The year was 1522. A young man, popularly known as 'Paes the Portuguese' was enjoying a stroll on the streets of Vijayanagar. His attire seemed strange in a land where women were draped in a Sari and men in a Dhoti. But Paes was a well-informed traveller and was accustomed to all dressing styles. His knowledge about the Italian Cities flourishing after the Renaissance was accurate. But India- and especially- South India seemed to tempt him more than Italy and it had always been his childhood dream to visit this mysterious part of the world that exported rare gems and spices to countries across the globe.
So here was our Paes, making his way to one of the popular 'Bazaars' at Vijayanagar. Unlike the crowded market places in his country; here, the roads that fanned across the Bazaar were long and broad and could comfortably hold a thousand people at once; and there was absolutely no hindrance to the traffic. The bullock carts were neatly lined up at one end of the road and the people were seen buying and selling their wares at the other end. Paes stopped to buy some sweet smelling flowers. His eyes had never feasted upon such rare and fresh flowers in any other country to which he had travelled so far. But what really caught his attention was the sight of a hundred tradesmen selling their diamonds, rubies, pearls and emeralds openly in the bazaar. Every time a seller chose to close his shop and retreat to his house to take some rest, he would simply throw a piece of cloth to cover his valuable stones and would retire peacefully with no fear of his goods being stolen. Such was the mutual trust and respect that the people of Vijayanagar had for each other!
Paes noticed a man seated at a corner of the street, watching the busy people at the Bazaar. The man looked very old. His age had probably crossed hundred. Paes chatted with him for a while during which he came to know that before him, another foreigner - by the name of Abdur Razzaq- had arrived at this place from Central Asia and had stated that "the City of Vijayanagar is such that- the eye has not seen nor the ear heard of any place resembling it upon the whole earth". Paes enquired about the size of the city and he learnt from the old man that the circumference of the city was more than sixty miles! He added that when a Muslim Bahmani King from Gulbarga had come to Vijayanagar to marry the Princess, the entire road (for six miles) was covered by a sheet of gold and decorated with velvet and other precious gems.
An interested Paes continued to explore the City. He saw a beautiful temple built from pure molten brass near Mangalore and the King's Palace built using Ivory. He was charmed by the innumerable waterways, lakes and orchards that adorned the City which made him admit that Vijayanagar was "as large as Rome and very beautiful to the sight". He also had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the King himself. The King's name was Krishna Deva Raya and he was famous for his chivalry, generosity and his immense love for Literature. He was tall, fair and well-built. He was also a cheerful host to Foreigners. Later Paes wrote that the King was "so gallant and perfect in all things!"
Paes admired the irrigation system of the City. In his own words- "An entire river was dammed up and a huge reservoir was built. From this, the water went to the city in an aqueduct." All in all, he says that the Kingdom of Vijayanagar was "the best-provided city in the world".
With this thought, our traveller left the City. But hardly forty three years had passed since his departure when the neighbouring States formed a League and launched an attack on Vijayanagar. Unfortunately, due to the over-confidence and foolishness of the King who was ruling Vijayanagar at that time, the entire Empire was crushed by its jealous enemies. All the palaces and temples were destroyed and in the end, only a heap of ruins remained. An English Historian wrote , "Never perhaps in the History of the world has such havoc been wrought...so suddenly on so splendid a city; teeming with a wealthy and industrious population one day, and on the next- seized...amid scenes of savage massacre."
Today, famous Cities like Bangalore, Mysore and Chennai have been built on the ruins of this Kingdom.
But sadly, not a single pillar stands 'complete and whole' on its soil to echo the past glories of the Kingdom of Vijayanagar...
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