PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The launch and discussion of the book “Hampi: Utkarsh se Apkarsh Tak” authored by Tapas Chakraborty, was held at the Doon Library and Research Center on the weekend. Doon University vice chancellor Surekha Dangwal was the chief guest while Uttarakhand Sahitya Bhushan recipient Jiten Thakur and litterateur Mukesh Nautiyal participated in the discussion. Senior poet and litterateur Buddhinath Mishra presided over the event.
According to Chakraborty who recently retired ferom the post of assistant commissioner at Central GST department, this book about the Unesco World Heritage Site Hampi, is an attempt to offer an insight into the capital city of the great Vijayanagar empire. It traces the journey of a city that rose to its zenith in the fourteenth century, carving out a unique place for itself on the global stage through its fame and grandeur but lost all its glory and met with its ultimate decline around the mid-sixteenth century following its defeat in the decisive Battle of Talikota. This book encompasses a concise history of the Vijayanagar Empire and its capital Hampi, profile of its rulers and the remarkable chronicles of their reigns, accounts provided by the foreign travellers of that era, tales of the ruins and details regarding their construction , an exploration of the significance of its temples, ranging from the Vijaya Vitthala to the Virupaksha temples, description of its palaces and other royal edifices and an overview of the various religious sects prevalent during that period.
