Plastic junk.

Hampi, 18-12-1994. The main festival of the year dedicated to the deity of Hampi - Lord Shiva himself - started yesterday. Last night they carried statues of Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati from the temple to the tank in front of my hotel where they put the statues in a boat and let the boat float around for a while. I watched the proceedings but the exact meaning of all this eluded me despite the efforts of the chai shop wallah to explain it all to me!!! Despite the VERY polluted water of the tank several locals overcome by relicious fervour, no doubt, jumped into the tank and swam along with Lord Shiva`s boat. Naturally all the noice, singing and chanting, the cries of exited devotees chased me away from my customary place at the chai shop late afternoon. Off course the festival brings bus loads of local tourists to Hampi as well as sellers who come to Hampi en masse building their market stalls in Hampi`s main bazaar selling all this plastic junk the average indian tourist is so happy with. Plastic bangles in a billion different colors but with only one design.

Chai shops.

Hampi, 17-12-1994. I quite mellowly live my life from one day into the next. The chai shop opposite my hotel or the Trisule chai shop a bit further on in the village, are sure bets looking for me late afternoon. Early in the day I`ll most likely be on a walk discovering new temples and more ruins everytime I leave the village. I`ve come to know most dope dealers by face and am now quite familiar with their prices, who has the best grass in what place can you smoke and where not....

Cool babas.

Hampi, 15-12-1994. All the friends I`ve made since my arrival Have all suddenly decided to move south or go to Goa for X-mas. So I`ve finally some time to clear my head and look around. Apperently there`re some real cool babas at the other side of the river, might go there tomorrow to check things out.

A fertility scrine???

Hampi, 14-12-1994. Almost at the top of Archyutaraya Temple is the entrance to a small cave dedicated to Lord Shiva. Through a semi-dark tunnel of about a km. in length which is sometimes broad and huge and at other times small and pitch dark, we got to a small chamber with a small lingam. I imagine the place to be a small temple dedicated to fertility. I imagine the childless women in the village and from far away to come up there and make sacrifice and offerings in the hope to get pregnant with a son. I imagine the oldest and childless spinster in the village living up there taking care of the scrine. I imagine this place to be stricktly OFF LIMITS to all males, females only!!!....There were actually quite a number of local women up there shyly looking away from us and there WAS an old woman at the place who looked quite upset at us being there..........

A skeleton in a cave.

Hampi, 13-12-1994. From the top of the Achyutaraya Temple on top of the hill over looking Sule bazaar, the views are great and inside the temple are cool babas and sadhus always willing to share a chilam with you and explain the "religious" aspects of the chilam, singing ancient Veda songs in Sanskrit and Pali. An australian archelogist who wa stoned out of his mind on good and cheap indian grass, showed me the human remains, a skeleton probably left there among the rocks by the local constabulary as he explained to me, got the picture myself really! We reached it after a circuitous route up and over huge boulders and finally inside some sort of cave. At night I end up in chilam parties with weird people from all over the place who are always preparing a new mix and talk absolute bullshit.

Baths in the river.

Hampi, 12-12-1994. To avoid the laddle-style shower in my "hotel" I take baths in the river during my long walks around Hampi. The whole area is set in a magnificent landscape and with the ruins behind me I take off all my clothes but my underpants and bathe in the murky water, feeling more relaxed as ever despite a period of intence and persistent bad luck. There are many sadhus living in and around the ruins always willing to share a chilam with you. With their orange robes and long rasta beards they fit in nicely with the magic of the landscape.

A soaked mix for my chilam.

Hampi, 11-12-1994. Had a nice walk today visiting most of the ruins in the immidiate vecinity of Hampi despite getting stoned well before breakfast. Maybe that is what made all these ruins so special!!! A begging sadhu at the river showed me how to make a good mix for my shilam, how to make it burn longer. Basically he just soaked the whole mix in a mixture of hash oil and some liquid before throwing it into the chilam.....no wonder I got so stoned out of my head when I left him!!! I`m still not over my wonder at having found this place!!!