Saturday, September 01, 2007

Magical Mango Tree....

* I have been to Hampi twice and my husband 6 times.

* As we were riding through Hampi bazaar on our gear-less scooters, we bumped into my husband's 'first tourist guide' who took him around Hampi in 1995.

* It was late evening and we were hungry, after exchanging pleasantries the 'first question' to the 'first tourist guide' was, 'Which is the best place to eat?'

* He simply said 'Mango Tree' and asked us to follow the Tungabadhra river.

* So here we were on 3 scooters riding along the river into dusk.

* We reached a quaint little gate with a small board that read Mango Tree with no mango tree in sight.

* Clueless we followed a path through a banana plantation and jumping up when we heard a rustling sound nearby.

* Reached a place that looked like a village home.

* We were asked to remove our footwear near a shelf which was filled with freshly fallen white flowers from the tree above.

* As we moved in I caught a glimpse of the river flowing peacfully ahead and my heart started beating in anticipation.

* I saw the huge mango tree form a canopy above us and somebody swing right ahead of us in a long rope swing.

* Then the magic happened when we walked down the steps....the river was the giant 70 mm screen and rocks forming the backrest of the seats.

* Low benches with glowing hurricane lamps were placed right in front of us as we stretched our legs and gave in to the beauty of the place and the service of the friendly waiters....

14 comments:

Bhavna Bhatnagar said...

Absolutely magical Arch!

Anonymous said...

Sounds so much like dream..

Lovely post :)

~ Kanchan

Anonymous said...

hehe.. what fun.. what an unexpected surprise.
Vinita

Gill said...

So breathtaking. Like a fairy tale. You live so well, Archana. Stunning!
xo
Blue

Anonymous said...

And was it a delicious experience beyond the magnificent dreamlike Mango Tree atmosphere?

Green Mirchi said...

hi archana, mango tree sounds so inviting.. wish i went on that trip with all of your friends.

Vineeta said...

fxdmbvery intersting place, and it looks so cooling with that blue light in your pic & the benches.. dying to go :) thanx for sharing :)

Vineeta said...

sorry about the garbled text- i typed the word verification & it was too late to correct

Anonymous said...

that place looks like heaven!
can't wait to go to india again :)

~mE said...

I love that place....spent so much time just sitting there and watching the empty space (summer no water )

Anonymous said...

Your description and photos make for a really magical story. Thank you!

Latha said...

Wow how romantic :-) Very nice. I am so tempted to visit Hampi now - thanks to u're posts and pictures. Its been ages since I visited there!

Anonymous said...

I loved the Mango Tree too - sitting there listening to the river, with a book in your hands sipping lassi - bliss!

Anonymous said...

this picture is just right for the grey skies that we have during winter.

At last a post on the mango tree....now I do not have to linger on flicker searching for this picture!