Once upon a time, more than a millennia ago,there was a kingdom positioned at the rugged feet of red sandstone hills.The capital of the kingdom, Vatapi, was carved out of stone and sprawled around the ravine of the Agastya Lake. The Chalukyas ruled there for more than two centuries, from the 6th to the 8th. As everything is ephemeral, their transient rule passed. What has remained is a memory of the splendid history, eternalised in stones.