Tourist safety concerns in India after Hampi incident

The primary function of a government is to protect its citizens, a duty in which it must not fail. This responsibility extends not only to citizens but also to foreigners visiting India as tourists, business travelers, or for other reasons. Ensuring their safety is not just the duty of the government or the police; civil society also plays a crucial role. If we fail to protect both citizens and visitors—allowing them to be robbed, assaulted, or even killed in well-known tourist areas—then society must engage in deep introspection. Where are we headed?  

In today's world, bad news spreads rapidly, and such incidents severely damage India's global reputation as a safe destination for tourism and business. Potential visitors may reconsider their plans, as no one wants to feel constantly afraid and cautious during their vacation. Unfortunately, this is not the first time such an incident has occurred, and it is unlikely to be the last.  

India aims to project an image of being the world's oldest civilization and a "Vishwaguru" (global teacher), but such crimes have no place in a truly civilized nation. Consider the recent shocking incident in Hampi. For those unfamiliar, Hampi was the capital of one of South India’s most successful empires—Vijayanagara—which ruled for over three centuries. It is also associated with Kishkinda, the legendary land of Bali, Hanuman, and Sugriva. Hanuman and Sugriva once fought against Ravana for the injustice he committed against Sita. And now, in the same place, horrific crimes are being committed against women.  

According to news reports, on the night of March 6th, around 11 PM, a homestay operator (a 29-year-old woman), an Israeli tourist (a 27-year-old woman), a man from the US, and two Indian men were sitting near the Tungabhadra canal close to Sanapur Lake. Reports state that the victims had met at the homestay itself. Initially, the attackers approached them asking for petrol money. The tourists gave them ₹20, but they demanded ₹100. When their request was denied, the situation escalated. Two of the accused allegedly gang-raped the homestay operator, while another allegedly assaulted the Israeli tourist. They also pushed the three male tourists into the canal—two managed to swim back, but the third drowned. The attackers stole the homestay operator’s bag, cash, and mobile phones. So far, the police have arrested two suspects, while a third remains at large. Shockingly, the arrested individuals are only 21 and 22 years old.  

Incidents like this will have a severe impact on India's international reputation. If women are not safe in a Kolkata medical college, on the streets of Delhi, or even in a famous tourist destination like Hampi, where can they feel secure? Women travelers, especially those planning to travel alone or in small groups, may hesitate before choosing India. Who would want their dream trip to turn into a nightmare?  

This issue cannot be blamed solely on the administration or the police. Society as a whole is responsible. The idea of 'Atithi Devo Bhava' (guest is God) should not just be a slogan used in advertisements—it must be ingrained in our mindset and actions. When someone visits our city or village, it is also our responsibility to ensure they have a safe and pleasant experience. Additionally, society must reflect on how individuals as young as 21 or 22 are committing such gruesome crimes. Addressing this issue requires collective effort, education, and a shift in societal attitudes.

Don't exploit tourists. Don't overcharge them, force them to buy something, or chase them to choose you as a guide. Don’t stare at them or make unwanted comments. Treat them with respect, and they will return and share positive experiences.

International tourists

Dubai welcomes around 16 million international visitors each year, and a similar number visited Singapore in 2024. According to reports, Turkey had 55.2 million visitors in 2023, Greece saw 32.7 million, and Egypt received 13 million. Where does India stand in terms of international tourists? Even within Asia, it lags behind Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

India has everything geography can offer—glaciers, deserts, rainforests, plains, oceans, islands, and rivers. It has a history spanning multiple millennia and monuments that are truly marvelous. Yet, we are far from realizing our true potential in attracting international tourists. Let’s not shoot ourselves in the foot.

Sajeev. 

References

1. 2 arreted for raping Israeli tourist, homestay operator in Karnataka - TOI

2. Hampi gangrape case: Missing male co-traveller found dead; two accused arrested - HT

3. Israeli tourist and homestay host gang-raped in India, police say - BBC

Though the land of Chola's - Chidambaram Nataraja Temple (Thillai Nataraja Temple)

After leaving Airavateshwara Temple, it was raining for a while. By the time we reached the Kollidam old river bridge, the rain had almost stopped. The atmosphere became calm again. We took a pit stop after crossing the barrage cum bridge to explore the area. Kollidam, a distributary of the Kaveri, forms a river island here. Chidambaram temple is just 45 km from this point. We resumed our journey and reached the temple city within an hour.

Kollidam River

Chidambaram Nataraja Temple (Thillai Nataraja Temple)

Spread over 40 acres, this temple is dedicated to Nataraja (lord of dance) form of Shiva. Shiva's consort Parvati as Shivakama/Shivagama Sundari is also here. It is believed that, this temple also has references in sangam literature; but in those days city name was not Chidambaram. Earliest mention of Chidambaram was probably in 7th and 8th century texts. The present temple was built in 10th century when Chidambaram was the capital of early Cholas. It is possible that, Cholas converted/rebuilt a earlier temple here with stone in 10th century. Even the present temple is more than a millennium old. This temple also has shrines for devi, Surya, Ganesha, Murugan, Vishnu etc. and represents Shaktism, Vaishnavism and other Hindu traditions. 

The word Chidambaram probably came from the combination chithu + ambaram. Chithu means manasu/mind, consciousness and ambaram means sky/atmosphere. 

Like other temples in the region - Srirangam, Madurai etc. -  Chidambaram was also raided by Delhi Sultanate. However, the structure was repaired and restored with the rise of Vijayanagar. City and temple also suffered during the fight between British and French colonial forces in India. 

By the way this temple also has a thousand pillared mandapa (Raja sabha). Interestingly the sanctum of the temple has a resemblance to Kerala temple styles. The Shiva sanctum here is very unusual as it don't have a linga; instead it has Chit Sabha with an image of Nataraja. After all Chidambaram represents Vayu tatva and formless representation of Shiva. Renowned for art and dance, temple wall also displays 108 karanas from Natya shastra of Bharata Muni. 

Chidambaram is one of the five temples where Shiva is in Nataraja form preformed Thandava dance. All five temples are in Tamil Nadu and they are,

1, Ratna Sabha

Located in Vada Aaranyeswarar Temple in Thiruvalangadu. It is believed that, Nataraja performed Kali Tandavam here.

2, Kanaka Sabha

This is located in Chidambaram temple and belief is that, Nataraja performed Ananda Tandavam here.

3, Rajata Sabha

This sabha is in the famous Meenakshi Amman Temple of Madurai. Here Shiva is worshipped as Sundareshvarara and Parvati as Meenakshi. Tandavam type is Sandhya Tandavam.

4, Tamra Sabha

Located in Chepparai Temple of Tirunelveli. Here the form of tandavam is Muni Tandava.

5, Chitra Sabha

This sabha/hall is located at temple Kutralanathar in Courtallam. Tandava form here is Tripura Tandava

If tandava is performed with joy, then it's called Ananda Tandava. If the mood is violent then dance is called Rudra Tandava. Some other types of tandava are - Tripura Tandava, Sandhya Tandava, Samhara Tandava, Kali Tandava, Uma Tandava, Shiva Tandava, Krishna Tandava and Gauri Tandava.

Chidambaram is also considered as one of the five Shiva temple which represents five primary elements. 

List of temples under that category are,

1, Ekambareshwar/Ekambaranathar temple, Kanchipuram 

This temple covers 25 acres represents the earth aspect. Here Shiva is represented in lingam known as Prithvi lingam. This temple also have thousand pillared hall built during Vijayanagar time. 

2, Jambukeshwarar temple, Thiruvanaikaval (near Tiruchirappalli)

Here the sanctum has an underground water stream. Belief is that Parvathi, in the form of Akilandeswari built shivalingam out of water. This temple represents the water aspect and the lingam is known as  Appu lingam.

3, Arunachaleshwara temple, Tiruvannamalai 

This temple represents fire aspect and the lingam is known as Agni lingam. This temple also have thousand pillared hall built during Vijayanagar time. 

4, Srikalahasti, Srikalahasti.

This temple is not in Tamil Nadu but in Andra Pradesh and represents Vayu aspect. 

5, Chidamabram

Represents the space.

Once you are in temple don't forget to see below halls,

Chitra Sabhai (the sanctum), 

Por Sabhai (hall preceding the sanctum), 

Nirutha Sabhai (the chariot shaped hall), 

Deva Sabhai (the hall where all the festival deities are housed) and

Raja Sabhai - the thousand pillared hall) 

Coming to Nataraja form, what Nataraja idol represents?

Demon under feet signifies that ignorance is under the feet.

Fire in hand- power of destruction- represents the destroyer of evil

Abhaya mudra represents savior of all life forms

The arc of fire called prabhavati signifies the cosmos and perpetual motion.

Drum in hand signifies the origin of life forms.

Lotus pedestal signifies Om believed to be the sound of universe.

Right, left and third eye signifies sun, moon and fire/knowledge respectively.

Right earring (makara kundalam) and left earring (sthri kundalam) signifies the union of man and woman (right is man, left is woman).

Crescent moon in hair means benevolence and beauty.

Flowing of river Ganges through hairrepresents eternity of life.

Dreading of hair and drape means the force of dance

This area of Tamil Nadu is different from other areas of the state. There are a lot of water bodies around. In fact, Pichavaram mangrove area is just 13km away from temple. This time mangroves were not in the plan, however next time it will definitely be. After roaming around the temple for some time, we finally came out and continued towards our next destination.

Sajeev

References

1, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancha_Bhuta_Sthalam

2, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nataraja_Temple,_Chidambaram

3, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancha_Sabhai

Though the land of Chola's - Thanjavur and Brihadeshwara temple

Thanjavur, called Tanjore during the Raj era, is a city located close to the distributaries of the Kaveri River. Once the capital of the Cholas, Thanjavur is famous for the majestic Chola temple—Brihadeshwara, Tanjavur art, and dolls. Located in the Kaveri delta—the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu—this city rose to prominence with the emergence of the medieval Cholas. Later, the city became the capital of the Chola empire and remained so until they moved the capital to Gangaikonda Cholapuram in 1025. After the decline of the Cholas, Thanjavur was conquered by the Pandyas and later by the Delhi Sultanate under Malik Kafur. The Delhi Sultanate ruled the city directly and later through the short-lived Madurai Sultanate. Sultanate rule vanished with the rise of Vijayanagar.

After the fall of Vijayanagar, sovereignty rested with the Tanjore Nayaks. Sovereignty went to the Madurai Nayaks when they defeated the Tanjavur Nayaks in war, and they ruled Thanjavur for some time. The Nayaks of Madurai, Tanjore, Gingee, and Kalahasthi were originally the provincial governors of the Vijayanagar empire. With the rise of the Maratha Confederacy, the city came under the Marathas. Under the infamous Doctrine of Lapse law, the Company swallowed the kingdom in 1855.

Thanjavur

We left Srirangam in the afternoon and reached Tanjavur in an hour.

Many Indian empires and kingdoms were mostly land-based. Often, this is evident from the way they conducted their affairs. Even now, we don’t understand the full power and potential of great oceans and shipping lanes while ruling from completely landlocked New Delhi. The Cholas were different. Under Rajendra I, the Chola empire reached its zenith and extended or had influence over the littoral states of the Bay of Bengal, the islands of Laccadives and Maldives, Nicobar, Sri Lanka, parts of modern-day Myanmar, the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, etc. The Cholas' trade links extended as far as Song China in the east and the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa in the west.

Since we reached the city in the afternoon, there wasn't much time left. Our first stop was Thanjavur Palace, Serfoji Sarasvati Mahal Library, and Art Gallery.

Thanjavur Palace

Well, let me start by saying that the palace is not from the Chola era. This was built by the Thanjavur Nayakas and later occupied by the Marathas when they captured the city. The palace consists of Sadar Mahal, the Queen's Courtyard, and the Durbar Hall. Gokul, Deepa, and Divya were very tired but still walked through the nooks and corners of the palace.

Sarasvati Mahal Library

Gokul and Deepa looking at the library

This building is located within the palace complex. You might be wondering why I mention a library as an important place to visit—well, there is a reason. Established by the Tanjavur Nayak kings in the 16th century, this library is one of the oldest working libraries in Asia. The library has more than 49,000 palm leaf manuscripts written in Tamil, Sanskrit, and other South Indian languages. The Marathas, who later captured the city, continued to support the library. Unfortunately, we reached here a little late and were able to see only the outside!

Note: When I say South India, I mean the part of India south of the Vindhya ranges, not just the six states.

If you are in Tanjavur and interested, you can spend around two hours exploring both the palace and library. From here, we went to TTDC Hotel, took some rest, and then went to Brihadeshwara Temple, which is just 1.5 km away by walk from TTDC's Hotel Tamil Nadu.

Brihadeshwara Temple (Thanjai Periya Kovil)

By the time we reached the temple, the sun was in its last leg. I was so sad that I had to wait until tomorrow to see the beautiful temple. However, there was a surprise waiting for us.

We went inside and joined the queue to reach the sanctum. This is a working temple and still has daily poojas in the morning and afternoon. Fortunately, the crowd was small, and we reached the sanctum very fast. After coming out, we went to the front. By then, the administration had turned on the lights, and the temple was flooded with illumination. At night, the reflection of the lights from the granite exterior and the carvings created a mesmerizing view. If you are planning to visit the temple, do visit both during the day and at night.

I found an ideal place to sit and enjoy the majestic view. Gokul and Deepa started walking through the stone pathways and explored the temple. Divya was trying to view the structure from different angles. I was so happy that I was there at night as well. The temple is indeed a poem set in stone.

Spread over an area close to 45 acres, this Shiva temple, with a height of 216 ft, was built using granite stones. The top of the tower/shikhara weighs 25 tons and rests on a single granite piece weighing around 80 tons. It must have been a struggle for workers to bring that piece all the way to the top. Remember, it wasn’t easy to make carvings in granite in those days.

The main temple and its gopurams are from the early 11th century. The temple witnessed the rise and fall of dynasties, wars, raids, repairs, and renovations over the next millennium. Interestingly, French colonial forces also contributed something to the temple. They added one defensive enclosure in 1777 with gun holes. The temple served as an arsenal!

The temple is dedicated to Shiva (the Cholas considered Shiva their family deity) and has a huge lingam—27m high.

There is a massive Nandi in front of the temple on a raised platform. This temple also has a lot of murals and inscriptions (from Rajaraja Chola I, Rajendra Chola I, Vikrama Chola, Kulottunga I, etc.) in Tamil and Grantha scripts.

After spending more time looking at different areas of the temple, we came outside and went back to the hotel.

The Next Morning

I am inside the temple

The next morning, I woke up early and walked towards the temple. The roads were wide and initially empty. The crowd was less, and we saw the temple once again, but this time in full sunlight. Outside the temple, a little away from the main gate, there was a person selling Tanjavur dolls. Divya went there and selected a pair.

Next to the TTDC hotel, there was a government-run shop called Poompuhar Handicrafts, which sells paintings, dolls, etc. We bought a couple of items from there and continued our trip to the next destination—Airavateshwara Temple.

Airavateshwara Temple

There was not much traffic on the road, and we reached this temple quickly. The sky was a bit darkened for a while. By the time we started walking towards the temple entrance, the rains had also started.

Built by King Rajaraja Chola II in the 12th century, this Shiva temple is located close to Kumbakonam. The temple got its name from Indra's white elephant, Airavat. The temple has a huge number of stone carvings—wherever you look, you might see something very interesting. The front mandapa (Rajagambhiran tirumandapam) is very unique as it looks like a chariot with wheels.

According to many sources, this temple was much larger than what it is now. It had seven courts and seven streets; however, only one court with the main temple survives today.

In the Great Living Chola Temples list of UNESCO, there is one more temple called Brihadisvara Temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram. We skipped that temple and headed towards our next destination—Chidambaram. If you have time, try to go to Gangaikonda Cholapuram and see the third temple as well.

There was a brief lull in the rain. During that time, we went to the parking area and started our return journey. The rain started gaining strength, and there was hardly anything visible outside. As the sound of heavy raindrops hitting the car body reached my ears, I went one millennium back and imagined the glory days of these areas.

Sajeev

Inside Airavateshwar temple

Divya - inside the temple

Gokul and Deepa - thinking once again about the Chola temple during dinner!!!

Firefly’s blue ghost makes history: first commercial lunar landing & the future of space navigation

While everyone was deeply concerned about Russia-Ukraine war, M23 rebels in Congo, Israel-Hamas fight, trade wars and many other things, a revolution was going on. Texas based aerospace company - Firefly - which launched Blue Ghost on Jan 25 using SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was able to successfully land (and thus become the first commercial company to do so) their the module on moon on March 2. Lander is stable and in vertical condition. Equipment is expected to work for one lunar day (14 earth days). Blue ghost is among a number of private companies funded by NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) as part of Artemis program. In last February, 'Intuitive Machines' landed their module in moon but unfortunately it fell on its side and became un-operational. 'Intuitive Machines' is going again with their Athena lunar module.

The entry of multiple private companies in to space will bring in competition and eventually reduce the overall cost. This will only meake the dream of humanity to start a colony first on moon and then on mars a step closer to reality. If not human colony, probably we may be able to bring in valuable minerals from space and build things here in earth in near future!!! May be moon and mars will end up as launch pads for human race's expansion further in to space. 

Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE)

There are multiple paylods carried by Blue Ghost. Out of that one seems to be very interesting - The Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE). This is a joint effort between NASA and Italian Space Agency to see the viability of using "existing GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) signals for positioning, navigation, and timing on the Moon. GNSS constellations support essential services like navigation, banking, power grid synchronization, cellular networks, and telecommunications. Near-Earth space missions use these signals in flight to determine critical operational information like location, velocity, and time. The LuGRE payload is one of the first demonstrations of GNSS signal reception and navigation on and around the lunar surface, an important milestone for how lunar missions will access navigation and positioning technology. If successful, LuGRE would demonstrate that spacecraft can use signals from existing GNSS satellites at lunar distances, reducing their reliance on ground-based stations on the Earth for lunar navigation".

Ok, long story short. What if future humans have a GPS/similar kinds of navigation system in moon or in mars. Imagine we are driving a shuttle through moon by looking at maps in our mobile!!! and this moble won't need to get signals directly from earth stations but intermediate and may be from moon itself!!! Also there is a 'Moonlight' initiative/LCNS (Moonlight Lunar Communications and Navigation Services) by ESA (European Space Agency); their goal is to create uninterrupted telecommunications satellite coverage between Earth and the Moon; as well as lunar satellite navigation.

There are many more provate companies engaged in lunar missions (see below). 

Blue Moon (Blue Origin)

SERIES-2 (Draper)

Peregrine (Astrobotic)

Starship HLS (SpaceX)

Hakuto-R Mission 1 (ispace)

IM-2 (Intuitive Machines)

In coming years, we will see more commercial launches and declining cost/launch. Moon and mars may no longer remain as final frontier for human race.

Sajeev

References

1, Blue Ghost by Firefly

2, Wired

3, NASA 

Through the land of Chola's - Srirangam Temple

Kaveri river forms multiple islands during its course from Talakaveri to Bay of Bengal- Nisargadhama, Srirangapatna, Shivanasamudra, Srirangam etc. This time our journey was to one such island called Srirangam. Located in Tiruchirappalli district of Tamil Nadu, this island was formed due to splitting of river to two channels - northern one is called Kollidam and southern one retained the original name - Kaveri. After the island, two channels joins at Kallanai. However, a dam there (originally built during the reign of Karikala of Chola dynasty around 150 CE) splits Kaveri to four distributaries - Kollidam Aru, Kaveri, Vennaru and Puthu Aru. 

Srirangam is considered as the most prominent place among divya desam as per Alvar Vaishnava tradition. Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple located in this island is considered as one of the largest working religious complex in the world. Spread over 63 hectares (155 acres) this temple complex has 81 shrines and 21 towers.

We travelled to Srirangam in the last days of 2022. I forgot a lot of incidents during the journey and this is written mostly from the notes and fading memory.  We, here means me, Divya, Gokul and his wife Deepa. We started our journey from Bangalore one hour later than expected. By sunrise we crossed Karnataka border at Zuzuvadi and entered Tamil nadu. Since it was early morning, there wasn't much vehicles on the road and we crossed Hosur, Shoolagiri, Krishnagiri, Kaveripatinam and Dharmapuri. By the time we reached Thoppur, all were very hungry. Especially me!!! So we took a quick break and had breakfast from a road side restaurant.

Then came Omalur, Salem and Namakkal.  After Thottiyam the road mostly goes parallel to Kaveri; post noon we crossed river bridge and reached Srirangam island and continued towards temple. We parked somewhere outside and walked towards the gates. As usual with temples, there were some people who sells tulsi, flowers etc. for devotees. Gokul bought one and we went inside, looking at the massive vimana/tower and walls. Like Rameshwaram, Madurai Meenakshi temple etc., here also there is a thousand pillar mandapa. This madapa was built during Vijayanagar er using granite. Unfortunately, mandapa was closed off for renovation when we reached there. 

Temple has seven concentric enclosures; each enclosure has walls and towers. Two outer enclosures are residential and market areas. Five inner ones have shrines for Vishnu, avatars of Vishnu, his consort Lakshmi and various saints of Vaishnavite tradition. Main shrine for Ranganatha is in the innermost enclosure. 

Other main mandapams are - Sesharaya mandapam (built during Nayaka rule), Garuda mandapam (built during Nayaka rule), Kili mandapam (built around 17th century) and Ranga vilasa mandapam for pilgrim families and groups to sit together and rest. 

Temple also has a thirteen storey rajagopuram, nine storey Vellai gopuram, eight storey gopuram built during Vijayanagara era, seven storied Ranga ranga gopuram and numerous other gopurams.

Srirangam temple also has more than 800 inscriptions starting from 9th century during the reign of Aditya Chola I. An interesting fact is, inscriptions are not just in Tamil but also in Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi and Odia. Some of the inscriptions also contain Grantha characters.  

There are some 81 shrines in this complex. Ranganatha, Ranganayaki (Lakshmi), Chakkaratalvar, Narasimha, Rama, Hayagriva, Vasudeva, Varadharaja, Srinivasa, Gopala Krishna, Dhanvantari etc. There are also shrines for Vishnava saints -  Ramanuja, Nammalvar, Desikar, Thondaradipodialwar, Thiruppaanalwar etc.

An inscription

I planned only a couple of hours to view the temple, that now seems to be a mistake. To view and appreciate the massive temple complex and to see the famous Grant Anaicut canal built during the reign of Karikala Chola and Upper Anaicut dam designed by Sir Arthur Cotton will take time. Should have spent one day here. We were also not able to enter inside the inner shrine - Ranganatha- as the sanctum was closed for some time. 

This temple also has a door, which opens only during the ten days of Vaikunta ekadashi. 

After spending some more time around temple premises; we came outside and continued our journey towards the former capital of Chola- Tanjavur. 

Three Ranga temple

Apart from Srirangam island, other famous islands - Srirangapatna, Shivanasamudra - of Kaveri also have Vishnu temples.

Srirangapatna 

Located in Mandya district of Karnataka has a Vishnu temple. Sine this temple at upstream, it's also called Adi Ranga.

Shivanasamudra 

Located in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka. This comes in the middle and hence called 'Madhya Ranga'. Since the deity here believed to represent the youth and hence called 'Mohana Ranga' and 'Jaganmohana Ranga' as well.

Srirangam

This comes at the end, and hence called Anthya Rangam (the last temple). Deity here is also known as Kasthuri Rangam.

Sajeev

Deepa and Gokul

Divya