Hampi Ruins – Described and Illustrated

Title: Hampi Ruins – Described and Illustrated

Author: A H Longhurst

Publisher: Asian Educational Services, New Delhi 2010 (First published: 1917)

ISBN: 81-206-0159-9

Pages: 144

Hampi is one of the most renowned tourist spots in India that is world-famous for its splendid architecture manifested in the ruined palaces and temples scattered all around that present-day village in Karnataka. Tens of thousands of visitors flock the place every year and most of them have no concrete idea of what they are witnessing or what wonders lie unnoticed in the nook and cranny of the stone marvels time has stowed before them. Tourist maps and literature are abundantly available but many of them are unreliable since the information given will be irrelevant or outright wrong. A H Longhurst, who was the Superintendent of Archeological Survey, Southern India during the second decade of 20^th century compiled this book to place the reader on a solid pedestal based on an understanding of the history, culture and architecture of the greatest Hindu empire in south India.

The book is divided into two parts, the first dealing with the locality, history of the Vijayanagar empire, social and political history as recorded by foreign visitors and the religions which were in practice at that time. The second part illustrates the buildings in some detail regarding their architectural merit. All of the imporatant and interesting monuments are covered in satisfying detail as the casual tourist is concerned. The book is made splendid by black-and-white images of prominent structures. There are 69 such figures lacing the book. As these figures were photographed about a century ago, the comparison between the state of those monuments with the present day scenario makes reading delicious. If one plan to visit Hampi for the first time or further, this book is a must-have for him. Without this volume stucked under one’s arm, the trip will be disordered and incomplete. Longhurst has even suggested the itinerary one should follow while visiting this long forgotten city.

There are hundreds of temples and palaces in Hampi in varying states of dilapidation. The Vitthala temple takes centrestage among them for the architectural marvels harboured inside its stone walls. The book covers it in very good detail bringing out the significance of many structures of which the visitor would be normally unaware of. The Hazara Rama temple, which is deemed to be the private chapel of the royal family comes second in beauty. The map given alongside is very useful to locate the monuments as well as to find one’s way about, even if the journey is attempted alone.

The book should not be relied upon to give in-depth understanding of anything in particular. It contains history, but the course is only skimmed in the few pages dedicated for it. Architecture is there, but it is good only for the unenlightened lay person. So, this book would be part of the tourist literature and nothing else. To one who has actually visited the site, it might feel that many structures and buildings are omitted or not fully described. A feeble strain of imperial mentality can be discerned by the cautious observer in putting the author’s subordinate native employee in uniform on many photographs for a comparison of the size of the target image. The man seems to stand there in mute obedience with an expression of helplessness on his countenance. This may be an imagination of my mind which is very sensitive to the discriminatory attitude of the English officials appointed in Indian civil service, but there is no denying that the author stands on a self-built higher moral pedestal and gives condescending judgements on the subject matter.

The book is reprinted and published in India by Asian Educational Services as a low-cost edition mainly intended for the Indian audience. The publication is typically Indian as it is hand-bound and the quality is very good.

The book is highly recommended for the would-be tourist to Hampi.

Rating: 3 Star