Photographer Asha Thadani, who visited the beautiful ruins of Hampi, shares her story of self-discovery through her travels.
Photographer Asha Thadani, who visited the beautiful ruins of Hampi, shares her story of self-discovery through her travels.
As a professional photographer, I contribute to a persuasive fantasy promised in tourist brochures; glossy photos of idyllic places that seduce us to travel destinations that unfortunately do not seem to resemble our preconceptions; severe abbreviations of what reality will force upon us.
It was my tenth visit to Hampi with my friend Sanjeev Khanna that changed my attitude towards travel. Through Sanjeev’s refractive lens, a momentous, but until then overlooked fact, was making its first appearance: that I had inadvertently brought myself with me.
He made me question my imagined liberation that travelling can bring — the fact that wherever the escape destination, you can’t leave yourself behind.
What we seek by travelling may, in fact, be something we lack at home. When we go travelling, it really is the idea that we’re doing this for fun, to enjoy ourselves. It’s precisely in travelling that most of us have our best shot of asking ourselves the question — what makes me happy?
Hampi, through my eyes
At Hampi, I stopped being obsessed with capturing the place at the perfect time and light and immortalising my travels through photographs alone. I wasn’t reluctant to visit sites that didn’t allow cameras too! We walked through the ruins of Hampi, which is a UNESCO world heritage site in central Karnataka. It’s a boulder strewn landscape, dotted with ruins of the 13th century Vijayanagar empire and is surprisingly green with the Tungabhadra river cutting across.
On one side of the river are fields, villages and cheap hut-style accommodation along with a couple of expensive resorts. It’s the side which serves alcohol and non-veg food. The other side is dominated by the Hampi bazaar with the only functional temple, Virupaksha and the major archeological sites, sacred and royal, spread over two kilometers. Explore these on foot or rented bicycles.
Getting around
The most scenic places to eat at are Mango Tree and Waterfalls (both vegetarian) since they are on the temple side of the river. The restaurants on the other side have more of a travelers’ vibe, with music and food from all nationalities. The handmade coconut ice-cream at the bazaar is absolutely yum. All the sites take on a magical atmosphere during sunrise and sunset.
A couple of hill-top temples like Hanuman Temple and Malyavanta Raghunatha Temple provide spectacular views of Hampi. A coracle ride on the river is extremely relaxing. The walk to Vittala Temple from the bazaar, alongside the river is more rewarding than a drive. The village of Anegundi is charming and rustic, with a lot of adventure activities. The best time to visit is during July to March. Though there’s an overnight train from Bangalore, the drive is only six hours and amazingly picturesque.
— As told to Ipsita Basu Dasgupta
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