After I had searched for issues in Anegundi, I wanted to
look into Hampi once, hence I went to Hampi, of course the vendors did worry me
a lot. What was the reason of this market? What were there lives like?
Hence I started
off.
When you enter Hampi after crossing
Tunghabhadra and climbing up the stairs, no scene can be more ecstatic than
women, men, children selling colourful products from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Uttar Pradesh and many other states. Earrings, anklets, incense stick holder,
diyas and what not. For a moment you might feel that even their life is full of
colors, colors that define them, colors that make them their own selves. But
no!
They seem to have had lost all
interest in selling these to people, they only want customers and no people.
I wondered what could be the reason?
“These people must have been standing with their at the same place since years.
They might as well speak history” I thought.
But no one was interested in talking
or general conversation. I wondered more.
Untill I found out their story of colours to
colourless!
Here are a few stories from Hampi
which I found as I walked down the lane.
Lambani Lady:
Story of BONI (money earned from first customer of the day)
“ Madam boni kardo na please, subah se
kisi ne kuch nahi khareeda hai”
“Arey par abhi to vo ladki saman lekar
gayi apse”
“Madam kuch kharid lo na ap” she said
hiding away as she did not wanted to take up my question.“ Madam sab khatam
krne ka hai khareed lo na please.”
I was very puzzled, Until I found out
my answer in her words and her eyes. Carrying baby in her womb, worried about
how will the baby survive, she did answer my question finally!
This Lambani lady hailing from
Kalrapur, travels everyday from a village 5 kms away just to sell off her
items. On asked how far is the village? She said 7rs by bus and 5 rs by auto!
Same was the answer from other vendors. They all just knew whatever concerned
them. For them distances were in money. Their big shops had been snatched by
UNESCO to make this a colourless space, consisiting of brown heritage standing
high only and they were given just an year to set up their small stalls on the
road to sell off their items. Everybody has very few months left. “Sab nikal
dega madam ye sab” Crushed by government and burdened by her family, she goes
on to the next customer- “Boni kardo Sahib” showing her tanned earrings with
her tanned hands.
Shivaram:
I just happened to bump into a person
sitting near a small salon while I was wondering why is UNESCO snatching away
colours and essence from Hampi by destroying their houses and shops and what
will it give in return to these people.
‘ Koi unity hi nahi hai’, shouts a man
Shivaram, crestfallen on the matter of their houses and shops being destroyed
by UNESCO. He was more worried of the fact that this place has no unity, people
do not help each other, but they definitely envy each other due to money
matters.
350 houses and big shops were broken
down by government near Hampi Bus stand and in compensation 150 small plots
were given to people 4kms away in
Kamlapur where not much tourists go. Shivaram owns salon which is exactly between Virupaksha
Temple and River. It is so because people after doing Pooja can come for Mundan
and then go to river to complete the Pooja.
Noticing that this is only haircut
shop in lane I asked him, “fir to apko pandit favour karte honge na shop ko
khula rakhne ke lie?”
“Pandit bhi to commercialise ho gya
ab, vo kyu favour karega” I could definitely sense a deep grief inside him
about split in the communities.
“Kisi ko kuch kaam ni bacha yha, sab
idhar udhar ka kaam karke paisa kamakar jeeta hai.”
But his son definitely saved his life
by taking a road untaken by joining Jindal, a steel plant 45 km away from Hampi
in ITI department.
Old man did seem like he is losing his
own children at the cost of Hampi being a UNESCO world heritage site.
Administrator:
Administrator in one of the Jain
Institutionsin Hospete, he did seem priest of Krishnadevraya's powers and
Vijayanagara Samrajya.
Out of nowhere he started from history
of vijayanagara empire to how Krishnadevraya used to get up early morning 3
o’clock to start his day to split in army due to his son-in-law Ramraya to the
battle with Bijapur. He broke my superstition about all temples in India have
been looted and destroyed by mughals only by bringing out the fact to me that
the wealth was not looted, it was divided into three parts, one part went to
Bijapur Empire, one to Tirupati and the last one was taken by his relatives in
Chandragiri and Panagonda!
His words did leave me wondering how
powerful history these massive structures embody.
This is the place where such a great
combatant took his breathe.
Raja:
'I am concentrating on more flashy
flashy things in Hampi' says Raja proudly annoucing himself as 12th PUC fail.
Well, the straight way to life seemed
too boring for him.
Fascinated by 'European things', he
stopped studying and dreaming of owning a business,he set off!
From being a tour guide to managing a
restaurant, there doesnt seem any job untouched by him. Everyday being a new
hope for a new flashy experience for him, he isnt scared to touch the ground
again, to loose his shop which will be cleared in a few months by UNESCO!
With a big dream of owning a hotel
someday, he says with eyes filled with pride ,I can survive on my own anyhow
for whatever happens.
Bad facilities in Hampi for tourists
did seem to bother him alot.
Tailor Lady:
After her divorce, when she wanted
peace in her life, one of the history chapter in 7th standard did
come to her mind. 400 back story left such impression on this Lady that when
she came to Hampi as a tourist she decided to stay here forever in lap of
Krishnadevraya’s kingdom’s ruins. Greatness of Vijayanagara empire left such
print on her mind that with 20,000 rupees in hands she came here all the way
from Hyderabad and settled down her own tailoring shop 15 years ago.
She finds her own kind of peace in
Walking every morning till kamlapur along with the sun, more peace than she
every found in being an army man’s daughter or in her marital life. She seems
to have married this place. But of course no tale is a fairytale, reality did
throw upon harsh times when UNESCO cleared her shop too with 350 other shops.
But she being the fighter all her life, she holded her parts down and started a
small tailoring shop in the market lane. A small cubical is now her home. She
sleeps there, she eats there, she works there! Life can be hard for a single
lady, but it is definitely something full of pride.
In midst of everyone fighting for land
and wanting big shops and money, she is happy on her own without any greed of
having anything.
People do a lot for finding their own peace!
In the later part of the day we went to Kamlapur to find
people who work in homes, but we could not find any.