddy or toy or whatever.  

Angy!

 '"Angys sleeping", Pavy tells me patting him (or her!) gently, then proceeds to sit on Angy and bounce vigorously. Not surprisingly "Angy rolled away".                  

I draw the curtains, look out of the window, and exclaim to Pavy, "It's morning!" I lift him up and sit him on the window sill from where he can see our backyard, the trees beyond and the road below. " Its not dark", Pavy observes.

Soon the house gets busy as everyone is up and Pavy runs out of his room. These last few mornings he hasn't tormented Angy as much. He has been too busy helping his mama or dada feed his canine siblings Loony and Shelby.  When (or if) he is willing, he has milk and breakfast after which he gets pretty involved with his toys. I am curious to know how he decides - which toy(s) to pick? Should play be quiet or boisterous?

" Sunshine there!" Pavy suddenly points excitedly to the ray of sunlight on the floor. He then runs down the hallway back to his room. There's sunshine here too! 

Pavy joyfully jumps on then off the patch of sunshine several times. 'Paati' and Angy, we get our moment on the sunshine as well. In fact, Pavy insists on it. On days when it is cloudy Pavy convinces me, "sun is hiding."

Sometimes on our neighbourhood walks Pavy's friend comes along, happy walking ahead of Pavy or following him. He is called 'Pavy shadow'. Pavy tries to dodge him but his friend is persistent. Pavy even tries the 'bouncing treatment' but cannot shake him off. I point to a longer shadow near us. Pavy's eyes open wide. Then he grins and says, "thats paati shadow"!

Pavy's backyard is a place for adventure. 

He is on the lookout as we step outside.  With a somewhat hushed, "look theres a web there!" he points his little finger. And there, between the wood railings of the staircase leading to the backyard, is a beautiful web. We can see it clearly against the sunlight. We tiptoe closer to get a better look.......there is a spider in the web! It seems to be kicking all its eight legs. "That spiders crawling", says Pavy.

There are hidden gems that Pavy and his cousin Danny have unearthed in the backyard. Little stones coloured pink, green, turquoise, white or shiny black, that lie on the ground buried in the mud, bushes, underneath wood shavings. They are all over the backyard.  A legacy probably left by children who lived here earlier. Pavy has quite a collection. Still, we are very excited every time we find a new gem! Pavy and I keep adding to his collection. Sometimes we throw them into the bush just for fun.

With Pavy there's excitement waiting at every turn - sprinklers that suddenly jet out water as we walk past someone's garden, the garage door clanks open at the press of a button, a moth that is 'still sleeping' under the light, bubbles floating in the air to jump up and pop, Blue Jays and Woodpeckers or little sparrows that visit the backyard for a quick peck of food, squirrel that runs up the tall Douglas fir, a pink jelly fish lit up on the ceiling, mud, soap and water disappearing in a whirl into the sink at every hand wash....

......the fun doesn't stop!  😄

Pavy finds the world around him 

fascinating......

 

As for me, it is Pavy - he makes my world magical!  

                            

Walking with birds & chasing garbage trucks

 

🎈🎈🎈HAPPY BIRTHDAY🎈🎈🎈

 PAVY!! 

See you morning!

walking with birds & chasing garbage trucks with my grandson 

We step out of the house on a crisp slightly chilly July morning. Little Pavy looks up at white puffs of clouds drifting across the sky. Pavy wants to go to the playground in the park that’s a little distance away. That's for the evening I tell him. Now we will just walk near Pavy's house. He says, ‘walk neighbourhood’.

 Its Thursday morning. From our backyard a few minutes ago, we saw the garbage truck go up the street. We decide to go find it. We walk around the block, it’s a quiet peaceful morning. We hear the rumble of the truck on the next street that’s at a slightly higher level hidden behind thick trees and homes. "Garbage truck making noise' says Pavy. Sure buddy, that’s noise. Wonder what you’d call the cacophony on Bangalore streets? The garbage truck comes into sight and he looks up, eyes open wide, as the huge truck drives past. He watches as it goes down the street extending its big mechanical arm to pick up garbage bins, kept neatly outside each house, and empty the garbage into a collecting container in the truck. The truck goes round the bend and out of our sight. “Garbage truck went away”, Pavy informs me. We decide to turn back and walk around our block the other way to find the truck again.

There's a bird hopping with us, or rather in front of us, for a while. Pavy says “that birds hopping”. Then suddenly for no apparent reason the bird takes flight drawing Pavy to observe, “bird flew away”. We look for bunnies. Some mornings we are lucky. We see a bunny nibbling someone's green lawn, then freeze as we approach hoping that we hadn’t noticed it. But then, “Bunny hopped away”.  But today we don't see any.  Pavy consoles me, "Bunny's hiding".

A couple of aeroplanes fly overhead. Growing up in the state of Washington Pavy is used to mostly seeing small private planes owned by the super-rich. He is quick to spot the ‘ordinary’ commercial plane and points out ‘big plane'.

Along the way we peer into every storm drain to check for ‘little bit water’ or if ‘water flowing’. We can now see the main road down from our street above. The traffic is getting busy which works well for us. Pavy points out a white car, a blue car, a yellow bus, a white truck, a red car and to his utter delight another garbage truck. He knows that further down the main road, at the U turn, 'black car turn around'. We are almost home when we see ‘our’ garbage truck again! The driver waves at Pavy.

Can’t believe our little grandson will very soon be a two-year-old. As we wind up our little walk, I ask Pavy if I can carry him. He grins at me. I take that as ‘ok’ and scoop him up in my arms holding him close in a hug.

 “See you morning!” Pavy’s exuberant promise accompanying his 'good-night' yesterday – how heart-warmingly sweet that turned out to be!

PS> Its a week since Pavy and I did that morning walk. And its Pavy's birthday today

🎈🎈🎈HAPPY BIRTHDAY🎈🎈🎈

 PAVY!! 

 

Just Cook & See

 

Source: Clip Art Library 

Cooking did not excite me.

My mother, a brilliant cook, kept up the supply of my favourite foods, which changed frequently through childhood, teenage and young adult years. But I had no interest in making any of it myself. When I did not show any inclination to cook even as I approached what was deemed a ‘marriageable age’ some family and friends tut tutted.  My parents did not worry too much though. Mum maintained I would learn when I needed to. Dad ignored these concerns. Instead, he swamped the well-wishers with updates on my dance and my general (supposed) brilliance. And I asked with youthful impetuousness “why should I learn to cook to marry?”.

So it happened that I entered matrimony with my culinary skills rather underdeveloped. My parents hastened with remedial actions. An inflection point after all. My dad got me two English language volumes of “Samaithu Par”– the famed cookery book by Meenakshi Ammal, every Tamil bride’s gastronomic gospel for decades. “Cook and See” the charming English title was a literal translation of the original. My mum, coincidentally a Meenakshi too, gave me a hand written personal cookery book that had the basic must-makes of a TamBrahm kitchen. She even added in a prototype for my monthly grocery list.

Thus armed I navigated my way through the early decades of kitchen life. My husband, never having wondered if he had to learn to cook to marry, was a natural at cooking. An unabashed foodie, the thought of eating the final product enthused his cooking. So, while I mastered humdrum southy staples during the week - sambar, rasam, veggies, upma, he whipped up the specials on weekends - dosai, adai, masala dosai and even ‘more kozhambu’ (a delicacy) on occasion.

As I negotiated up the learning curve I reaped the benefits of low expectations. My dad on a visit to our home was amazed that I cooked every day. “This is really tasty” he would say at the dining table looking, in my view, way more surprised than warranted. 

My mum was pleased too and upgraded the personal cookery book she had written for me. She added recipes that were more nuanced and even included some of her signature dishes. My father-in-law was quite exacting when it came to his food - made, mind you, by ma-in-law who was an excellent cook. Even he was appreciative when he stayed with us for a month. “This is quite good” he’d tell me at every meal.  

I made efforts, sporadic though I must admit, to widen my culinary repertoire especially once our children entered the scene. I asked my ma-in-law for recipes. In the hope that I would learn some exotic preparations I attended cookery demos organised at Navy wives’ coffee mornings. However, despite the progress I was making cooking did not capture my imagination. It was still something I wanted to finish quickly and get on with my life.  Perhaps this is why my reputation as a reluctant cook continued to stick.

When I visited my parents, greying uncles and aunties from my teens would ask pointedly, “Do you cook now?” and when I said of course I did they’d nod and smile and say, “very good very good”.

 Looking at the set of “bharanis” (ceramic jars traditionally used to store pickles) I had added to our kitchen décor my sister-in-law smirked,” Waiting for you to fill all of them with pickles!” The same sister-in-law’s mother once watched with interest as I flipped an omelette. And sure enough it made a messy landing prompting her to remark,” Oh you really don’t know how to cook anything!”

A few years later I hired a cook and promoted myself to manager. Ever the systems person I approached this arrangement with passion. After giving the cook an induction into our gourmet needs, I drew up weekly menus for her to work with. The menus helped me a great deal as I no longer had to scratch my head every morning deciding what to cook. I ensured our fridge always had a contingency buffer of chopped vegetables, grated coconut, kneaded chapatti flour, boiled potatoes, idli/dosa batter. A contingency for example - cook taking an unexpected holiday. People assumed I had a cook because I was a working mom which was fine.

Over the next two decades we had several cooks (I have done a whole blog on how these wonderful ladies supported me through the crazy busy years). I maintained the same arrangements and systems throughout perhaps with a tweak here and a fine tune there every once in a while.  

The children grew up and moved away. Three years back we downsized and moved into our current apartment. It took us about a month to finish setting up our new home. I hired a young woman to do the cleaning. During this settling in time, I did all the cooking. After a few weeks I found, to my surprise, I enjoyed the cooking! I actually looked forward to the brisk morning activities in the kitchen. Since it’s just the two of us now time to cook and clean up is not unreasonable. And it satisfied the doer-finisher in me.

As the weeks and months went by my new found enthusiasm for cooking turned into interest. I wanted to learn more. Expanding your cooking prowess in these technology times is undoubtedly comfortable.

Thanks to the many exuberant YouTube cooks I get not just recipes with a click, I can also watch videos to see what some of those ingredients look like and how to actually do what the recipe tells you. Then there’s all the health and ethical stuff I keep a look out for to blend into my kitchen art. Low on carb, high on fibre, anti-oxidant, free-range, local, natural, organic and so forth…….. so woke, so fun! Besides, guess what? I find what I cook really tasty!

While friends our age are considering moving into retirement communities that provide meals just to escape the tyranny of everyday cooking, I’m discovering its joys. My husband is still a bit flummoxed by this ‘I enjoy cooking’ me. “Why don’t you get a cook so you can do the interesting things?” he says. But cooking IS officially on my post-retirement list of interesting things. My cooking now ranges from routine to traditional to exciting. And my husband? He continues to ace the specials! 

Source: Getty Images 

All you folks pondering post-retirement options ……trust me, just cook and see!

                                                         

                                                            Cooking I used to find a bore

Necessary, but an annoying chore

I traversed many a learning curve

Still my interest it did not serve

 

Then aha! an epiphany

I had to…… just cook & see!