Hampi Day 3: Part 2

Our afternoon explorations were on our own (with the driver who followed the tour guide’s recommendations). We visited several interesting places but first I am including the photo from Day 3 part 1, our bird walk naturalist, which I forgot to include in the previous post.

The first place we visited was the Badavadi Linga Temple with its huge, monolithic Shiva linga. The linga structure remains in water all year round, sourced by a tributary of the Tungabhhadra River. It was fun to hear the water flowing underneath the stone ‘bridge’.

Alongside this, one finds the Narasimha Shrine, another huge stone sculpture. This is a strong example of Vijayanagara art and was built in 1528. Here we see Vishnu sitting in a yoga position on the sacred snake that is his guardian. He is surrounded by intricate carvings. Missing from this artwork is the sitting Lakshmi, his consort who originally was on his left. Missing also are some aspects of his face which led scholar to originally think this was a depiction of Ferocious Narasimha, but the remnants of Lakshmi’s hand on the back is proof this is a god.

Bhargavi showed us how in her childhood she made this spinning toy!

Next, we visited the underground Shiva Temple, thus called because it was buried and recently excavated. This temple dates to the 14^th century. Most prominent here was the bull (Shiva’s mount) sitting in water. Looking at the bull inside the temple, I felt like I was discovering a mystery.

Located near the royal compounds, it is assumed this temple served the servants or nobles working for the royal family.

You can see Lynn in the background, which shows the third doorway to view the bull.

The door where we peeked in to get a good view of the bull.

Bhargavi held my camera while I walked the precarious steps to view the inside from the side door!

Near where we started our morning bird walk (you can see a well-lit photo of the stairs we climbed) is the monolithic bull. Monolithic creations seem to be big in Hampi, obviously because of the prevalence of massive stones!

It is here that we had one of those unexpected travel moments. I saw a sign for textiles and decided to look inside what I thought was a store. Instead, we were treated to an exhibit featuring the textiles of the state of Karnaka. The exhibit was called Pampa, the ancient name of the Tungabhhadra River and the purpose was to show off the weaving of the state, styles that are not very well known. This exhibit, which took a year to curate and three weeks to set it up, has only been up for three weeks with tomorrow being the last day. There were original pieces alongside modern designers’ depictions of these traditional styles. There was a free tour given by a student, who was incredibly knowledgeable and a good storyteller, making looking a materials very interesting! Another example of the current governmental focus on restoring or remembering traditional art forms.

This elephant was what initially drew me to the building.

The exhibit was artfully arranged and a joy to walk through.

Saris, of course, took center stage, highlighting all the various patterns and ways women drape saris in India. The sari material and patterned blouses worn with saris made my mouth drool they were so beautiful.

The brown on the bottom is the original cotton color, and then the red above is the dye.

There was a section of the exhibit focusing on embroidery and quilting. The various stitches were fascinating, as were the textiles which doubled as game boards!

This piece is called Starry Night (due to the blue inside with mirrors). Originally it was was going to be an umbrella, but it’s large enough to be a tent

Antique royal seat covers for when traveling on elephants.

*On the floor is the original game rug, the modern interpretations are hanging.*

Lastly, textiles from the north which reminded me of Russian Valenki (felt boots).

True to the creativity and focus of this exhibit, the comments ‘book’ was a piece of cotton cloth hanging on the wall!

Without a doubt, the most amazing spot we visited today was the Hazara Ramachandra Temple (which translates as Thousand Ramas), the royal chapel. This temple was built in the 14^th and 15^th centuries and is dedicated to Vishnu. The multitude of carvings are unique in their delicacy and themes, from processions to dancing to water sports! No design or motif is repeated and life during the Vijayanagara reign is depicted. What an incredible treat to walk around this artistic masterpiece, having fun just exploring the temple – without any lectures, without any religious discussions – just walking through history in our own pace.