Hi friends,Hampi is world famous and a world heritage site as we all know.Its a small village,you can find all small restaurants,but if you ask anybody for Mango tree and walk through banana fields,its only ten minutes from Hampi main temple and you will be finding very exotic open air restaurant under nearly a hundred years old big mango tree.More fascinating experience is... you will have a view of Tunga bhadra river and hills right infront of your eyes...Apart from its scenic beauty,you also can get good food at reasonable price..It is not a star hotel,but definitely has ethnic beauty.it also is a treat to your eyes.Altogether it would be a great experience and a life time experience.you will agree beauty lies in simplicity....Its my promise to you....check it out&dont miss...

Vanuit armbol zijn we vroeg met de bus naar Panaji gegaan om daar een paar uur te wachten op de "slaap"bus naar Hampi. We hebben niet veel gedaan in Panaij zo veel is er ook niet te doen. We waren dan ook blij dat het 8 uur was en we met de bus konden gaan. Het was 13 uur met de "slaap" bus maar slapen kon je niet. We hadden we een bed maar niet echt gemaakt voor onze lengte we lagen helemaal achterin dus we voelde elke kuil en drempel die de bus chauffeur met opzet vol gas over heen ging. Na 13 uur stuiteren waren we dan in Hampi. Hampi is de oude hoofdstad van een of ander oud Hindu keizerrijk. De Viscomomo's of zo iets. De stad is een levend open lucht museum met temples, standbeelden en andere oude gebouwen verspreid over de hele stad. Dit was erg mooi om te zien. Na een paar dagen hier te zijn geweest zijn we naar Agra af gereisd. Dit was een 41 uur durende onderneming, eerst met de boot toen rickshaw (tuk tuk) toen 5 uur dubbel gevouwen met 7 man op een achterbank van een bus waar 5 man kan zitten. Toen moesten we nog een paar uurtjes met de trein. Om 3 uur in de morgen kwamen we aan in Agra. Nadat we een slaapplaats hadden gevonden zijn we de stad in geweest. Waar we een fort bezocht hebben en een kleinere en oudere versie van de Taj Mahal. En toen naar de achter kant van de Taj Mahal. Van daar uit kan je de Taj heel goed zien zonder te betalen. Vervolgens hebben we nog wat rond gelopen door de stad.

Dat was bij verre weg de minst fraaie kant van India die ik heb gezien. De straten waren bezaaid met menselijke en dierlijke ontlasting. Langs de wegen loopt een gootje, waar van we denken dat dat het riool is. En mensen zitten midden op straat te schijten en dan we pressies naast het gootje gewoon op straat dus. Dat was wel even schrikken.

Vanavond gaan we naar Varanasi dat is weer 12 uur met de trein. Dan willen we daar niet lang blijven het liefst gaan we s' avonds weer verder. Richting het noord oosten.

Hampi is one of the 20 odd places maybe you should definitely see before you die.. Ancient royal architecture dating back to the 15th 16th centuries lying intact, rocks positioned in very very bizarre fashions, the 'sab kuch milega' ( translates as we have everything you need) attitude of the locals ;) For all you tourists, there are a few places i can definietly vouch for.. As for accommodation, the best place easily is Goan corner which you have to get to by passing lush green paddy fields and is very isolated.This jaunt is ideal to sit , chillout, read a book, see a movie.., light a j,et al.When you want to explore the ruins, rent a bike from temple town at 150 bucks for the best bike.And just chill. As for food n all., check out the Mango Tree Cafe. Another very chilled out place. Has no accommodation though.. Is located by the banks of the river where you have to cross the boat.. on the temple town side.. Just take a sneak peek at the photos we managed to capture and you get the idea!

In the morning I awoke sick.  We ate at Blue Plane the previous night, and the vegetable curry was clearly not agreeing with me.  I vomited in the morning just before our 5:30 a.m. taxi.    The 10 hour train ride was awful, but fortunately, I only was sick once on the train.  I slipped in and out of delirium.  Then the three of us piled into a rickshaw and drove the 45 minutes to Hampi.  I sat in the front with the driver, trying to hold on for my life and to the bile in my stomach.  I was so relieve when we finally reached Shanti Guest house.  We reunited with Simon and Erin.  By morning I was feeling much better.

Hampi is a magical place.  Massive boulder strewn hills and plateaus extend everywhere between ruined cities and temples.  The river runs through the middle dividing the Bazaar from the many guesthouses on the other side.  The river feels like the heart of Hampi, flowing through it and around temples, abandoned Sadhu meditation caves.  We road a corical, which looks like ½ coconut shells, down the river past fisherman, to the Hanuman temple.  Like all the wonderful places in India, the children here waive, smile, and laugh at us. 

Melinda, Jen, and I did yoga a few times.  We watched a movie and hung out with Simon and Erin.  Over the days we spent there, I was feeling better and better, slowly regaining my strength.  We rented bikes and rode through the ruins to the breathtaking Shiva temple and Vishnu market. 

On the last day, Melinda and I went to the reservoir and took a quick swim by jumping from an 18 foot boulder.  Then a dive, because I had to.  I also gifted Simon and Erin Shiva and Ganesh to guide them safely the rest of their travels.  I’m hoping they are watchful of each other.

As amazing as Hampi is, something happened to our 3-some.  I’m not sure exactly what happened or when.  But I started feeling some disconnection and we just weren’t clicking.  After I dropped them off in Alleppey for the home stay, I never met up with them again.  Jen left with her friends Ryan and Heather.  Melinda went off to Cochin.  And I continued south to Kovalam. 

Very good place, very well located. Rooms from 150 INR to 500 INR (3-10 euro approx.). Very peaceful. Highly recommended.

First of all, I must apologize for the lack of new entries lately.  I’ve been a bit occupied.  I’ve been staying in Hampi for the past 10 days and there is indeed a story to tell.

A few notes on Hampi first:
- beautiful place: like an oasis full of ancient temples amid mountains of giant boulders
- loved watching the sunset at Hanuman temple
- fun times swimming at the lake dodging fake crocodiles
- awesome times driving down random roads surrounded by rice paddies
- WORST MOTORBIKES EVER
- love love love Hampi

So here’s my story.

On my forth day living at my new found haven I got a fever.  It broke by the evening but that night I had the pleasure of getting my first round of traveller’s diarrhea in India.  The entire next day it showed no signs of letting up and by morning of my third sick day, I woke up doubled over in pain due to severe stomach cramps.

Off to the nearest hospital I went.

Incidentally, the nearest hospital was just across the river and one town over, about an hour away from my haven of a guesthouse.

At first, I was optimistic.  The KLS Hospital in Hospet looked clean, professional, and welcoming of me.  Of course they welcomed me, I was a sick, rich foreigner. 

They took a blood sample and then hooked me up to an IV.  I was diagnosed with Acute Amoebic Dysentery.  I ended up having to stay overnight at the hospital away from my friends and all my belongings save my purse and the clothes on my back.  It was not fun.

A few notes on KLS Hospital:
- only one doctor
- only two nurses
- mosquitoes EVERYWHERE
- dank bathroom and no toilet paper provided
- no night gowns
- HAD TO REMIND NURSE TO PROVIDE ME WITH FOOD…TWICE
- power outages common
- back-up generator was loud and slow to kick in
- had to track down nurse when my IV bag was empty and pumping out blood….TWICE
- at night, all staff went to sleep so all patients were left unmonitored

There was no nurse buzzer so if I needed anything it meant I had to wander into the lobby and wait for the nurse to come by.

In the morning, my American, Typhoid-stricken roommate and I wandered out onto the street looking to buy some food.  The staff didn’t start working until about 10am.  We were hungry.  I still had my IV needle stuck in me.

I haven’t even gotten to the scam part of my story.

By the time I checked out of the hospital, I was under the impression that all the paper work for my insurance was handled.  Usually, the patient is supposed to pay for all expenses up front and get reimbursed by the insurance company later.  However, a one-night hospital stay exceeded my cash funds and I needed my insurance company to handle all expenses up front.  It was that or pay in cash and have no money to leave town.

After spending a couple blissful days back at my guesthouse recovering in peace, the doctor came for a visit.  Him and some dude. 

They wanted me to pay cash for my hospital stay.  At first they tried to reason with me, then trick me, then bully me, then threaten me by calling in the police. 

I said great, call the police, I’d be happy to chat with them. 

I wonder if they think I’m bluffing.  I wonder if they know that I know that they’re trying to charge me Rs 11,000 for what I know to be a Rs 3,000 hospital bill. 

I wonder if they know, that I have proof that they’re trying to fraudulently claim Rs 28,000 from my insurance company.   That’s quite the mark up.  I mean, who ever heard of charging $750 US for the treatment of diarrhea? 

I also now know that the autorickshaw driver my friend randomly flagged down to drive us to the hospital got a mother of a commission to bring me to that particular private hospital.  Apparently, a lot of drivers in town have a deal with this one doctor.

This is India.

I’ve spent the last two days dodging my doctor.

I’m skipping town tomorrow.

See my weblog: http://fransglobal.blog.lemonde.fr/

We parted with our scooters in Goa after a few days riding to nearby beaches and lounging, with me at one point sitting back and enjoying a manicure/pedicure while another gal used the threading technique to clean up my eyebrows.  All that pampering cost me about 8 bucks - I felt guilty paying so little.  Anjuna, more specifically the bar across from our guest house, exploded with people the Sunday before we left, promising a crazy party.  The people watching was something to behold.  Dreads, funky shoes, piercings and tattered clothes were being sported.  Unfortunately the bar owners failed to pay off the cops enough, so the party got shut down and moved.  We hit up the new location to do some dancing, but the 10 p.m. curfew came way too early for us.

Our group finally tore itself away from the beach and headed to Hampi.  The town was surrounded by many-a-temple in ruins.  The first day we set out to find a waterfall, but instead found a reservoir.  We also managed to stumble across a beer man who brought us beers there.  Hampi is dry except for a few pockets in places and you will find on some menus "special drinks" and are able to snag one if they still are in stock.  After our swim in the lake, we caught a sunset up at Monkey Temple after climing 500+ steps.  Boy I'm outta shape!  We laughed and enjoyed the many monkeys up top and also entered the temple with our guides and were first dotted on the forehead, then made to fan smoke in our face and finally received sugar.  The sunset was not as nice as Goa, but the scenery around was amazing, with the rice paddies and palms, a very wonderful experience.  We had to cross a river to get to this place and we ended up missing the last ferry back.  We were shouting across in the dark, asking for a boat, hearing responses back thinking they were coming to get us.  We finally shouted, asking if they had a boat, and they replied, no, they had been waiting for us!  We found our ferry captain who begged us to be quiet and wait 10 minutes for the cops to pass, after which we (about 7 of us at the time) boarded this round boat made out of reeds, and scooted across the river.  We were so happy we missed the ferry because it was so fun, us all sitting in a circle in this boat, under the stars, crossing this channel.  We kept exclaiming about our good fortune until the captain begged us again to be silent, but then promptly answered his cell phone once it rang. After paying a hefty price for the return so that he could pay the police for breaking curfew on the boat, we headed to a wonderful Indian feast.  Note, when I say hefty price, I'm talking about 50 rupees, which is really about $1.50, but I'm finally, after all these months, starting to think in terms of the local currency rather than dollars, and 50 rupees can get you a nice meal here.

Anyway, day two in Hampi I sorted out my next stops, hitting up some travel agents and figuring out later I got ripped off, but this time only by 10 bucks.  At least the mighty Rupee means lots to the locals but not so much to my wallet.  We then hit up some temples and ancient baths in sweltering heat.  We had arranged for bus travel back toward Goa.  Now the bus ride TO Hampi was an adventure in itself.  We got sleepers, which are actually beds and luckily a gal shared my compartment.  However, the roads are horrible, so aside from many, many speed bumps, there are patches where you just can't drive fast or smooth.  At one point I caught about two feet of air after we hit a particularly bad patch.  I had originally told my companions I didn't think it mattered if we paid extra for sleepers as I was sure no sleep would be had, and I was right about that, but it was an experience.  The way back was much the same, but we ended up having a little party in one sleeper compartment, cramming about five of us in, having drinks and sharing conversation before the morning stop where Helen and Co.  along with Eoin would get off and begin heading south.

I have chosen to go no further south and instead head North.  Next up Udaipur after another brief stop in Mumbai.  I didn't get to see too much of the city, so I'm glad for it, and getting excited about the north, but India is many worlds and the north will prove to be challenging.  It it much more conservative.  I will definitely have to stay covered up, and I will be solo for the first time here - really, the first time in over a month.  I'm also looking forward to cooler temps as my body has been wondering, what happened to winter? 

It was just a month before that we decided that we will be visiting the historical place Hampi(Karnataka, India). I knew that this was not the right time to be there as sun mercilessly pours his heat all over Vijaynagar and Hampi. But this heat couldn’t win over our excitement to go to the ruined city, Hampi. It was almost 10 hours journey from Hyderabad to Hospet. It’s in Hospet that we get good lodging and good food. Hampi is just 15 to 20 kms from Hospet. My parents and aunt were coming from Bangalore and myself and my brother were supposed to meet them in Hospet. At 4 in the morning our bus entered a small town and I saw a temple made of big stones and a person sitting stiff and doing meditation. Now I guessed that I am somewhere near Hampi. My guess was right and we were at Hospet at 4:00 am. Both me and my brother being T-aholics went and had good tea. This was the first thing that we did there. Our parents and aunt arrived by 6 am. We lodged some where and started to get ready for a big day ahead.

Hampi is a 700 year old city built by Hakka and Bukka in the year 1336 on the banks of river Tungabhadra. It’s the capital city of Vijayanagar empire. They built the city under the guidance of Saint from Sringeri mutt called Vidyaranya. The city Hampi was built during the days of Mohammedan attacks. The palace was very much apt at that time. It was at the banks of river Tungabhadra and it’s full of rocky Hills. It’s really difficult to any one to cross those rocks to conquer the empire at that time.

The Vijayanagar Empire was ruled by the likes of HakkaBukka I and II , Virupaksha Raya, Krishnadeva Raya, Achyuta Raya, etc. It was under Krishnadeva Raya that Vijaynagar empire found its most prosperous days. Vijayanagara was at that time more prosperous and bigger than Austria. Foreign merchants were always there trading spices and glittering stones.

People used to sell diamonds and gems here in this open market of Vijayanagar like vegetables at the time of Krishnadeva Raya. Art and culture also prospered very well during the time of Krishnadeva Raya. Krishnadeva Raya himself was an acclaimed literaturist. During his reign the poets like Purandara Dasa, Tenali Rama Krishna, etc enjoyed honors and acclaims.

Vijayanagar also has the history dated to the Ramayana. The monkey in the picture is a kind I have not seen other than zoo, it looks very ferocious with its face black. There are many monkeys of different kind here.

Read complete article here

We took an impromptu decision on our penultimate day in Goa, and headed to Hampi, via Hospet. Whilst our route through China had been pretty much chosen before we left home, we'd turned up with around two months to spend in India, and no plan what to do beyond the first 10 days; the only commitment we had was to eventually fly out of Dhaka in Bangladesh.

Two days before leaving Goa we had a quick scan through the Lonely Planet, and decided to spend some time in Karnataka. The starting point for this was the often-visited backpacker favourite of Hampi.

We bought train tickets via a travel agent in Colva; we found out when they turned up that we'd been charged twice the face value, and so made sure we always bought tickets from the station ourselves in future.

The train to Hampi was a pleasant, if long, trip. There were many westerners on the train, and we chatted to those we sat with. We were supposed to have allocated seats, but no-one was sitting in the right place, so we ended up with four people in the space where there should be three. An Indian lady on the end of the line complained to the conductor, and eventually someone was moved!

The train took us to Hospet, where we walked into town and tried to find somewhere to stay. We got a bit confused at first by the Indian use of the word "Hotel" to mean restaurant. Eventually we found somewhere to stay, quite near the bus station. We headed out two find food in the evening, and got our first experience of small Indian towns, complete with open sewers with pigs wallowing in them! That was a bit of a shock to the system.

The following day we got an auto-rickshaw to Hampi, where we did some exploring of the temple and the ruins. Before the exploring I managed to smack my head on a concrete road sign, which really hurt! It would become a bit of a theme in India, where things are not designed for a person of my height.

The temple in town has a holy elephant, who will bless you for a small sum. The ruins in Hampi are set in a beautiful riverside location, and are quite extensive. Many of them are intricately carved. We took a coracle ride on the river to get us part of the way back into Hampi from one of the temples.

Lunch in Hampi was disappointing and slow, which meant that we didn't have time in the afternoon to see the rest of the site (we didn't want to be out after dark, because we'd heard stories of tourists being robbed). This was a bit disappointing, because the entrance ticket was quite expensive and only valid for one day. On the bus on the way back to Hospet we decided not to come back the following day.

One amusing experience in Hampi, which I didn't mention, was concerning the public toilets. It's the only place I've been asked on the way in what I was planning to do; apparently it's a different price depending on what you answer!

The following day, back in Hospet, we headed to the bus station to get the bus to Badami. We had a fun time at the bus station, trying to locate our bus. There were two buses marked on the big timetable on the wall, strangely going only half an hour apart around lunchtime. None of the buses had destinations written on them in English, so we resorted to asking either the driver or conductor of every bus where they were going. Some would tell us that there wasn't a direct bus to Badami, but we put our faith in the timetable and stuck it out. Eventually the bus turned up, and a fun five and a half hour bus ride later, we arrived in Badami after sunset.

The style of the driving and the bus conducting in India was something new to us. The conductor was very flamboyant, and seemed to love his job. At frequent intervals he would hit the top of the bus with his ticket clippers. The roof of the bus was consequently full of small dents. The driver was an introduction to the general style of driving in India, in particular: the rules on overtaking, stating that you should overtake if you want to, regardless of what's coming the other way, even if it's a large truck which is then forced to use the grass verge to avoid you; the rules on use of the headlights at night, which state that you should drive with dipped headlights until you see something coming the other way, at which point you should switch to full beam to tell them that you're coming, and make sure they can't see a thing!

Indian Evangelist Killed And "Sacrificed" For Hindu Goddess
Indian Evangelist Killed And "Sacrificed" For Hindu Goddess
Added: Nov 8th, 2007 3:35 AM

Wednesday, 07 November 2007 (17 hours ago)
By BosNewsLife News Center with Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent and Satya Sundar Mishra, BosNewsLife India Correspondent reporting from Orissa

NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife) -- A young Indian evangelist and shepherd has been killed by Hindu priests seeking human sacrifices for a Hindu 'goddess', the latest in a series of violent attacks against Christians in India, BosNewsLife learned Wednesday, November 7.

The Global Council of Indian Christians(GCIC), an advocacy group representing church and mission groups, said Vipin Mandloi, 27, was shot dead near Aamkut village in the Jhabua District of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Mandloi had reportedly been missing since October 14 when he left his house to a nearby mountain to graze his goats and sheep near a Hindu temple. "There was a new temple of Kali the 'goddess' of the Hindus [and he] was in its premises…Three ‘Pujaris’, or ‘Hindu Priests’ came there and they shot [and killed] Vipin Mandloi with a…pistol," GCIC President Sajan K. George told BosNewsLife.

The Hindu priests were apparently angry that he had become a Christian and, after abuse of alcohol and a failed marriage, returned to mission work, preaching the Gospel and helping a fellow evangelist who runs several churches in the area.

"ACCEPTING CHRIST"

George told BosNewsLife it appears that "His decision of accepting Christ" prompted priests to "give him as a sacrifice to this goddess Kali…" Although investigations revealed his body was dumped in a lake, there was "blood all over the temple," he said. "It is presumed that the blood would have been smeared from the gun shot wound before dumping him in the water," he added.

It was not immediately clear if there was also blood of other missing persons in the temple, but George said police investigations continue.

"The goddess Kali is a bloodthirsty goddess and she is even given human sacrifice so it is suspected that the [priests] found this an opportune time [to kill the evangelist] as they were already upset with his decision of accepting Christ."

The priests reportedly admitted their involvement in the murder, saying the evangelist had been "stealing coconuts and money that was offered at the temple of Kali." George said the charges were not proven. Three of the priests have been freed on bail, according GCIC investigators.

The same region has become notorious for crimes against Christians, including the reported gang rape of four nuns and the looting of their convent in 2001. Father Lucas Izidore, the secretary of the Indore diocese, said they were raped by up to 15 militants who broke into the convent at two in the morning. They looted the facility and later forced the four nuns “to the nearby fields and gang-raped," them, the priest said in a statement released by GCIC.

GROWING CONCERNS

There has been growing concern about attacks against Christians and other religious minorities in several parts of India. In the state of Orissa. Hindu militant Dara Singh was sentenced to life for a third time, BosNewsLife established.

He is already serving two life terms for the killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines and a Christian priest. Last week he was also sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a Muslim trader eight years ago at Padiagada in Mayurbhanj district. However, the judge acquitted 23 others for lack of evidence. Singh said he would appeal in the High Court against his conviction. BosNewsLife learned.

It came at a sensitive time for Orissa where news emerged that 40 Hindu militants s beat a Christian worker while he was praying for the sick in a hospital on October 27 Bhadrak district. A 28-year-old independent worker, Phiroj Lima, was attacked while distributing Christian tracts and praying for patients at the Bhadrak Government Hospital, George said in a statement.

Earlier, Hindu militants of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) groups on October 23 dragged four pastors to the Hindu temple in Mouza village of Orissa’s Cuttack district on charges of “forcible conversion.” GCIC said the incident happened as the four pastors were distributing tracts and selling New Testaments. The pastors, Pran Ranjan Mali, Santosh Kumar Majhi, Jayson Badra and Roshan Lima, of Jagatsingpur district, west of the Cuttack district, were released after nearly 12 hours of being detained.

MORE INDIDENTS

There have been several other incidents against Christians in recent weeks GCIC and other investigators said.

-- Four Hindu extremists on November 4 beat an independent pastor and filed “prostitution” charges against him near Karnataka state’s Gundelpet town, said GCIC President George, national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians. Pastor, M. Thankaraj, received injuries on his head, right hand and chest. It came after other violent incidents in the state, including on October 18 when Hindu militants of the Bajrang Dal group allegedly threatened independent pastor Vijay Kumar in the Chikkaningahalli area of, Hassan district after Christians refused to five contributions and participate in Hindu temple festivities. Three days earlier a Christian worker in Karnataka state’s Shimoga district, Mani Kumar of Grace Baptist House Church, required hospitalization after he was beaten by Hindu militants, reports said.

--Elsewhere, at least four Hindu extremists attacked two Christians from the Believers Church in India (BCI) on November 4 in Jammu, the winter capital of the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, said Compass Direct News, a Christian news agency.

--In Rajasthan state two believers, Panna Lal and Dhan Raj from the evangelical Believers Church in India were reportedly briefly detained by police October 30 after local villagers in Jhunjhunu district accused them of “forcibly converting.” In the state’s capital Jaipur tensions have risen after an influential Hindu militant, Veerendra Singh Rana, falsely accused a Christian orphanage of human trafficking and prostitution, Christians said.

INDIA CAPITAL

-- Even India's capital, New Delhi, saw religious tensions as dozens of Hindu militants reportedly disrupting a Christian meeting and manhandled the speaker on October 28. Hindu militants were that day also active in India’s Gujarat state where they attacked a Christian man and warned him against attending his church in Navsari district. Bharat Bhai, a farmer who worships in a church run by the Friends Missionary Prayer Band ministry in Ambapani village near Vansda Block, was attacked while returning from his field with his family, said the Evangelical Fellowship of India in comments released by Compass Direct News.

--Days earlier in Maharashtra state, Pastor Victor Periera of Abundant Life Church was briefly in hospital after being beaten in Thane district on October 23, by militants while holding a healing and prayer service, news reports said.

--There were also tensions in Andhra Pradesh, where local residents of Adilabad district reportedly forced Christians to eat meat offered to a Hindu goddess on October 21. The Hindu residents of Krishnaraopet, near Nirmal area of Adilabad district, distributed the meat offered to goddess Durga to local people, but pastor Bikku Lal and some of his church members refused to take it and were beaten, said the All India Christian Council (AICC), a major advocacy group.

Human rights groups have linked the attacks to concerns among Hindu groups about the spread of Christianity in India, a mainly Hindu nation of 1.1 billion people.

India: Hindu Extremists Free to Attack Christians in Thane District
Added: Nov 12th, 2007 3:38 AM

Police are mere spectators; Maharashtra official’s promise of protection proves empty.

MUMBAI, India (Compass Direct News) -- A rash of violence in Maharashtra state last weekend, Christian leaders say, is typical of a growing history of unchecked, Hindu extremist crimes against Christians in Thane district.

In a scene repeated for years in the area with impunity, Hindu extremists armed with wooden clubs barged into the worship service of the Mumbai Diocesan Missionary Movement in Kuttal village of Wada on Sunday (November 4) and beat several members brutally enough that they required hospital treatment.

When Pastor Suresh Suttar went to the police station to file a complaint against the extremists, officers instead detained him. Unable to find any evidence to file charges against him, they released him on Monday (November 5), said Dr. Abraham Mathai, vice chairperson of the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission.

The club-wielding extremists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and its affiliated organizations, the Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad (VKP or Forest Dwellers Welfare Council) and the Bajrang Dal (youth wing of the VHP) were left free to pursue future victims. The Christians – Vishnu Barad and his wife Aruna Barad, Vandhana Barad, Nirmala Barad, Ramdas Ahad and Neelesh Barad – were left with swollen arms and legs, a bruised and swollen chin, bruises and abrasions to the temple and forehead and a bruised chest.

After the Hindu extremists had stormed into the service shouting curses and anti-Christian slogans, they struck the believers with their fists and clubs, snatched Bibles and tore pages from them and flung chairs. Some of the extremists marched up to the dais and slapped Pastor Suttar, raising the oft-repeated but baseless charge of luring poor tribal peoples to convert to the Christianity.

Collusion with Goons

“This attack took place despite an assurance on Friday, November 2, from state Home Minister R.R. Patil that the police would take action against attacks on tribals,” said Mathai, who is also general secretary of the All India Christian Council.

After visiting the victims in the hospital, Mathai told Compass that Vishnu Barad had informed him that he and his wife regularly received warnings from villagers not to attend prayer meetings.

“These are simple and poor people, and the fundamentalist goons roam about the area with impunity threatening these tribal Christians,” Mathai said. “What is even more outrageous is these Christian people get slapped with charges for disrupting peace.”

Mathai questioned why local police choose not to curb violent attacks on peaceful tribal Christians. He has implored Home Minister Patil to determine how constables in the rural Thane district remain in their posts for 15 to 18 years in the face of such unconscionable inaction.

Mathai said Patil told him that he has asked Konkan range Inspector General K.K. Pathak to submit a detailed report within eight days and that police would conduct an inquiry “on a priority basis.”

Local police denied that they take no action to defend the Christians. District Head Constable Y.T. Karale of Wada police station, Thane district, told Compass that officers have their hands full with “frequent skirmishes” between villagers and Christians.

“When the warring parties are brought to the police station, we try to arrange some settlement between them,” Karale said. “To pacify the villagers, we often make the Christians sign a bond before an executive magistrate for keeping the peace and good behavior, only as a preventive security measure against further offenses.”

Authorities thus blame Christians for provoking the Hindus by practicing their faith, Christian leaders said.

“I’m afraid that the police are proving to be unfair and ineffective,” Mathai said. “I was also told that the local police in another village had urged the tribals not to attend prayer meetings, as that may lead to further attacks.”

Widespread Criminality

The belt of tribal people in Thane district “is in the grip of the extremists groups who intimidate and terrify the poor tribals,” Mathai told Compass.

Hindu extremists attacked Christians in Vikramgarh last month; last week they attacked them in Manor and Mokhada, he said. Vivian Correia of the state Minorities Commission told Compass that last month pastor Vasudev Deshmukh of Maharashtra Village Ministries, in Thane district’s Mokhada village, was threatened by local villagers accompanied by Hindu extremists from the VKP and Bajrang Dal.

“They threatened to cut the water and electric supply to the pastor’s house church if he continued services there,” Correia said. “They made false accusations of luring poor Hindu tribals to convert.”

Pastor Deshmukh told Compass that he was unable to hold the worship service last Sunday (November 4) as a group of extremists and villagers hovered nearby, poised to attack.

“There were women also in the group who had chile powder in their hands to throw in the eyes of any one who came to service,” Pastor Deshmukh said. “In any case, none of the believers came for Sunday worship, as they were terrified of being assaulted by the extremists.”

On October 23, Hindu extremists beat pastor Victor Periera of Vikramgarh (see Compass Direct News, “India Briefs,” November 6); after a few days, police slapped notices on 11 of the people attending the prayer meeting for “disrupting peace in the area,” said Mathai.

After the attack on Pastor Pereira, Mathai said, worship services were cancelled the following two Sundays (October 28 and November 4).

Correia said attacks on Christians also took place last Friday (November 2) on prayer services in private homes in Manor and Mokhada villages.

“These extremists barged into the homes of the believers and disrupted the prayers and chased the believers away,” Correia said. “In most of these cases, tribal Christians are targeted and beaten for attending community prayer meetings, while the police mostly choose to be spectators.”

Mathai, for his part, said he is at a loss to explain how the area became an extremist hotbed. The tribal belt of Thane district is not close to the Gujarat state border – “the Hindutva [Hindu nationalism] laboratory” from which many extremist elements originate, he said.

	I am now banned from Indiamike.com for life for reporting this NEWS item!
	"You have been banned for the following reason: We don't do inciting religious hatred Date the ban will be lifted: Never" Indiamike.com is total sunshine, rose colored glasses bullshit. It might as well be funded and "moderated" by the Indian Tourism board!

It was just a month before that we decided that we will be visiting the historical place Hampi. I knew that this was not the right time to be there as sun mercilessly pours his heat all over Vijaynagar and Hampi. But this heat couldn’t win over our excitement to go to the ruined city, Hampi. It was almost 10 hours journey from Hyderabad to Hospet. It’s in Hospet that we get good lodging and good food. Hampi is just 15 to 20 kms from Hospet. My parents and aunt were coming from Bangalore and myself and my brother were supposed to meet them in Hospet. At 4 in the morning our bus entered a small town and I saw a temple made of big stones and a person sitting stiff and doing meditation. Now I guessed that I am somewhere near Hampi. My guess was right and we were at Hospet at 4:00 am. Both me and my brother being T-aholics went and had good tea. This was the first thing that we did there. Our parents and aunt arrived by 6 am. We lodged some where and started to get ready for a big day ahead. Hampi is a 700 year old city built by Hakka and Bukka in the year 1336 on the banks of river Tungabhadra. It’s the capital city of Vijayanagar empire. They built the city under the guidance of Saint from Sringeri mutt called Vidyaranya. The city Hampi was built during the days of Mohammedan attacks. The palace was very much apt at that time. It was at the banks of river Tungabhadra and it’s full of rocky Hills. It’s really difficult to any one to cross those rocks to conquer the empire at that time. The Vijayanagar Empire was ruled by the likes of HakkaBukka I and II , Virupaksha Raya, Krishnadeva Raya, Achyuta Raya, etc. It was under Krishnadeva Raya that Vijaynagar empire found its most prosperous days. Vijayanagara was at that time more prosperous and bigger than Austria (courtesy ‘Forgotten Empire – Vijayanagara’ by Mr. Robert Sewell). Foreign merchants were always there trading spices and glittering stones. For more info and photographs copy paste the below link in your browser http://manjunathkp.googlepages.com/hampi

Second day started off with the usual breakfast... and next we decided to go to the Virupaksha temple.  There was an tamed young elephant near the entrance... was nice to feed it some bananas, give it some coins and get blessed with a tap on the head with its trunk!! We took a guide to explain the history of the temple, and like the Vishnu temple, this one also has the "musical pillars". There are many such sets of pillars, and in each set each individual pillar gives out a separate note when tapped. Most of them sound like a "ghatam" instrument. It is said that in the Vishnu temple, there used to be dance and music performances where the music was played on the pillars.


The Virupaksha temple has one window inside that acts as a pinhole camera, and you can see an inverted image of the main entrance "gopuram"... talk about ancient technology! We took the side gate to the riverside and walked along the river to the market area, then went off further down to the river side again. This time we got the boat guy to take us farther down the river. Halfway down, there's an overhanging big rock which sort of serves as a cave, just large enough to snugly fit the boat :), especially then since the water level was not too much. coming back up the river took some time.. it was windy and the river was pushing back hard... so we took a few breaks and expored along the rocky river bed some more.

Before getting to the river, a few of us climbed up the hill next to the market place, and looked around some more ruins.. there was a large tank, and what looked like another street lined with a market. Apparently it was a gems trading area in ancient times.

Returning from the river, we rested a while near the large "Nandi" bull statue and set off for lunch with the guys at the Mango Tree restaurant. After the heavy and filling lunch, we big adieu to the Pune gang, and started off to do a bit of shopping around. Next we went up to the hillock next to the temple, to explore the slightly different architecture of temples on the hill. Sat there for a while, it was very windy and the weather was excellent. We went down to the other side to see the big Ganesha statue, and then returned to the lodge to pack things up. In the afternoon finally set off to Hospet to catch the overnight Hampi express train back to Bangalore.

-- Ashish Bhambhani (3 Sep 07)

The trip started and ended in Bangalore city railway station. We took Hampi Express to reach Hospet on Saturday morning. And a peaceful 30min or so rickshaw ride later we were at Hampi. Initially took some time to look around and find a place to settle in and freshen up. It was off-season and you can find decent rooms in the range of Rs. 150-300 for a two-bed room. Ours was quite close to the river (Tungabhadra river).

What followed was 2 days of utter jobless relaxation :-), roaming around (almost aimlessly) in rented mopeds to cover most of the sites documented in tourist guides, and eating and drinking at every decent chance of it. One can also rent bicycles to move around, but most sites are accessible to foot if you're willing to walk enough.

Took a guided tour for the two major places : The main Vishnu temple complex, and the Virupaksha temple. Most of the information was interesting and likely true, but some was downright ridiculous pretense haha.... these guides sure as hell like to spice things up with their imagination at times.

The best part is the windy hills and river side - the wind is too strong sometimes and it becomes tricky to walk on the rocks along the river or climb some of the vertical rocks.

Food is mostly not expensive, but buying "touristy" handicraft/art stuff can be very tricky. The shops will mostly take you for a ride about prices, which are usually quoted at 2-3 times for metalwork/glasswork/stonework/etc... dont purchase too much unless you know its true worth and are willing to bargain/haggle a lot.

The first day started off with a hearty breakfast at one of the restaurants in Hampi. We rented mopeds and headed towards the river first. Took a boat ride down the river and  stepped off on the rocky river bed to checkout the carvings there and the place where Lord Rama had stayed and meditated. Nice very windy place and tricky to walk. Next we went to  the Krishna temple just on the hill outside Hampi. By the time we were done there, the pack from Pune had arrived. So returned for lunch, and next up we went to the area with the main palace complex and the surrounding complexes. Worth mentions are the Lotus mahal, the watch towers, Elephant stable in the Zanana area. Then the huge bath and the base of the main court in the palace area. The Hazara Ram temple has exquisite carving. We finished off by covering the main Vishnu temple complex - its a beautifully carved complex on a hill by the river. Good weather was with us, and by sunset we reached back and just relaxed by the temples on the hill next to the Virupaksha temple.

No booze sold in Hampi since its a holy city of temples. So had to get the vodka from the next town Kamlapur, also where petrol is available. Anyway night was mainly dinner and drinks... followed by singing on the lodge roof with the rest of the group.

Next day - part 2.. continued in the next entry :)

-- Ashish Bhambhani (3 Sep 07)

This is a famous restaurant in Hampi. A very chilled place frequented by tourists. It is located along the Tungabhadra river, on a hilly slope. Customers sit under huge mango trees outside on a terraced seating area. The seating area is on multiple levels, facing the river. The restaurant is surrounded by huge old mango trees, and there's a long swing hanging from one of them :) In traditional style, you sit on the floor to eat. You can get several south Indian cuisines and some amount of (Indianized) continental food as well. The food is OK by local standards, and its not very expensive. Nevertheless worth a visit atleast once if you're around Hampi.