ADHVAGATI

While making travel plans, we usually collect info. of the Footnotes kind from different sources, so that we are not thrown off balance by little "surprises" we may encounter in alien lands. So far, I have not experienced any great Culture Shock , anywhere. Except in - of all places - Hampi. In our own backyard ! Three years ago, I was given a Hampi Trip as a birthday gift by my son and it served as a cherished refresher course, as the memory of my first trip to the wonderful place, eons ago, is less than sketchy  (and the four B&W 3-inch photos are dismal souvenirs that speak nothing.) We ( Son, Sis and I) checked into a homestay "guest house" adjacent to The Bazar Street at 4 am, and stepped out, refreshed, at 7.30 to find ourselves an ordinary Idli -Coffee breakfast. The arterial street was fully abuzz with activity, with more than a dozen thatch-roof cafes open for business. Most of them with signboards proclaiming " Recommended by Lonely Pl