All of us want to know our place in the universe. What better way to do that on the first day of the New Year? As one browsed the Net, gorgeous images of billions of stars — some colourful, some small, some big and some trailing light — popped up. One video guru’s advice was to head to the Grand Canyon on a dark night and photograph the night sky. This came with a clutch of helpful websites and apps to get that perfect image.
One of them, darkskyfinder.com, threw up hundreds of choices in India. I picked Gandikota. Touted as India’s answer to the Grand Canyon, Gandikota, meaning canyon fortress in Telugu, sits at an elevation of 324 metres and is surrounded on three sides by the Penna river. The best part? The finger of civilisation is yet to touch it. The website placed Gandikota in the third top band of darkness; most of our urban areas are in the top band of bright spots where light pollution is highest.
Gearing up
Another website, photoephimeris.com, helpfully provided the time of moonrise and moonset and the angle at which they would take place at a given location. And so, inspired by Nature and aided by technology, I set out to get all starry-eyed.
Armed with a sturdy tripod, a wide-angle lens, full frame camera, a timer, a torch and notes about the location and settings, I boarded the train from Hyderabad towards Mudunuru, the nearest railhead. The train reaches at 4.10 am, and from there, you’ve to hop on to a bus that goes to Jammalamadugu, from where another takes you to Gandikota. In the pre-dawn hours, the eerie landscape, with rocks perched precariously one on top of another, is a sight that makes up for the bumpy ride.
Once in Gandikota, you could check into the only hotel — the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation-run Haritha, with basic but neat amenities — or do what some other stargazers who had driven down from Bengaluru did — pitch tents inside the compound and rest.
First up was a recce trek to the canyon. Scattered sandals and flip-flops are proof that it is a tough climb that requires proper shoes. A selfie is in order once you have leapt, jumped and crawled over the rocks to the highest point, 324 metres above sea level. The view from here takes your breath away; it is also scary — down below is a deep valley carved out of brown rocks, with the near-green Penna hurtling past. Reach the place early, as the rocks begin to radiate heat once the sun is out.
Gandikota is speckled with temples, mosques, doorways and stepwells that narrate tales of a tumultuous history that goes back hundreds of years. The first reference to Gandikota is in an inscription of Attirala from 1279 AD, during the reign of King Ambadeva. The inscription is in Kadapa. The two temples and the broken doorway date to a time before the fort was conquered in 1652 by Mir Jumla of Golconda. It was here that the French jeweller and traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier met Mir Jumla, a diamond merchant who later rose to an important position in the court of the Golconda ruler. Mir Jumla didn’t count diamonds; he had sacks of them. One of them was the Kohinoor, which he presented to Mughal emperor Shah Jahan when he switched sides.
Gateway to the fort
Most visitors miss the two doorways of the fort. The older doorway is no longer in use, while a new road has been laid to the new doorway. The old gateway is said to have been blown apart by Mir Jumla, who ordered cannons to be hauled up to the hill to fire at the unbreakable door. The end of Golconda kingdom in 1687 saw Aurangzeb become master of the fort. Later, Hyder Ali stationed his forces here. The British gained control of the fort in 1791.
But, these are stories of the day. The real action here begins once the sun sets. For city slickers, the stars in the sky are but twinkling lights that you can count on your fingertips. But, at 1 am, on the terrace of Haritha cottage, all you can see are stars, and some planets, as if a child has thrown sparkling glitter on dark paper.
To the naked eye, the stars in the galaxy look like a few specks of light, albeit closely packed. But, the camera picks up something else. A gorgeous, colourful sky with hues ranging from yellow and deep blue to violet. From behind the camera, you learn humility, and your place in the larger scheme of things. You imagine the size and the timelessness of the galaxy, and the relative seconds you have on this speck in space.
How to get there
Nearest airport: Kadapa – 62 km, Bengaluru – 260 km.
By road: 280 km from Bengaluru; 360 km from Chennai and Hyderabad.
Nearest railhead: Mudunuru, 26 km away.
What’s to see: Sunrise over the canyon, the Mir Jumla Masjid, Madhavaraya temple, the granary, Ranganatha Swamy temple and Rayala Cheruvu
Nearby places to visit: Mylavaram dam and museum, which has some rare artifacts dating back to the 13th Century. Mylavaram is a village of weavers; you can also see the process of weaving and pick up saris off the loom.
