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Architectural Conservation: Assignment

The document discusses the historical Vijayanagara site of Hampi, located in Karnataka, India. It provides background on Hampi's history as the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. However, it notes that Hampi is now endangered due to pressures of urbanization, encroachment, pollution, and lack of adequate conservation efforts. It outlines several interventions needed to help preserve Hampi's archaeological and cultural heritage, including restoring structures like the Vitthal Temple complex, replacing vehicular traffic with battery-operated cars, and reconstructing the Queens Bath building. Stronger administrative actions are also needed to curb illegal construction and mining threatening the ruins.

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NEFSYA KAMAL
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223 views

Architectural Conservation: Assignment

The document discusses the historical Vijayanagara site of Hampi, located in Karnataka, India. It provides background on Hampi's history as the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. However, it notes that Hampi is now endangered due to pressures of urbanization, encroachment, pollution, and lack of adequate conservation efforts. It outlines several interventions needed to help preserve Hampi's archaeological and cultural heritage, including restoring structures like the Vitthal Temple complex, replacing vehicular traffic with battery-operated cars, and reconstructing the Queens Bath building. Stronger administrative actions are also needed to curb illegal construction and mining threatening the ruins.

Uploaded by

NEFSYA KAMAL
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as RTF, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVATION

ASSIGNMENT

Submitted by:Nefsya Kamal


Roll No:23

TOPIC:TO SUGGEST INTERVENTIONS ON ANY DILAPIDATED, IN


RUINS HISTORIC OR MODERN STRUCTURE OF YOUR CHOICE

HAMPI,THE GLORY OF SOUTH INDIA

About Hampi

The Hampi is located on the banks of River Tungabhadra spread in


Hospet taluka of Bellary district and Gangavati Taluka of Koppal district
in Kamataka.
Hampi group of monuments are located within the ruins of
Vijayanagara, one of the South India's largest, wealthiest and most
powerful kingdoms. Hampi was the former capital of Vijayanagara
Empire and known as the City of Victory. Hampi isnIndia's Pompeii.
Once home to half a million people, it was sacked in 1565 by the armies
of the Bahamani sultanates. For hundreds of years, the City of Victory
lay abandoned until it was rediscovered by the British in the 19th
century. Now it is a place of sprawling beauty, a world heritage site of
2,000 monuments scattered across a landscape of enormous granite
boulders, pulling in nearly half a million visitors a year from around the
world (Gethin Chamberlain, 2012).Due to the presence of Virupaksha
temple, Hampi is considered as an important religious center for
domestic tourists but known to the world as an outstanding heritage
destination with magnificent architecture and historic
significance.Vijayanagara has always been known to historians of India
as the capital of one of the greatest and wealthiest Hindu empires,
which, at its height, ruled almost all of southern India. The city's ruins,
the most extensive of any Hindu royal site in southern India, were
largely forgotten until the mid-nineteenth century (John M.Fritz and
George Michell 2012).
Hampi is also famous for its unique scenic beauty,mythological and
legendary correlation with Ramayana. Vijayanagara architectureat
Hampi can be broadly classified in to religious and civic architecture
with associated sculptures and paintings. The Vijayanagara style is a
combination of the Chalukya, Hoisala, Pandya and Chola styles which
evolved earlier in the centuries when these empires ruled. The annual
Vijayanagar festival is organized by the government of Karnataka in the
month of November every year.

Hampi: The world heritage site is in danger


Hampi: The world heritage site is in danger Pressures of Urbanization
haven't spared this once divine abode of Gods. Only 58 of the 550
individual monuments at Hampi have been included in the conservation
plan. Many historical villages, temples and mantapas , residencies and
shops are not protected by the official agency. The most difficult
challenge at Hampi is the establishment of a park service to control the
vast site (about 400 acres). Every day, ancient site materials are
removed for use in nearby construction projects. New roadways and
buildings are illegally encroaching upon the marked site areas. Huts and
shops can be seen inches close to and sometimes inside the sites of
archaeological importance. Deforestation, increase in vehicular and
industrial pollution is causing a threat to the delicate creations at
Hampi. The affect can be seen on the fading natural colouring used on
the ceiling of Virupaksha Temple. These colouring were all natural
extracts and were a great piece of art. More intensive land use by
agriculture and industry and growing pressure from irresponsible
tourism threaten the Vijayanagara's natural, cultural and archaeological
environment. Pollution, looting, unregulated stone quarrying and the
limited nature of existing monument protection hamper current
conservation measures.
The Magnificient ruins of Hampi

The site, located near Hospet, was originally a religious center that may
have predated the establishment of the city. The village contains several
of the monuments of the old city and extends into one of the old
ceremonial streets of the ruins.

On a commanding site, stands the temple of Malyavanta


Raghunathaswamy. It is built in the Dravidian style. Strange-looking
fishes and marine monsters carved along its outer walls are worth
noticing.

The Hampi Bazaar is a broad, dusty boulevard lined with stalls and
restaurants. It leads to a vast temple complex consisting of the
Virupaksha Temple and the spectacular Vitthala Temple, dedicated to an
incarnation of Vishnu, and is one of the most fabulous and famous of
Hampi's monuments.

One of Hinduism's most enduring images, an ornate stone chariot, is


found here. With solid stone wheels that can turn on their axles, the
chariot faces a shaded dance hall where ancient musical dramas were
once played out and from where you can now enjoy panoramic views of
Vijayanagara. The pillars of the temple are commonly referred to as
"musical pillars," each one producing a different note when tapped.

The royal enclosure incorporates the ruined palaces where the


Vijayanagara kings lived and held court. There is the Hazara Rama
temple where the royals went to worship, a small stepped tank, and the
Mahanavami Dibba, a platform where performances and
entertainments were held.

On the outskirts of the royal complex, is the Lotus Mahal shaped like a
lotus flower from top. This two-story structure has beautiful arc ways
set in geometric regularity. It was an air-cooled summer palace of the
queen having massive pillars, delicately punctuated arches and fine
stucco ornamentation; its unusual design blends elements of Muslim
and Hindu architecture.

Some of the must see monuments are the House of Victory, where the
kings of Vijayanagar used to sit on a grand throne in the House of
Victory and witness the nine-day Dussera festival and the Hazara
Ramaswami temple which is believed to have been the private place of
worship of the royal family. The chief attraction of the temple is the
series of scenes from the Ramayana carved on two of the inside walls of
the mantapa.

Hampi is not just about the ruins but the whole setting that makes it a
surreal retreat that it is.
Interventions
Despite the grand history and breathtaking visuals,this UNESCO World
Heritage Site needs immediate attention from authorities and the local
community for its preservation. Apart from the illegal mining and
smuggling of mineral ores, Hampi is also threatened by treasure hunters
or gold diggers, digging anywhere and everywhere, looking for riches.
Many apparently are moving around with hi-tech scanners and
equipment but little regard for the historical richness they are
destroying in the process. While the police are constantly on the look-
out for these hunters, this menace may need more focussed
institutional intervention to be subdued.
The other obvious issue plaguing these lovely ruins are the encroaching
illegal constructions, like most other heritage sites which cry for
stronger administrative intervention.

Problems

· Growth of modern religious complexes on the plateau of the hill


· Construction of bridges across the Tungabhadra
· Increased agricultural activity near few monuments
· Bazars of Virupaksha Temple
· Private resorts and residential building in the core zone
· Vandalism

Salient Features
· Flourish Hinduism
· Seizing ruins
· Natural setting
· Spirituality and culture

Interventions

Restoration work in Vitthal Temple complex's Gopura

· Provide Masonry pops after strengthening broken lintel and beam


· Overhanging brick masonry units should be stitched internally and
underpinned
· Antechamber should be reconstructed by removing masonry
supports

Uses of battery operated cars


· To regulate and control the number of tourists
· To avoid any vehicular pollution near the temple complex
Queens bath
· Damaged and decayed plaster should be scrapped and replastered
· Parapet wall should be reconstructed using bricks of old patterns
· Masonry wall and steps should be neatly furnished
Virupaksha Temple Complex
· Mandapas used as residences and shops
· Spreading of litter,unhygenic condition
· Modern construction for the need of pilgrims and tourists

Controversial Bridge
· Suspension bridge over Tunghabadra
· 2 Massive pylons in Virupaksha Temple complex
· Dominate natural environment(visual impact,heavy vehicular
traffic)

Other interventions
· Creating awarenesss programme
· Interpretation centre
· Limiting commercial activitis round the complex
· Implementation of signage
· Green spaces in unused areas

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