Mysore

After a week in Banglore, my dad, his aunty and I went to Mysore for a weekend.

I met some truly great people in Mysore. A rather old man - he must have been atleast 70 served as our tour guide. He was extremely learned, and took us to a land he had bought by the Kaveri river - a fair distance away from the city. In that piece of land, he was getting a small house built.

The house consisted of a single room - a study, a bathroom with an olden day style heater (you needed to feed it firewood) and a kitchen with a stove that also used firewood. There was a small toilet and an extra room for visitors. The surrounds were gorgeous! There was a river out the back with peacocks, and other exotic birds. There was all sorts of wildlife around. He had plans to build a small landing by the river, where people could bathe. Talk about living the life!

I asked him if snakes were likely to inhabit the environs. To this he said, "Of course - we are invading their space so it wouldn't be right for us to complain about that." Somehow, that stuck to me!

We visited Sri Rangapatnam on the way. Sri Rangapatnam is home to two major things. An ancient temple that is supposed to be very much like the one at Sri Rangam, and remains a fort built during the reigns of Tippu Sultan.

We got to Mysore in time for lunch and after a short break, I went to Chamundi Hills with my new found friends. On the way back from Chamundi Hills, we made a short visit to the Lalitha Mahal. The Lalitha Mahal was apparently the King's summer house - which was later occupied by the Princess. When the Monarch fell from power, this building was handed over to the government and is currently a 5 Star hotel.

The next day, my dad, a few friends and I went to the Mysore Palace. Mysore Palace was simply magnificent! I would like to add that I went on an elephant ride - so YAAYYYY!!! It was rocky...

Outside the palace, there were lots of shops. One of the shopkeepers asked me where I was from. Before I continue, I dont know how they can tell that I am from elsewhere! I look Indian, I was dressed Indian, and I wasn't even trying to look like a tourist! Yet, people seem to be able to tell! If anyone can enlighten me on this, then please do! Anyways, when asked where I was from, me being the Harichandran that I am, I blurted out , "Sydney". This was recived by a "Ohhh" and the Pen which the seller was trying to sell to me for Rs 15, shot up to Rs 30!

I seriously wanted to try the sundal, vellerikai, and other such food being sold on the street. My dad wouldn't allow it, telling me that I would catch some deadly disease and so I had to be content with "Ellaneer" (tender coconut water). We got ripped of for it and my aunty said that it was probably because news had travelled that I was from Sydney:P

The next day, we visited Mellkottai. The elderly person I mentioned earlier lived there. We visited his house, tasted various herbs that grew in his backyard and we pestered him to tell us stories about the place. He explained to us the significance of the temples at Mellkottai and why the idols were depicted the way they were.

Mellkottai is home to Lord Chellapillai. Chellapillai literally translates to "darling son". I had heard the story of Chellapillai when I was much younger and had always wanted to visit this particular temple. We also climbed some 300 steps to another temple on top of a hill. Apparently this is the place where "Prahaladha" meditated on Lord Vishnu. The temple was ancient - and I was totally amazed by the architecture. It was sooo cold and windy inside the temple while it was relatively warm outside! The idols in this temple were apparently not chipped by hand but are beleived to have formed on thier own - they were "salingramams"... (A type of naturally occurring polished stones)

After visiting the temples, I even got to see a temple procession - with a band and all. It was all literally like stepping back in time. All the pujaris spoke a wierd kind of tamil and I felt like I was spoiling the temple sanctity by wearing something that was sleeveless. I was probably the only woman there who wasn't dressed in a saree!

India truly suprises me. You have all sorts! Mellkottai was a step back in time. The houses were old fashioned with a "thinnai". There were little shelters all around the town that had apparently been built hundreds of years ago for travellers from far away lands who would come to visit the temple. It was all beautiful!

I enjoyed picking henna leaves from the backyard, pulling water out of a well, eating off a leaf and walking down to the "kolam" and seeing women in 9-yard sarees and the Iyengar marks on their forehead! My ancestors probably looked like that...

The other thing I saw there was a "modern" restaurant - with a picture of Lord Ganesha with a full stomach! I found it quite amusing...ONLY IN INDIA!