HUBBALLI: Noted archaeologist from London John Fritz, who died last week at the age of 87, loved Hampi and spent most part of his life enjoying the marvellous monuments there. He was also impressed by the Hindu traditions and wanted his ashes to be immersed in the Tungabhadra river in Hampi after his death. John’s family members, including his granddaughter, visited Hampi recently and immersed his ashes in the Tungabhadra after performing the rituals associated with the ceremony.
The priests at Virupaksha temple said that John was a regular visitor to the temple and used to come up with new theories on the monuments in Hampi whenever he visited.
“John’s family members came to us and told about his last wish that his ashes should be immersed here. His last rites were conducted as per the Hindu tradition in London. The family also brought his “kundali” and we performed the rituals near Purandara Mantapa in Hampi,” a priest said.
Krishnadevaraya, the scion of Vijayanagara dynasty, who lives at Anegundi near Hampi, recalled his association with John and said, “John and his friends used to meet my father whenever they visited Hampi.”
John wanted to preserve Hampi’s beauty, says scion
“John Fritz used to pitch a tent near Kamal Mahal in the late 1980s and used to have lengthy discussions with my father about preserving the beauty of Hampi. His death is a big loss,” Krishnadevaraya added.
Krishnadevaraya said John visited him in 2019.
“We had a long discussion about preserving his works on Hampi under one roof. In fact, I shared this idea with the government and also demanded that John gives us copies of his works. Now, his works are at the British Library. We hope to bring the photocopies of his works once the project to bring all works on Hampi under one roof takes shape,” he added.