A Dream Trip to Hampi

 I have some really vague fantasies in life. Like, it’s my dream to roam solo in Milan. To live a rustic life for a week and be an Aurovillian for a month. The first thing on my bucket list was a friends trip to Hampi.  “Why Hampi ?”- I asked myself. For I believe that there’s a cause behind everything that’s happening in and around us. A strange feeling that dictates our decisions and the way we think. I was in Hampi for 2 days, and for the entire time, I was contemplating the reason behind my obsession.

Hampi - A land where every historical pillar is an epitome of art. It depicts the very nature of human beings and our passion to leave a legacy behind. The art on every pillar was so intricate that in no time I was lost in my own chain of thoughts. Thoughts - Optimistic and Pessimistic.“If money is everything, why people invested their life in beautifully carving a stone.” You may call me a pessimist, but there have been so many artists who might have died even before their piece of art was completed. So was their life insignificant? Maybe the plethora of questions I had in my mind helped me to find the reason behind my obsession. It was the word - “Passion”.  I have always admired the people who exude pure passion for whatever they do. And when I reflect, I feel empty within.  My monkey mind immediately changed its focus when Mahesh Babu(our guide:) ) reverberated - “Look at the lotus. The same dull lotus that I pointed out before is happily blooming above you!” .

Hampi is famous for breathtaking sunrise and sunset views. For opacarophiles like me, places like these turn into a paradise in no time. We catched up almost every sunrise and sunset there. Both naturally occurring events leave behind a different experience every time you watch them. Sometimes it gives you hope, sometimes it reminds you about the scars you have and sometimes it just makes you feel alive. I absolutely love to have real conversations while catching up on a sunset. These conversations are so warm and you become completely vulnerable. A rare occasion when we get an opportunity to open up without the fear of being judged!

This was my first self organised friends trip. I was lucky to be accompanied by my favorite people. The friends with whom I had the best 4 days of my life. We roamed like hippies on the hippie island, laughed like hell at the silliest jokes and took undue advantage of our mother tongue:). Roaming on two-wheelers to find a cuisine in the middle of the night was so much fun. The most memorable part has to be the real conversations that ignited with the bonfire. And being an engineer, I had never pulled an all-nighter. For the first time in my life, I happened to directly catch up a sunrise without sleeping for an entire night!

People need alcohol to get a kick of madness. Oh god, just meet my friends and you will realize that alcohol is absolutely not required to get high:). If you guys (The 8 musketeers ) are reading this blog, I would like to thank you for being part of my dream. It means a lot to me!

On 3rd Feb 2023, we left Hampi for Hospet. Leaving a World Heritage Site and re-entering the life that we live every day.  The cool cafes that gave a hippie vibe turned into fancy restaurants as we approached Hospet. The beautiful sight of rocks standing like a miracle soon turned to skyscrapers as we approached Hospet. I tend to get emotional every time when the trip ends. No doubt, everyone will get a lot busier in the race to create a name for themselves, days like these will always remain close to my heart. As we joked about a glass of water (Which we had not seen for a week, btw!), all of us said “Cheers, Welcome back to शहर !”