Vijayanagara India
Place - Hampi, Kaladham Museum, Vijayangar
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Vijayanagara, City of Victory, was the capital of the vast Hindu empire in southern India that flourished from the middle of the fourteenth century until 1565, when it was sacked and destroyed by the armies of the Deccan sultanate kingdoms. The city never recovered from this onslaught, and its ruins have been decaying for some 450 years. While Vijayanagara’s importance in Indian history is considerable, it is only in the last few decades that historians and archaeologists have committed to studying the site in detail.
Those who do make the journey to Vijayanagara, whether scholars, pilgrims or general visitors, are amazed and delighted to discover a remarkable site that still evokes the glory of one of Asia’s largest and wealthiest cities. Unlike the capitals of earlier Hindu kingdoms in India, which—except for their religious monuments—have mostly vanished, Vijayanagara preserves a significant range of civic and residential buildings. These standing and ruined monuments are set within an astonishing landscape of rugged granite hills that once served as a natural fortress.
But Vijayanagara is also a constructed citadel, complete with massive walls, gateways and watchtowers. Within the fortifications are palaces, courtly pavilions, ceremonial platforms, stables and stores that were once supplied by a sophisticated water system. There are innumerable temples and shrines dedicated to different Hindu cults and some to Jain saviours. The sculptures and paintings that adorn these buildings illustrate a wide range of mythological and royal themes. Mosques and tombs testify to a resident Muslim community.
The grand scale of the capital attests to the enormous resources available to the Vijayanagara kings. The diverse styles of military, civic, courtly and religious buildings express the cosmopolitan character of urban life and the rich artistic traditions patronised by the city’s elite population.
I have been documenting this city since 1980. My work was featured in an exhibition at the Immigration Museum in Melbourne in 2008 and was entitled ‘PLACE-HAMPI – Inhabiting the Cultural Imagery’. The exhibition was later procured by Jindal Steel Works and installed at the Kaladham Museum in Karnataka, India.
