The Lost Kingdom.....

Selecting a place to visit during a vacation is not an easy task. After surfing through the internet, we came across this rather unknown place. So, Hampi, the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1556, was our destination during the last winter holidays. Our family, along with my grandparents, decided to visit this land of ancient ruins and history.

Before going to Hampi, we halted at Hyderabad for a couple of days. Hyderabad is a land of many surprises. One can find everything here, from ancient monuments to modern technology. I loved visiting the Golconda Fort, the Snow Land and the Ramoji Film City. The Golconda Fort is a huge and magnificent fort, which narrates the history of many dynasties. The “Light & Sound” programme there makes the ruins come alive as it speaks of the fort’s historical past. The Ramoji Film City, which is a Guinness World Record holder, is a tourist attraction. It is the largest integrated film city in the world. This film city, which is spread out over 2,000 acres of land, has studios, amusement parks, gardens and many more. Live demonstrations are also given on filmmaking.

From Hyderabad, we went to Hampi by train, which took us around 11 hours. One can reach
Hampi from Hospet. Hospet is 12 kilometres away from Hampi and is well-connected by train and bus routes. Hampi is situated in the northern part of Karnataka. Presently, Hampi is in the World Heritage Site list of UNESCO. It is situated on the southern bank of the river Tungabhadra. On the other side of the river, there are places like Pampa Sarovar and Kishkinda, the capital of Bali in the great epic Ramayana. This place, today known as Anegundi, has some famous mountains. One such is Anjana Parvat, where Hanuman is believed to be born.

Hampi was ruled by different rulers at different times, until it was destroyed in 1556. Between 1336 to 1556, it was one of the largest cities in India. It maintained trade links with Russia, Persia, Italy and Portugal. Tourists who came from those places recorded with astonishment its population, wealth and the commerce it maintained with other foreign countries. Nicolo Conti, a tourist from Italy, described it as the best provided city in the world, “As large as Rome and very beautiful to the sight”.

Abdu Razak of Persia described it saying, “The city of Bijanagar (Vijayanagar) is such that eye has not seen, nor ear heard of any place resembling it upon the whole earth.” According to another tourist Domingo Paes, it had a population of more than five lakhs. There were more than one lakh houses. It is said that diamonds, crystals and other precious stones were sold openly on the streets. Presently, the town is full of magnificent temples. The most famous being the Virupaksha Temple and the Vijaya Vittala Temple. One interesting monument is the world famous stone cart in the Vittala Temple. This is carved on a single hard granite rock. The Elephant Stable, which was the shelter for the royal elephants, is an awesome structure. The ruins of Hampi are scattered all around the city and people from all over the world come to have a glimpse of its glorious history.

Visitors and tourists from distant places come to see this beautiful kingdom, which once was a centre of importance in the world. A trip to Hampi makes us understand and realise the might and pomp of our ancient history.