The Vittala Temple

Although I must have seen hundreds of pictures of Hampi before I ever visited, when we made our excursion to the Vittala Temple, I wasn't quite sure of what to expect. We were there without a tour guide and all that I could remember from what i had read about the place was that 'Vittala' meant Lord Krishna (the 10th incarnation of Lord Vishnu), and that the musical pillars of this famous temple campus could not be missed. Well, we (my mother and I) hope that we didn't miss anything as we weaved past the musical stone pillars, the stone chariot, the ancient tree or the long rows of the vegetable stalls which was once alive outside the walls of the temple... Almost all the temples I visited in Hampi faced the East. So you invariably have beautiful light streaming in during dawn and dusk. You would find tour guides tapping these pillars to impress the idea of music creation on the tourists. The pillars were musical for sure, you could hear the distinct ring of all the seven notes ( sa re ga ma pa dha nee ) of classical Indian music with each tap. But like everybody else out there, I was left spell bound by the genius that built those very pillars. The slanting rays of the sun compliments the stone carvings in a way only the best of partners compliment each other. One highlighting the best of what's in the other... taking care to mar those jagged imperfections in the shadows.. I have always thought that the architects of these magnificent structures always seem to have made the best out of the available light. May be because in those days, the sole source of light was the Sun itself, unlike the artificial lamps we have today. So this stone chariot is one of the most photographed/famous element of the Vittala Temple. It weighs a few tons. But they say that this chariot used to be pulled around for the temple festivities under the King's rule. And finally, our little transport. A rare combination of Johnny Dep and the Taj Mahal :) We had to reach the river bank (of Thungabadra) by 6pm. We had to hurry...