After reading this, the first image that flashed in my mind was the main bazaar in the capital city of the Vijayanagara Empire during Krishnadevaraya’s reign.
I want to witness the glory of the Vijayanagara Empire at its peak.
Why the “bazaar”, you ask?
It is said that in the streets of this empire, there were diamonds and precious stones of all kinds being traded. The empire was immensely prosperous and rich at that time.
But its grandeur was not limited to wealth.
I would love to see the magnificent temples, towering gateways, grand palaces, beautiful gardens and the bustling streets of Vijayanagara when the city was still alive and thriving.
Imagine walking through those streets and seeing merchants, soldiers, craftsmen, scholars, musicians and pilgrims moving around. Imagine hearing the sounds of the marketplace, watching artisans at work and seeing people from different parts of the world arriving in one of the greatest cities of their time.
The empire was not rich only in wealth; it was also rich in architecture, culture and literature.

Under Krishnadevaraya, art and literature flourished, and the temples were not merely places of worship. They were also centres of culture, music, dance, learning and social life.
Foreign travellers who visited Vijayanagara also wrote about the immense size, prosperity and grandeur of the capital. Reading their accounts makes me wonder what it would have been like to actually stand there and witness it with my own eyes.
I wouldn’t just want to visit a monument from that era.
I would want to see Vijayanagara alive, its markets bustling, its temples filled with people, its streets filled with activity and its civilisation flourishing at the height of its power.
That would truly be a journey through time I would never forget.

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