A Poem To My Friend Whom I Lost In The Pillars Of Hampi

I lost her to both me and time

Source: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/737183032771224574/

a poem

Drinking the same waters of Tungabhadra,

Flowing East through the same ruins of rocks,

There lives a girl just like me,

The only distance between our giggles is time,

Some four hundred years of a wound still raw.

I could still hear her anklets,

Tingling in the ears with mine,

And I could still feel the touch she left,

On the walls where she still whispers herself,

I could still feel the building of our dignity,

As we step each stair closer to the same divinity,

And I could still see our shadows holding hands,

And smiling in the hopeless hope of marrying in this grandeur,

I could still feel her in the calm waves of this River,

When once she dangled her feet with the same Kohl in her eyes,

But when we ran with flowers in our hair,

And garland in our hands to the same chambers of Gods,

Only her garlands did the Gods accept,

For when I arrived after all this wound,

In dusts remained only the lingering whispers of their presence.

But when we danced in the halls with the same adorned pillars,

Where the floor graced us just like a kid in God’s palm,

Only Her’s rhythmed in a buzzling crowd of humanity,

For each time I stomped my feet and flew my hand in the exact rhythm,

Only the sounds of an ancient silence applauded in my ears.

Drinking the same waters of Tungabhadra,

Flowing East through the same ruins of rocks,

There lives a girl just like me,

The only distance between our giggles is time,

Some four hundred years of a wound still raw,

Who would let the Gods know of this ache now?

For this was the only distance I couldn’t bare with her

~Chaitali

Hello! This is Chaitali Ingle

I recently went on a life-altering trip to Hampi. The impact of Hampi on me flows through my veins in red and breathes through my lungs as air.

As I roamed through the temples, palaces, and markets of this once bustling city, I could not help but think of all the people who lived here.

All the people who lived a normal life just like us. They had the same twenty-four hours a day and the same responsibilities of house and kids on themselves.

I could not stop thinking of the lives of all these people who walked through this magnificence, this soil which was burnt by the invaders in wars later.

Maybe there once was a girl just like me, dangling in awe through the pillars of these same temples.

Maybe she saw the same mountains and rocks, and played in the same soil I walked barefoot on.

She lived a life there, and I find her life there.

This poem is to her, and everyone in the city we lost to time.

Thank you!

PS: Shout-out to Sapphire... for recommending the theme of ‘Ancient, Whispering, Dance and Shadow’ in this poem. Thank you!

We are finally on social media.. Come say hi…

Subscribe and follow our official social handles on **Instagram | X | Facebook**.

Feel free to mention / tag us on these social platforms whenever you want to promote or collaborate on your content. We love watching you grow with this community.

This story published on “**Pen With Paper” — a fresh space where writers bring their thoughts, stories, and ideas to life. Want to share your voice? Join our community, and together, “We Elevate Your Stories”**

[embed]Pen With Paper Submission Guidelines 2026 : A Brand New Way to Be Added as a Writer New submission guidelines, approval steps, writing rules, and how to get publishedmedium.com