Ballari: Winds of change are sweeping through the ancient shrines of the Vijayanagar empire in the world heritage site of Hampi and nearby Anegundi.
Fifteen years ago, a tourist visiting the historic 15th century temples, would have been greeted by priests speaking chaste Kannada. Not any more.
The poojaris religiously chanting the hymns and handing out prasad, are not from the native Brahmin community, but from the Hindi heartland, speaking pure sankritised Hindi!
The transition is strikingly evident at temples on the banks of the Tungabhadra, referred to in the epic, Ramayana and believed to be related to Lord Rama and Lord Hanuman. Anegundi, a small village about 5 km from Hampi, is the mythic Kishkinda, which was ruled by Sugriva and Vali. The Anjanadri Hill in Anegundi, it is widely believed is where Sugriva and Vali's adopted sister, Anjana, gave birth to Lord Hanuman, in a cave on top of the hill.
And the reason for this remarkable change in the language of the priests?
The shrines associated with Lord Rama and Hanuman are now crowded with pilgrims from Gujarat, Rajasthan and other states of the Hindi heartland.
Local tourist guides say this is happening because Hampi-Anegundi has been included among top holy pilgrimage centres by package tour organisers in the last one decade owing to its connection with Lord Rama and Hanuman.
According to residents, local priests did not visit these shrines regularly as they were almost inaccessible. "But, 10-15 years ago, sadhus started arriving from Ayodhya, Kashi, Mathura and other holy centres in the North and settled down in these abandoned shrines reviving the rituals", said Virupaksha, a resident of Kamalapur village near Hampi.
Even the rituals have undergone a transformation. North Indian sadhus have introduced Akhand kirtan and Ramdhun (recitation of the name of Rama) and decorated the idols the same way they do in their shrines, adorning them with saffron cloth. At the Hanuman temple on Anjanadri hill, do not be surprised if you see priests reading the Ramayana non-stop 24 hours for years!
Now, the question arises: What triggered this flow of Hindi sadhus to Hampi? "It all started after the demolition of Babri Masjid in the early 1990s", said a senior archaeologist. According to him, Hindu organisations are now working overtime to restore places associated with Lord Rama and Hanuman in Hampi-Anegundi.
"Top leaders of RSS and Vishwa Hindu Parishat including late Ashok Singhal regularly visited the place and spoke of the need to protect the sanctity of holy places. This made local Gujarati, Marwari and Rajasthani merchants donate to these temples", the archeologist explained.
And could Hampi-Anegundi get a better visitor than the wife of the Prime Minister himself? "Jashodaben, Mr Modi's wife, and his brother, Pankaj Modi, had visited Anjanadri Hill some time ago", said Ramanna, a vendor in Anegundi.
Epic Tale
While searching for Sita, who was kidnapped by Ravana, Lord Rama and Lakshmana went South and met Sugriva and Hanuman. Rama killed Vali and restored Kishkinda (now Anegundi) to Sugriva, while Hanuman went in search for Sita.
Down the Anjanadri hill from here heading west is Madhuvan, which has a little temple of Hanuman. It was here that the monkeys stopped to enjoy the fruit in the gardens after Sita was traced.
Between the famed Virupaksa temple and Vitthala temple, there is a cave on the banks of the Tungbhadra river where Sugriva is said to have hidden Sita's jewels for safety.
There are marks and streaks on the rocks, which are said to have been created by Sita's ornaments. There is even a huge mound of ash in the nearby village of Nimbapura, said to be the cremated remains of Vali.
