Eight lakh caught by Hampi Utsav trance

HAMPI: Over eight lakh people witnessed the three-day Hampi Utsav-08 which ended with a grand finale – the Janapada Vahini – a three-km walkathon showcasing Karnataka’s folk arts and tableaus depicting the history of Hampi and its rulers on Wednesday.

Over 1,500 artistes in 82 groups from all over the state displayed art forms ranging from dollu kun ita (drum dance) to Somana kunita, (folk dance), from hagalu vesha to veeragase and anything related to folk forms of Karnataka.

Starting from the Queens’ bath at Kamalapura, the procession took nearly four hours to cover the three-km distance to reach the precincts of Virupaksha temple.

With horse-mounted soldiers on either side of the road and decorated elephants carrying the royal symbols of the erstwhile Vijayanagara dynasty, the procession took one to the bygone glory of the Hampi, as described by Italian traveller Nicolo Conti in his chronicles on Vijayangar empire’s three-day dance and music festivities in the 15th century.

It took four hours to reach the precincts of Sri Virupaksha temple on the ratha beedhi (car street) where the main stage Krishnadevaraya has been set up against the backdrop of hillocks illuminated with colourful lights, what with the swelling crowds bringing the procession to a standstill.

Thousands of people used every inch of the available space on the huge boulders, roof of the chavadis (a place meant in the past for travellers to stay) to witness the great dance and music festival.

Amid the colourful dance and music, locals were busy shaking hands with foreigners, who also seemed comfortable with strange onlookers taking pictures with them.

“It’s a great experience and people here are very friendly,” said a couple from the UK. Mark and Anita had come here for the first time with their two-year old kid, who was sitting pretty with a bemused look on his dad’s shoulder.

Writer and composer Hamsalekha, and playback singer Sonu Nigam enthralled the crowds with their performances on the last day.

A satisfied Bellary district incharge Minister Janardhan Reddy promised to make the festival more successful next year by overcoming “the little hiccups that derailed a few scheduled programmes,” including that of noted Hindustani vocalist Venkatesh Kumar.

Source: expressbuzz.com