Anegundi is a quaint village located just five kilometers away from the rocky terrain of Hampi. It boasts awe-inspiring architectural ruins, many eloquent and historic, acknowledged as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Hampi
It is famed for its cultural ruins and boasts both architectural grandeur and unique natural beauty. Natural beauty here means dramatic boulder-strewn landscapes, not lush greenery typically found in scenic locations. In some areas, humans have carved masterpieces into stone; in others, nature sculpted forms that mesmerize. The blend of monuments and rivers creates an enchanting harmony that captivates every curious traveler’s soul. Climbing rock-piled hills rewards visitors with views that compel them to return time and again. A must-experience moment is watching sunrise and sunset from the hilltop near Virupaksha temple’s stony silhouette.
As a UNESCO-recognized marvel, Hampi attracts lakhs of tourists every year to its famed heritage wonders. However, across the Tungabhadra River lies Anegundi, a lesser-known village brimming with stories and serene vibes. While browsing Hampi’s map, the village name intrigued me and nudged my curiosity into full motion. Soon after, online information piqued my interest further, ultimately prompting me to visit this hidden cultural gem.
Anegundi
Though close to Hampi, Anegundi felt different—its air carried simplicity, equality, and traces of deep contentment. Moreover, the village’s cleanliness and surrounding greenery radiated peace, instantly slowing the rhythm of my travel mind. Interestingly, I wandered into a street-side stall, believing food and local chatter reveal a place’s true soul. The chaiwallah’s humble words and hospitality offered the kind of warmth that guidebooks simply cannot translate fully.
After a brief conversation with the chaiwallah, I began walking through Anegundi’s peaceful village streets. Surprisingly, each step stirred my curiosity deeper, urging me to explore more of this hidden treasure. To my amazement, I discovered a designated space for solid waste management—neatly planned and impressively maintained. In addition, I came across craft workshops, a medical store, a library, and primary school grounds.
Furthermore, the village hosted an open stage and basic civic spaces that reflected thoughtful urban-style planning. Yet, Anegundi preserved its own aesthetic, embracing both cultural charm and strong principles of cleanliness and order. More importantly, residents stayed genuinely engaged and closely connected—offering rare, heartening glimpses of true community spirit. This sense of social fabric, now scarce in cities, felt refreshing and profoundly inspiring during my visit.
Life in Anegundi
Anegundi reflects tourism, local arts, entrepreneurship, women’s empowerment, and community growth within a sustainable, inclusive model. Moreover, humanity and togetherness thrive here, woven deeply into the village’s daily rhythm and cultural expressions. To achieve such visible transformation, an on-ground organization must collaborate sincerely and live among the villagers themselves. Importantly, real change requires direct involvement—not armchair guidance through endless conferences, meetings, or popular online webinars.
Instead, effective transformation demands practical engagement over purely conceptual planning and detached theoretical approaches to development. Fortunately, Anegundi hosts such a group—the Kishkinda Trust —committed to impactful, grassroot-level community empowerment. They work shoulder-to-shoulder with residents, ensuring solutions stay relevant, realistic, and grounded in village life. Their dedicated presence and approach inspire a model of sustainable development that feels authentic, heartfelt, and replicable.
Kishkinda Trust
Founded by Mrs. Shama Pawar, and have been working in this village since 1996. It was an awe-inspiring moment. A stroll through the village and conversation with Shama Pawar is the best motivation a person can ever find.
A place with open defecation, inequalities (women were not allowed to walk on the streets) to a place with a proper waste management system and empowerments entails a strong, dedicated, persistent, and passionate hand as this transformation is a process. Almost every woman in the village has a job, some work at the craft workshop while some work from home itself.
The people here are taught about different arts and crafts by students from different colleges and other youth, they volunteer with Kishkinda Trust and teaches the community people about different crafts, the community produces those things in the required quantity for sale and makes an earning.
Tourism Concept
Tourism is an activity that happened to this place. It is true, we don’t have to design and develop a place for tourism we just have to develop a place to conserve the culture, heritage, livelihood, and environment. If a place is planned and developed with tourism in focus, mass tourism happens and results in unsustainable activities.
As tourists are people who travel to experience different atmosphere, maintaining the authenticity of a place aesthetically attracts the right tourist. The old buildings and houses were transformed to homestay without altering the structure, this gave the guests a feeling of living in the village as part of that community, and the earning from guests went to the community people itself. Every activity in the village was done by the villagers itself rather than outsourcing.
Arts and crafts of Anegundi
It is yet another awe-inspiring activity, the locally available materials are considered as resources, one example is banana fiber craft, currently, they have 3 banana fiber production unit and supports the livelihood of around 200 women. These activities support the villagers to earn an independent income while creating an atmosphere to foster togetherness by working together, sharing experiences and learning from each other.
Anegundi Marketing
The marketing of Anegundi is by ‘word-of-mouth’ and hence they have the right tourist. The right tourists and sustainable settings are the perfect blendings for any sustainable tourism model. Although we have destinations planning for sustainable activities many of them faced adverse effects, for such destinations Anegundi’s sustainable etiquette can be a model to learn from. Also, every other place can learn from this small village which is efficiently running rural tourism in the utmost sustainable and responsible manner.
PS: This is written from my own experience and hence used no references. If interested to know further, please take a virtual-visit to Kishkinda Trust or the Confederation of Tourism Students, India (CTS2), we did an interview with Mrs. Shama Pawar and it was published in our online platform.
1 http://tktkishkinda.org/
2 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/thectsindia_interviews-that-inspire-a-conversation-with-activity-6677926101408354305-2U7D
Author:
E JOSHU AJOON
ejoshuajoon@gmail.com
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