Cobblestone Chronicles

Hampi, with all its temples, palaces and fortresses in balletic ruins, exemplifies the rich cultural, architectural, cosmopolitan, and historical legacy of the Vijayanagara Empire, which once thrived on these very banks of the Tungabhadra river. Most of the people do not associate the ancient ruins of Hampi, detritus of the civilisation along the banks of the Tungabhadra river, with the same reverence and grandeur as the ruins along the Indus or other timeworn vestiges. Hampi was the former capital of the Karnataka Empire, established around 1336 A.D, having collapsed some time in the seventeenth century, and has a rich history representing the formulation, glory and finally, the demise of the Vijayanagara Empire. It is a place that, in its own way, has a presence – a personality, a charisma, as one might say, put together in form of rubble, remnants and records! Just ten kilometre from the town of Hospet, which is well connected by rail and road ways, Hampi ...

Ujjain is a place that, for a liberal sophist, encompasses the aura of the raw religious effulgence that prevails in the core values of Bharat - a convergence of lucid belief system and opulence brought by the sincerity of its devotees! If there is one thing that most people globally know India for, it would be for the rich amalgamation of cultural, spiritual and doctrinal beliefs. Of the many places in India that host an assortment of temples, crowded day in and out by devout pilgrims, Ujjain, which plays host to Kumbh Mela every twelve years, is perhaps one of the most significant destinations in that ballot! Considered as one of the holiest cities for Hindus, the historic town of Ujjain, situated at a distance of just about 60 kilometre from Indore, is placed on banks of the holy Kshipra River in Madhya Pradesh.  Ujjain is home to one of the twelve Jyotirlingas known as ‘Mahakaleshwar Temple’, also popularly referred to as ‘Mahakal’. This temple is the reason why...