Reading the Mahabharata by the Tungabhadra - Day 1#
Hampi. As a kid, I didn’t like going to Hampi. I had nothing to see there, it was full of tanks and wells. I didn’t care much for the heat either.
Today, as I sat atop a small hill, reading the first volume of the Mahabharata, a stranger came up to me, to ask about the sights. He asked me why this place was famous, because all he saw were ruins.
For thirty minutes, I told him about Krishnadevaraya, the things I had learnt about his days by reading the books about him. I told him about the wealth of Hampi, and I told him about the Tungabhadra. He asked me where the wealth went, and I told him that it was still here, the wealth of Hampi is in its stories. Stories of the temples, the king and the raiders, stories from Mythology, legends about the Vanaras and the meeting between Rama and Sugreeva.
After he listened to me, he gave me a book he had, of the stories of Travancore’s royalty, and said he believed I was the right person to give it to.
Today I went to read the Mahabharata by the Tungabhadra, and I did. My only neighbors were squirrels and langoors, and a watchman who was trying to sleep in peace unnoticed by travellers.