Getting Stoned - Hampi. KTK

Time to time, you will find yourself gently ushering in to a space that belongs to you, or in which you belong. For years sometimes, you may hunt, curse and/or map each detail minutely to figure out where exactly your abode is located. And just like that, it comes face to face, without an expectation, without a word, you just know – this is it.

Vithala Temple

The naturally formed and deliberately ruined rocks at Hampi, may have a story of themself to share but right then when a buzzer in your mind reads Match Found the stories are exchanged. Hampi gives you the feeling of encountering the known and unknown in the same moment.

Lotus Mahal

Men and women from various origins and beliefs flock to Hampi, fighting many internal and external battles. Many have arrived to experience dealing with their cerebral or emotional conflicts, some want to see what’s the fuss about the City of Ruins, the City where Time Stands Still and some come in search of company without prejudice.

Hazararama temple

Laxmi Narsimha Temple

Talking to the flow of Tungabhadra river, or whispering to the rising sun at the Anjanedri Hill at the still-functional Hanumana temple and settling down with the setting sun by the abandoned Rama Mandir at the Mathanga Hill overlooking the city that was, fills not only my day but life with contentment, Both hills (temples) opposite each other appearing like a pact between Lord Rama and his loyal disciple.

While Hampi offers a lot of points to see and experience for tourists as well as travelers, it almost doesn’t matter where you are or what you see. As I hopped from one stone hill to another, one God to another, one mural to another, I experienced peaceful transitions through voices, visuals and valor.

In almost no time I had shed my inhibition, within no time I walked past stone grids like I always belonged there, within no time I was soaking in sun, that for centuries had rested on the rocks, within no time it was time to leave but only after understanding that no matter how short or long a time you visit Hampi for, time tells stories about it self. The wheel of time, the circle of life is indeed stuck in Hampi and so is my mind. It may appear on the list of World Heritage Sites and it may have shed layers after layers over centuries, it may be popular amongst hippies and it may be a source of income for the local villages there, the City of Ruins is abode for the ruined themselves – A City for ruins.