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| the evening of realization (concert evening) |
The first
day at hampi had not only filled me with excitement but also left me with some
questions. The spot from where auto dropped us , started the hippi village
which was filled with tourists and foreigners. For a moment I felt I was not in
hampi. Further, entering the hampi city one can see more of foreigners than the
indian crowd. It made me wonder what drove them to hampi and further on talking
with a couple of tourists I learnt that they have been regularly visiting hampi
and some of them have been staying here from couple of months. I guess this
question bothered me a lot for the reason that all the temples here didn’t have
idol except a few, which was the reason why I couldn’t feel the connectivity
with this city and thus started questioning other’s choice of visiting and
staying in hampi.
As
days passed and roads, landmarks, shops and people there became familiar, a
sense of belonging developed for me. I didn’t realize that until the last day
but a comfort level with the place had begun to develop. Then came the night
where the concert was organized in hampi. We all were sitting on the platforms
which would have been market stalls ages back. There I met a lady who had come
here to see the performance where her boyfriend was going to perform. Further asking
her about what does she feel about hampi and is this her first visit, she told
me that she has been visiting hampi every year and that this place gives her
peace. She likes the architecture and history of the place but at the same time
she also feels homely here. That was when it triggered me that sense of
belonging is what plays a major role in driving tourist from all over the world
to hampi.
With
the couple of days that passed I realized that memories, connectivity, cultural
and spirituality of a place is what helps transforming a space into a place, a place
that becomes as close to someone as their home. Idols in temples and
worshipping of these idols is not always the reason why one can connect with a
temple town but it is the vibes of spirituality that creates a sense of
belonging and a genuine liking towards the temple towns.
This
was by far the biggest lesson that I learnt in practical life, since we had
discussed about space and places in college in cycle 2 but the actual
realization happened here in hampi when the solution to my question was found
by the personal experience. This is also important for the fact that we all
have that connectivity with some place in this world which becomes like a home,
like a divine land for us from the very first visit. This experience of
learning also taught me to experience things and events around you before
coming to a conclusion or a final statement about anyone or anything.
So
I’d like to conclude by saying that this shall be the greatest story from all,
which I am carrying back with me from hampi and that shall always be there with
me. Because today I have found a “place” in the beautiful but also destructed,
empty and ruin “spaces” of hampi which shall matter more than the history of
this city to me.
