Oh no, not a museum, I thought to myself. How boring! I did not want to enter a confined space. I was enchanted by the wide open spaces, the wealth of green trees of every variety that tossed about in the sudden breeze, and the evidence of carefully recreated architecture laid out before me. It was an oasis in the middle of a desert...
The drive of almost five and a half hours over harsh asphalt roads leading from Bangalore to Bellary tore at my heart as I saw the stumps of huge trees lying abandoned by the roadside they had sheltered for decades. It ended at the township of Vijaynagar built by the Jindals. The great iron and steel factory stretched like a supine giant along the main road, but my eyes were delighted by the endless line up of trees.
Keeping in mind the proximity of the UNESCO-protected site of Hampi, a mere 25 km away, the guest house I was at, as well as the art and culture complex of Kaladham close by, were built with a dexterous mix of rough stone, wood, bamboo and other natural materials that were set off by the presence of running water. The water, in fact, was a constant in the complex; it runs through the entire complex, through the pillar-lined corridors and pergolas, along the closed spaces of the cafe and dance halls, gallery and open-air theatre till it ended in a man-made pond.
With so much to thrill the senses, why would I want to enter a museum? A dead space, with photographs and replicas and a few lost and found stone idols... especially redundant with Hampi so close, I thought. That was the real thing, after all.
Yet, I followed my guide and the softly-singing stream of controlled water that turned to take in the museum and, leaving my footwear outside, entered the space.
There is a story about the Place Hampi Museum that most people associated with the township know. On a visit to Australia, Sangita Jindal, who heads the JSW Foundation, decided that she wanted a 3-D Museum like the one she had walked through and marvelled at Museum Victoria. She saw it clearly as a way to fulfil her mission. In her own words, “Our aim is to make Kaladham a point of reference for the World Heritage site, to highlight the roots and history of Hampi and the artisans that created it, bringing excellence and creativity worldwide.”
Yet it was an expensive idea, and ambitious as a project, so she bided her time till her birthday came around. When she placed her request for a very special gift — that was as much for the township and the community as it was for making her dream come true — there was no way her husband, Sajjan Jindal, could refuse. Before long the museum that would be a modern, technological ode to the ancient, neighbouring lost city of Hampi was commissioned as a JSW Foundation project.
Curated and conceived by Sarah Kenderline at Australia’s Museum Victoria, the project would present the result of 30 years of research to its visitors. Hampi would find a new and easy expression of its mythological, archaeological and historical heritage through exciting technological tools.
Like Alice in Wonderland, I explored the interactive space and the marvels it enclosed. There were photographs on a light table that came alive when the magnifying glass was placed on any of them; the walls had stories and pictures that were artistically placed and enthralling in their explanations. The place was speaking to me in many tongues, reaching out to eye and ear and filling my senses with a sense of history.
But it was the 3-D station that was truly mind-boggling. Vast panoramas opened up as the cursor was moved to various spots on the viewing station surface.
And, as the 3-D creation led me deeper and deeper inside the visuals, it was like being in the throbbing heart of the Vijayanagar kingdom, and seeing it closer than a real trip could allow.
More wondrous was the imposition of moving images. The child in me set aside all disbelief as I watched Shiva, whose image had been superimposed on a Kuchipudi dancer, execute a neat Tandav , and followed Hanuman as he flew over the tops of rocks and disappeared behind a mountain. The resulting wonder was the aim of this painstaking technological work, and was achieved effortlessly, in my case at least. Indeed, as the pamphlet to the museum says, “this museum is a place of tradition, memory, and identity, where Hampi can be experienced as an important part of Indian culture.”
The next day as we walked the hot stones of the real site, the place was more alive and real than in earlier visits, thanks to the at-a-glance introduction that I had experienced. As impactful as any sound and light show, the museum had offered me a 360° perspective to the history, archaeology and mythology of one of India’s most awesome sites.
