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Strategies & Market Trends : India Coffee House -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mohan Marette who wrote (4120)	4/24/1999 3:16:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Respond to of 12475

Unearthing The Mighty Empire - All about Hampi [Karnataka,India] iucaa.ernet.in karnataka.com Unearthing The Might Empire (The Statesman,Calcutta) thestatesman.org TO the outside world it was a gateway to the magnificent kingdom of southern rulers. To its people it was the greatest empire ever in India - a monument in stone. To the devout it was a place of pilgrimage surrounded by magnificent temples. Over 800 years ago, Hampi, the seat of the great Vijayanagar empire, reflected political maturity, religious tolerance and the grandeur of Indian art and architecture. For centuries this one time symbol of Indian history and culture was buried in the mists of time. In fact till a few years ago only a few people knew about Hampi. It was just an insignificant town on the tip of Karnataka, 350 kilometres from Bangalore. Back in the Eighties when a farmer discovered a few artefacts while ploughing his fields, the Archaeological Survey of India began shining twentieth century light on the remains of a royal city. A decade after the effort, Hampi has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and has suddenly started attracting Indian and foreign tourists, historians and archaeologists - all flocking to see the magnificence and grandeur of the erstwhile Vijayanagar empire which ruled south India from 1336 to 1565 AD. According to Indian historians, the archaeological findings in the 25-square-kilometre area have thrown light on the rich cultural linkages of the powerful kingdom of south India and also provided the missing links to the influence of Chinese culture in the region. Some of the porcelain artefacts excavated from the site clearly indicate that Chinese pottery was used in almost every household and imported from China in bulk quantities. Says Dr KP Poonacha, director (monuments), Archaeological Survey of India, "The excavation work at Hampi started in 1976 under a national excavation project but had to be stopped midway and was resumed only in the Nineties. That's when historians discovered the amazing foresight of the Vijayanagar rulers." The scientific temperament of the Chalukya and Hoysala kings who ruled Hampi is evident from their meticulous town planning. Great attention was paid to the civic and sanitary system. There was an efficient and effective water management with public and private baths. Excavations have also brought to light the existence of a network of wide, tree-lined roads. The officers quarters were attached with stables and areas were clearly marked out for congregation of people as also markets and public parks - all pointing to an advanced civilisation. The grand expanse of the ruins of this once great empire of Vijayanagar lay buried in the sands of time till just a decade ago. Excavations have revealed that Hampi was not merely a monument in stone but a beacon of light shining upon an empire which was far ahead of its times. A pointer to the far-sightedness of the kings is the fact that they established close links with the outside world. Apart from trade with China there were diplomatic and trade links with Persia, Portugal, Italy and Russia. Envoys, traders and tourists from these countries have left behind vivid descriptions of Hampi and its treasures. Apart from the treasures excavated from the site, Hampi is surrounded by over 500 small and big temples, which are even now frequented by devotees from all over the country. The spots which attract hundreds of devotees round the year at Hampi is Virupaksh temple and the Shaiva temple complex on the boulders of the Hamakoota mountain. The Shaiva temple was built in 1325 AD by Veerakampila, son of Mummadi Singayya Nayaka ruler of Kampili. Most of these temples were built from the basement to the top in granite and have a garbhagriha or sanctum sanctorum as its central point apart from the antharala and navarangas. The middle structure of the temple is adorned with bas-relief sculptures of various Shaiva gods and the entrance has the sculpture of Shaiva doorkepers. Some of the amazing architecture of the 500-odd temples are in a dilapidated condition and could crumble at moment. Added to the problems are the ubiquitous encroachments by small traders which are fast ruining the sites. Surprisingly several court orders have tried to uproot the encroachers, but all in vain. Despite the mess created by the encroachers, the state government of Karnataka and the Archaeological Survey of India have taken up extensive conservation work to restore the historically important temples of Krishna and Chandrashekhara. The most important complex is that of the Virupaksha temple which is now being reconstructed stone by stone. The main entrance of the temple was constructed by later rules. This temple was totally submerged in water because it is located at a lower table. The broken beams on the roof have been replaced with new ones. The work of closing the roof with mortar is now being undertaken. The Karnataka State Department of Archaeology and Museums has protected and reconstructed a row of mantaps or chariot bazaars, the biggest of which was the Therubeddi chariot 1.6 kilometres long and 50 metres wide. The remains of the chariot can be seen even now. The South Indian state popularly known as Vijayanagar, was ruled mainly by the Hoyasala kingdom. According to historians Harihara and Bukkaraya were the first army captains of the Hoyasala kings and it was these visionary generals who laid the foundation for the empire of Vijayanagar. From 1342 to 1565 the empire was ruled by the Sangama, Salva, and Tuluva dynasties and it reached it's zenith during the reigns of Harihara II and Krishnadevaraya. The Sanama soldiers began their rule from Anegundi on the left bank of the Tungabadra river, which was also known as Kishikindha in Ramayana. They established a new capital on the west bank of Tungabadra which was surrounded by green mountains and forests. This later became famous as Vijayanagar. After a glorious two hundred years, Vijayanagar fell in 1565 AD. In a bid to document the remains the great empire, and to give the tourists a visual journey of the kingdom, a documentary titled Whispering Stones has been made by BN Chandrakanth which will form a part of the state tourism departments guide on Hampi and the latest archaeological findings. But this is not the end of the story. Excavation work is still in progress in Hampi, and more treasures are being unearthed which will go a long way in unravelling the grandeur and glory of the once mighty Vijayanagar empire. - Saikat Neogi