Today’s theme - Architecture, society, travel

India today, in the eyes of foreigners, is the land of the poor, uneven roads, strewn with garbage, poor infrastructure, and so on. If there is one place in India that could exemplify the grandeur of India in the ancient times, it should be Hampi. How India transcended from such glory to what it is now is a long story, which happened during the British rule, and currently out of scope for this blog post.

Fast facts about Hampi:

• Capital of the Vijayanagar Empire from the early 14th to the late 16th century
• Strategically built on the banks of the Thunghabadra river
• Now in ruins (or ghost town, in American terms!?) - classified as UNESCO World Heritage Site
• This ancient city spread across 28 sq.km, had an aqueduct system (the remains can still be seen!) that ran along 24 km
• Aqueduct supplied water for irrigation and to the royal bathing pools
• Ancient bazaars and water tanks to serve the city and its people
• Architecture and infrastructure added to the grandeur of this once magnificent city.

I’ve listed only the most talked about things of this city on the internet. I may collect more information and pictures once I visit this city sometime this month.

Here goes the intriguing picture from Hampi..

Picture © Kaidohmaru*

What made the architects think of building such a lone structure perched atop a rock that looks like a boulder? To me, it looks romantic! I can imagine the Romeos and Juliets of the once glorious city hugging and kissing, silhouetted by the evening sun or the moon. Wow, picture perfect!

Still, the answer is hypothetical, and doesn’t sasiate my curiosity on why such a structure was built - or even imagined at that time..

Guess, the tax payers of this city got a lot of value-adds like this. What say you?

Disclaimer: All photos posted in this section are rightfully attributed to the source, unless otherwise stated.