Many years back, when I visited the National Museum in Delhi, one of the images that I was most impressed by, was the Surya from Konark. I remember being rooted to the ground as I stood in front of the sculpture, admiring every detail, simply unable to walk away. There are various ideas of where the sculpture was placed in the temple, but wherever it was placed, there is no question that it would have drawn all eyes. I remember wondering back then, if this single sculpture was so impressive, how much more impressive the temple would have been! The first thing that struck me about the Konark temple during my first visit, was its size. I have seen huge ancient temples before – the Brihadeeshwara temple and the Kandariya Mahadev temple, to name just two. However, Konark was something else. It was awe-inspiring to even think of just how much larger the original temple would have been, with its main spire intact. So many years later, on my second visit, the size was still impressive, bu...
Hampi is associated with the rise and fall of the Vijayanagar Empire but the town of Anegundi on the opposite bank of the Tungabhadra has seen not just the rise and fall of dynasties, but even the evolution of mankind! In scientifically documented terms, Anegundi is said to have the oldest plateaus on the planet, estimated to be about 3000 million years old – according to Wikipedia. In terms of Indian mythology, this is translated to be the home of Bhudevi, the goddess of Earth! Home to our ancestors from the Neolithic Era (Stone Age), Anegundi has their imprints in the form of cave paintings; which lie among the rocks, which mythology tells us were homes of the vanaras – the monkey-men – who aided Lord Rama on his quest for his wife. Anegundi is a blend of history and mythology, making it in some ways even more interesting than Hampi itself! Our first sight of Anegundi