Majestic Mysore

This was back in 2007… The 1st of November began with lots of excitement. Veena [my cousin], amma and I packed sandwiches for breakfast and all of us hopped into the hired Innova that was waiting for us. Gaadi acha tha... Bahut isspace tha... (the car was a good 'ne... loads of space inside...) Everybody was comfy with lots of space at their disposal. 

Look over Daddy's shoulder and meet our chauffeur, Raju. Mighty good one he was... he had the optimum speed, great control over the vehicle, good sense of time and a thorough knowledge of the route and place. A true Kannadiga. Nope! No other languages tune into that channel. So conversations with him were the dumb charades way... 

All Set!

Veena and I opted for the seats behind. Was a sister’s world out there! The true reason why we huddled back up there? There was ample space to sleep off lying down full length if we opted to...

The road to Mysore was really good! Very soon, Bangalore was way past us... we deviated from the main road and reached our first destination - Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary. We stopped by for a cuppa coffee. My camera only captured Jose and Daddy at the dhaba!

At the Dhaba

Jassuzzi over the coffee cups poured in knowledge that the place not just houses a bird sanctuary but also offered the pleasure of a boat ride. My time-conscious hubby checked out what we needed to prioritize on. All votes were, of course, for BOTH! Smart ain’t we? In an attempt to gather more data, Jose consulted the dhaba guy and checked with him to get a general idea on the rates, what kind of boating they offered, etc...

To quote the dhaba guy, "Boating there Saar [he pointed to infinity]. Two pipty (fifty) rupees one boat! Saar, no speed boat Saar. No pedal boat aalso (also). Vonly (only) rowing..." Jose checked again "We have to ROW???”. For the readers benefit, rowing is not in any way enterprising to Jose.

"No Saar, you sit, they row. So vonly (only) they taking two pipty (fifty) rupees na Saar?? They row and show birds aalso (also) ...” So that was it! No prioritization was required, afterall. The boating and bird sanctuary went hand in hand. We walked the path that led to the lake...

A few steps away and there we were! It was amazing how nature unfolds and this time it was musical - the chirping birds, the soft gurgling of the waters and the light breeze. It was beautiful. It had been ages since I had gotten onto a row-boat. As always, I enjoyed it. Take a look at some of the feathered friends we met over there.

Meet the White Iris

In Groups

On the Rocks

Honeymooning by the Lake

It was quite a sight to see rows of trees with these huge fruits weighing down on them. I am not joking when I say that none of them were fruits... those were BATS! But, bats don't fly during the day...they can't see, or can they? Was I wrong? Nay... the knowledge was right. But they can't be short of reflexes, can they?

Batting Around

It was the monkey friends jumping the trees that disturbed the poor bats in their slumber. The disturbance caused the sight you see in the image to your left. Ariyatha pilla choriyumbol padikkum. Angane irikumbol korangachate balance thetti, avanmaar 'manna' pozhiyanna pole pozhiyum - thaazhe kidakkunna muthala chengaayikhu bhakshichu thripthi adangaan. (But dude! What goes around comes around... One day the monkey would have lost balance and it would fall into the lake like 'manna' for crocodiles!!!)

Hungry Kya?

The epitome of laziness these crocs, I tell you. Vishannu chathaalum panni edukkoolla. (Even hunger is too less a motivator for them to get to work.) They ate only when something literally fell out of nowhere for them! Lucky I would say. That said, dont you dare test their speed. If you ended up in the waters - GOD save you!


Ranganthittu stood out with pride in the month of January, we heard. That's the month when it cradled around 25 species of birds. Man! That must be a musical fest there then. That info was courtesy the gentleman who rowed our boat. Dad and he buddied up into a conversation on row boats and how different boating was in Kerala.

After boating we were loitering around like, err... sorry, with monkeys all around, clicking snaps...

Under One Roof

After the wonderful experience at Ranganthittu, we were all excited with images of the Mysore Palace that played games in our minds. Yes, the next stop was supposed to be the Palace, at least that was what we thought. If not for the divine intervention that Jose had... Like a bolt from the blue he interrogated "Senior deiva vishwasikall enna nilakhu nammukku palliyil pokande... oru deiva vicharom ille kunjaadukalle? " ("All thee who art high in faith, arn't thou ought to visit the church... where lies thou faith?" )

And so that was how we set foot at the premises of the famous St.Philomina's Church. Great architecture and beautiful inside. Within the church, photos were a strict no. So here are the ones we clicked outside:

St. Philomina's Church

Veena on a Mission: To Ward Off the Evil Eye

Lemme share a joke associated with this one [the one on your right]. After we got the prints, I noticed Jose to have checked out  that snap quite a few times. After a while, he exclaimed, "Nalla photo" (good photo). I smiled and nodded in agreement. In all honesty, I liked us in that picture too. After a few moments of silence, came his after-thought, "Nalla door alle? Vallare bhangiyaayi cheythittu undu" ("Isn't that a beautiful door? Its done so well"). I was stumped for words - would you all blame me?

Daddy was missing for quite a while. He emerged with gyaan (knowledge) he had assimilated from the "About the church" write-up. He mentioned that St.Philominas was a Christian martyr. After her death, the King of Mysore built that church in her name...

Like I said before, the interiors were great! There was an underground chapel and a passage. The passage was stone-walled with names of contributors engraved in them. Maanyamahajanangalle - Malayalikal avudeyum undu. (All ye bretheren - mallus have their signatures there too.)

Aduthathaayi bhojanam thanne - ente bhartaavinte bhaashayil paranjal, "Ini kazhichittu mathi enthum... paramparyam aayittu nammal okke vishappulla kudumbathil alle janichathu?" (Next we decided to go for lunch - to quote my husband, "Before we go forward, we have to fuel ourselves... after all arn't we traditonally from families that get hungry?"). 


Raju, efficient that he was, drove us down to a hotel named Dwaraka. Not only was it a decent eat-out, our backdrop was the Mysore Palace itself. Time-conservation! Raju ban gaya na gentleman?!? (Ain't Raju smart?!?) The food was amazing. I remember the boneless chicken biriyani we had amongst other delicacies. There was something that I have often noted: there's no better taste-maker than a hungry stomach.


Now that the growling tummy had been tamed, it was time to feel royal - our next stop, the Mysore Palace!


We were just about to enter the palace, all set to feel awe... and suddenly Veena clinged on to me in excitement and screamed out, "Chechi, pulleeeee!" (Oh my gawd sis, tamarinds!). There was this guy in front of the palace gates selling packets of tamarind. A great solution that your thirst at bay in that kind of weather and a treat to the eyes of a hard-core citrus lover, I agree. But bligh me! Honestly, it did amaze me that tamarinds could win over that massive monument for some pair of eyes.


We entered the gates with the wow feeling... and there came the bad news - No cameras were allowed inside the palace. So here's how we made the best of what we could do...

At the Mysore Palace

There were Ferocious Lions

And Copy Cats Too

Oh yes! There was a joke behind the image that follows. We had split up to take snaps at this location. Veena captured the one in which daddy, amma, Jose and I fitted into the frame. Jose and I paired up next. The plan was to focus on daddy, mummy and Veena, next. However, Veena was not anywhere in the line of view of the camera. Daddy called out over my shoulder, "Molle Veene va...” ("C'mon Veena dear"). She daintily refused and mentioned she preferred a solo. There was a school crowd out there at the same time that we were. Daddy looked around and assured Veena that he understood her plight. All of us were getting pictures clicked as a pair. Avalkkum undaavile agrahangal? (Wouldn't she have desires too?) He offered to ask one of the guys from the school crowd to check if he would pair-up with Veena temporarily. Mathiyallo, oraal neutralil ninnu 5th gearil kolluthi pidichu, mummy-yudeyum daddy-yudeyum aduthu ethiyille! (Veena was up on her heels running to cuddle up with mummy and daddy) "Venda Babuchaya...” ("That wouldn't be necessary Babu uncle"), she laughed out loud.

Veena, Daddy and Mummy

I really regret the fact that they didn't allow cameras inside. It was all AWE!!!! The palace was a blend of Hindustani, Islamic and European designs. The paintings, the halls, the pillars, the mirrors, the stairs, the carvings, and the woodwork... no words to describe 'em all... If not for the lack of time, we would have hired a guide. There were huge mirrors practically everywhere in that palace. That was a good thing. It was a constant reminder, that, simply by walking in there wouldn't transform me into a princess.


Once we got out, we realised that there was another smaller palace next to it. I would call it a huge home. I mean the flooring, the walls, the roofs etc gave one a more homely touch. Jose joked that probably the king used to "adangi odungi" ("humbly") live in this palace, before he visited other kings and found out that palaces needed to be HUGE and ended up building the other one... If that thought may be hypothetically true... probably that was what Al Pacino [as John Milton] meant when he said, "Vanity, definitely my favorite sin", in The Devil's Advocate.


Did you know? The Mysore Palace did not belong to Tipu Sultan. It belonged to King Wodeyar.


But you know what guys? Everything was good. The palace was huge… the sculptures were perfect… The garden was amazing. However, something I noticed there was that... Kullam onnum illadei (There wasn't any bathing pool around there) Wonder how they bathed then? Pande kulli onnum illayirunnu ennu thonnunnu... (They didn’t fancy a bath, I guess...)


That was Mysore Palace for you. What was next? Arre yaar, palace-sse oochcha soch! (Think higher buddy!)


Next it was time for a drive up to the Chamundi hills. Well, you always have the option of climbing up a thousand steps. Since we lacked that kind of enthusiasm, Raju drove us up... It was beautiful up there. We would have stayed there a little longer if it were not for the straining heat. Check out the pictures...

Coffee at a Dhaba

Saakshaal Chamundi Adhehathodoppam (With Chamundi himself)

Oh by the way, the coffee at the dhabha there was pathetic. I must also say that it was a monkey's world out there. Swantham tharavaattil keri edukkunnapole alle bondayum samosayum dhabayil ninnu eduthondu pokunne? (They came and served themselves with bondas and samosas from the dhabha - it was literally like they owned the place).

Athyunndangallil ninnu thazhekhu irangi (Descended down from the heavens), we were on our way to KRS, also known as the Mysore Brindavan gardens! We had to skip the Mysore zoo due to time constraints. We made it a point though to throw a glance at the gates of the zoo...Zoo 'kandu' ennu parayamallo!!!! (We can always say that we ‘saw’ the zoo). I found it quite a miss as I had heard rave reviews about the Mysore zoo. By the way, we also had a glance of the Mysore race course.


We were on our way to the Brindavan, leaving behind beautiful fields and trees. In the horizon, playing live, was the beautiful and mystical sunset. Life was so beautiful, or was it? When the main conversation in the vehicle was about Congress and Communist; Maani, Umman Chandy and Achuthanandan - nyan ippo enthaa parayuka? (Need me say anything more?) Hats off to Daddy and Jose for having created such a contrasting atmosphere.


It was bang 6 p.m when we reached KRS. It was dusk which soon translated into dark. For the same reason, we couldn’t make out much of anything. All of us were too disappointed that there were no lights. How could there not be lights! A few moments later and it was pitch dark. And then lo behold, as if God commanded, "Let there be lights!" Instinctively, there was applause from the crowd welcoming them.


Personal advise: If you plan on visiting the KRS, make sure to reach there by 5:00 p.m. That way you get to enjoy the natural beauty of the gardens as well as the lighted version.


So, here's a glimpse of what we saw...

showers from the fountains

Under a Natural Umbrella

Around the Fountains

Back home with Moments of Happiness, Fun and Tons of Fond Memories

That was Nov 1st, 2007: Our day at Mysore!