Heritage of Hampi- Live life King (elephant) size!

There’s a lot to see in Hampi and much to marvel at, the monuments are a photographer’s delight and the panorama of huge boulders among green trees, fields and lawns; dotted with ruins of the Vijaynagar empire, stretches as far as the eye can see. It’s a visual treat.

But what I really, really wanted to see was the Elephant Stable. The Lonely Planet gave it a cursory one line mention, which I thought was very unfair, because any lodging for such a magnificent creature has to be grand too. And these stables were built for the royal elephants, so they ought to be even grander. Well, like Donkey in the Shrek movie who kept asking “Are we there yet?”; I repeatedly asked our guide when we were going to visit the Elephant Stable.

Built in the Indo-Islamic style of architecture, these stables have 11 enclosures, meant for the best of the 10,000 elephants owned by the king.

The enclosure at the centre is typical of the Vijaynagar style and is the largest and most elaborate. I could imagine the most impressive of those 11 elephants residing here and lording it over the rest.

Elephant’s eye view! (from within one of the enclosures)

The enclosures are interconnected by small arched openings at the rear,  for the mahouts to pass through.

The difference in the size of the arches meant for the elephant and the mahout is striking!

There is another structure next to the stable which was perhaps the residence of the mahouts.

We sat on the lawns and reflected- life must have been damn good for a royal elephant of the Vijaynagar empire!