KJC Hampi-Pattadakal-Aihole-Badami experience

Anshul Lewis
II SEM B.COM - T

As the bell rang and all of us gathered in class, our eyes were stuck on the clock, waiting for the hand to strike four; when the gods up above listened to our prayers, we were greeted by Ms. Ponny, our class animator, who brought the good news that we would be going on a trip to a historic place called Hampi along with a brief visit to Pattadakal, Aihole and the city of Badami.

After learning about the rules, guidelines and the instructions explained by Ms. Ponny; we were contained with glee and rushed home to pack our bags and eagerly waited for the time to arrive. And finally the awaited day arrived. That very morning all of us gathered; talking, discussing with each other about the plans, fighting about the places for the preferred seats in the bus.

Zipping our bags and helping our tummies we made our way back to college but for the first time with a smile on our faces, greeting, meeting and playing with each other. We were given the final instructions by the HOD of the tourism department- Mr. Riteesh.

Accompanying us were Ms. Ponny and Mr. Manoj who did not only guide us but took care of all our needs without any hesitance. Throwing our bags in the boot we made our way into the bus fighting for seats. Then, we settled in the bus, to rest but this bus was no longer just a vehicle but a dance floor. With the winds blowing and the sound of music through the JBL speakers blasting; we danced, sang and laughed. It was a wonderful trip to remember; for times to come.

We reached the destination and it had a wonderful ambience, we were not only provided accommodation for more than 40 students, but also were provided with a breakfast buffet, which tasted just as amazing as it looked. We spent our first day in the ruin city of Hampi. Not only did we learn its history but also learned about its name, the empires and also why Hampi is ‘the Hampi’ we know of today.

We first saw the stone chariot. And with every successive temple we saw; we not only glanced but experienced the history in actuality! The Stone Chariot laid the perfect foundation to what we were about to experience by visiting various temples, temples including the Vijaya Vitala temple, the music temple, the beautiful Virupaksha temple Lakshmi Narashima and the Achutaraya temple.

We later travelled to visit the Queens Bath place which not only looked beautiful but also showed the privilege what the Royal families actually possessed during that point of time.

We visited the elephant stables and the magnificent Lotus Mahal temple. I can assure that there was a different vibe and a beautiful ambience to every temple we entered, though all of them being fifty meters away. The day’s journey ended with a beautiful fountain show commemorating the nation’s pride, while we paid tribute to India a day prior to the republic day.

After a long day, we wound up when all of us travelled back to dreamland. Entering the hotel after a tiring day, we fixed our alarms at five in the morning awaiting the new adventure we were bound to experience. Dringgggg!!!!!!!!!! The first noise which our ears listened to! we got ready for the adventure. We travelled all the way to Pattadakal on the Republic day; we noticed small kids and schools conduct a march past which gave all of us a sense of pride by saluting the flags.

In Pattadakal we learned about the various temples and the historic places .We learned about the different elements required building a temple and the Chalukyan style architecture. The temples here had a mysterious feel to it. We visited the historic Durga temple. We became aware of the different elements required in building a temple and showing us the source of water. We were awestruck when we saw a well which was of the size of a lake! This was mesmerizing!!! It was an unbelievable sigh! We then visited the dam and looked at all the monkeys playing around; we enjoyed the scenic view of the huge water body.

After the relaxing feel, we started our next adventure in the district of Badami; where we could see the good side of human intervention in nature; where our eyes were up for a huge treat when we entered the Badami caves, the huge mysterious temples which were supposedly carved using the mountain as the only resource; it not only made a beautiful scenic view but also showed that nature and technological advancement can grow hand to hand. We then found our way the Badami fair. Many locals of Badami were present at the fair. We celebrated and lived every moment there by pushing our way through big queues to step into the giant wheel. It provided an overview to the most beautiful and a historic Badami city.

We then had to wind up the tour with a joyful smile as we experienced history in a limited amount of time, the drive back to the city was another crazy one, as the celebrations and dancing at the fair wasn’t enough to keep us down, we danced a majority of our time in the bus, after which we put our eyes to rest only to find out that the trip was over. We were back to the city.

This trip was an amazing experience, opening the doors to a different perspective of thinking and truly showed us the difference between studying and experiencing. Staying with the classmates brought us closer. It molded us from classmates to friends.