In reply to UKC Articles:
Thanks for writing this piece Jake, I was in Hampi until the evening of the 4th March and slept my last two nights at Cosmic Cave, listening to the noises of the people of Gaddi working to salvage the materials of their places before the bulldozing resumed. I flew back to the UK on the 5th, heartbroken by what I witnessed. I am so grateful to you for writing this... somehow a little cathartic to read.
Everything you wrote rings true from my years of following the tribulations of the people of Virapaur Gaddi.
Going to say it though... Although I know that it is true that the guesthouse owners that you interviewed never sold or condoned the selling of drugs, there is no doubt that drugs was a defining issue both in the supreme court in Delhi and , especially, in Bangalore. One of only two guesthouse owners to be present at all the hearings over the years told me that drugs was the government's ''go to'' argument whenever their case looked weak. The very term ''Hippy Island'', which itself only appeared in the last couple of years, was something the government lawyers would use subtly but regularly to undermine the owners' lawyers.
I love Thimma's optimism for the future of climbing in Hampi. Worst case is that we will need to travel in from Gangavathi or Hooligi rather than Hospet; live in villages further away than Sanapur and Hanumanali; climb off the island... Ek number, Junglee, Paraport etc. Whenever, that is, Covid lets us return.
That all said, the real issue is the injustice visited by the government of Karnataka on the people of Virapapur Gaddi and nearby villages. Thank you so much for the quality and comprehensiveness of your piece.
