Majestic Mysore

Mysore is less than 150 kilometers (under 90 miles) from Banglore, but with the difficult traffic in both cities (especially Bangalore) getting there and getting around can be tough. Although Mysore is a natural weekend getaway, we decided to get a car and driver and go for just one day. It was fun, even if we did have to spend over 3 hours in the car in each direction!








Our first stop was Srirangapatnam, an island in the Kaveri River a few miles east of Mysore, where there is a lovely old mosque (Jumma Masjid) and a famous Hindu temple. (Sultan Tipu’s Summer Palace is there too but, since we had visited it on a previous trip, we skipped that.)






Ranganathaswamy temple is dedicated to Sri Ranganathaswamy, a form of Lord Vishnu. This temple makes Srirangapatnam one of the most important Vaishnavite centers of pilgrimage in south India. It was built in the 9th century and improved some three centuries later. It includes several styles of temple architecture. There were lots of visitors when we were there, and the usual assortment of touts, sellers, beggars, and guides. (The guides often describe themselves as “not guides but students,” although by the look of most of them, they have been studying for many years.)












Every bit as exciting for me was finding the town’s Saturday market, where I not only took photos, but was able to buy all of my week’s fresh organic veggies for just a few ruppees.

Once in Mysore, we stopped for a quick look at Saint Philomena’s Catholic Church, and were impressed with its size and majesty. It was constructed in 1956 using a Neo Gothic style, its architecture inspired by the Cologne Cathedral in Germany.



After driving up to the Chamundi Hills, we visited the Chamundi Temple and the large black bull statue called the Nandi. (Nandi was the vehicle ridden by Lord Shiva in Hindu mythology.)


























But the real reason most tourists visit Mysore is to tour the famous Palace of Mysore. It was the official residence of the former royal family of Mysore, and housed the durbar (ceremonial meeting hall of the royal court).

The palace was commissioned in 1897, and its construction was completed in 1912. It is a three-storied stone structure, with marble domes and a 14-foot, five-storied tower. The palace is surrounded by a large garden. Cameras are not allowed inside but visitors can photograph the grounds. There were several elephants available to take tourists on rides, but this lone ranger looked like going to work was the last thing on his weekend agenda.
Here are a couple of other images taken in and around Mysore.

BDA (sounds like bidet) Complex and More Upscale Shopping Options

Soon after I arrived in Bangalore, I discovered an alternative to the trendy shopping malls that I shun in the U.S. The BDA (Bangalore Development Authority which “oversees the development of infrastructure, provision of development-related sites and services and the housing needs of underprivileged citizens”) has small shopping areas all over Bangalore. The one I go to is in Koramangala, near where we live. Our favorite driver calls the BDA Complex "Madam's Favorite Place!"
This is old-fashioned personalized shopping. If you need an envelope of a certain size, a young apprentice in the stationary store searches the back room, then brings several types to the counter for you to choose from. To have photo prints made, you go into a hot little hovel filled with computers and a technician goes over each image until you are completely satisfied. And the prices are incredibly cheap by our standards.






Both John and I got prescription glasses made overnight (at Shruti Optical,) his readers for $15 and my bifocals for $40. I priced a USB hub at a trendy place called EZone (picture young salesmen standing around watching Indian version MTV on really big screen TVs) at $40, and got it for less than $5 at a funky electronics store at BDA.
Every week, for under $2, I have a floral bouquet put together, wrapped in cellophane with a red bow attached, and bring it home to adorn, and perfume, our apartment. John got a haircut at BDA for $1.50 and, although with two computers we haven’t needed their services, a retinue of typists at typewriters is always available.

I find the aptly named Commercial Street, which most Bangaloreans love, to be far too chaotic, so my other Bangalore shopping passions are a bit more upscale. I love shops that sell slightly ethnic but somewhat westernized clothes. These are made of light Indian cottons (perfect for the climate here) in Indian tie-dye, block prints, and other traditional textile techniques. While expensive by Indian standards, I find the $12 to $15 a piece to be completely reasonable for the excellent quality.

Fab India is one such store (which can also be accessed on line at http://www.fabindia.com/) that not only sells clothes but items for the household as well. I was pleased to read that their mission is “to support the craft traditions of India by providing a market and thereby encourage and sustain rural employment.” They have retail outlets in all major cities of India, 86 at last count, in addition to some international stores.



Anokhi (http://www.anokhi.com/) seems to have shops in 13 Indian cities. Their designs and use of fabric are excellent. From their site: “the company is well known as an alternative role model for good business practices, and the ongoing revival of traditional textile skills.” They maintain a museum on hand printing in Jaipur, Rajasthan that looks great on their web site:
(http://www.anokhi.com/anokhi/anokhi-museum.html)
Anokhi is located in Bangalore in the Leela Palace Gallery where another one of my discoveries is housed. Hidesign (http://www.hidesignleathers.com/) has beautiful handbags for a small percentage of the price you would have to pay for the same quality bag in the U.S. I read recently in a NY Times article on Pondicherry, where the bags are manufactured, that the company is partially owned by LVMH, the parent company of Louis Vuitton.
Although this isn’t a plug for a particular establishment, if you are coming to India, I advise buying your books here rather than bringing them from home. Many current best sellers, some of which are only available in the U.S. in expensive hardback editions, are sold much cheaper as publications that can only be marketed in India. Since it is an English speaking country with an excellent educational and literary tradition and an emerging middle class, the range of literature sold in the many bookshops is astounding.
Finally, while not exactly a product, I advise going to the movies, especially if you are in Bangalore. The multiplex theaters are the nicest I have ever seen, and the system the most organized. You can buy tickets on line (in fact it is nearly a requirement if you are trying to attend a film on a weekend,) and specific seats are assigned. This comes at a cost however, nearly $10 for prime time weekend viewing. There are only a few English films, but you can always try one of these options: Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telegu, or Malayalam.

That’s the extent of my Bangalore shopping tips except to say that you can get Indian cricketer shirts at KidsKemp on MG Road in all sizes, and can even get them personalized. I got John one for his birthday. Speaking of John’s birthday, we had a small party for him at a wonderful neighborhood Punjabi restaurant called Umerkot. Everything was terrific, even if they did spell John wrong on his cake!

Hindu Rituals at Baby Birthday Party

Last weekend we were invited to a birthday party for a one-year-old baby at our residence hotel. It was a lot of fun and really interesting. I’m not sure the birthday girl knew what was going on but she definitely knew she was the center of attention. She grinned from ear to ear whenever she saw one of the many still or video cameras.







The guests were mostly young families of India American software engineers who have recently been relocated from places like Sunnyvale, San Jose, and Sacramento by companies like Intel, Cisco, and IBM. Before that they had acquired advanced degrees at such universities as Michigan, Cal Berkeley, and Louisiana State. Many had done their undergraduate work at prestigious Indian universities like IIT, reputed to be even more selective than Harvard.
The conversation was about cashing out of houses in California with the tough real estate market there, waiting for sea freight to arrive in India, and struggling to get houses and apartments up graded and furnished while they reside in temporary housing here at the Halcyon. The big shock is that an equivalent house to what they sold would cost more than the California selling price (sometimes over a million U.S. dollars) in Whitefield’s luxury sub divisions like Palm Meadows or Ozone. (See my blog post, “Bangalore Lifestyles” from May 29, 2008 for photos of Ozone: http://maryaltier.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html)



Much of the party was familiar, with face painting, games for children of all ages (and even one for the adults,) decorations, party favors and a piñata! These are all things you would be likely to see at many kids’ party in California. The young woman hennaing hands offered we women a special treat. I got one of my hands painted beautifully, and it remains vivid today.

















The most interesting thing was a ritual that the baby’s grandmother and some of the other women performed. As one of the women sang a traditional song, the baby’s grandmother, who was holding a flame, moved the smoke toward the child, being held by her mother. Then many of the guests took their turn performing the same motion, one by one.

The grandmother also laid out some hand made sweets and held the baby’s feet over them as though the child were walking on them. I looked on line to see if these were traditional South Indian rituals and found the following account by a father about his son’s traditional birthday celebrations, which sounded very similar to what I had seen:

“My mother would conduct a little ceremony called the aarti, which requires the birthday boy to sit on a chair or a low stool while she holds an oil lamp before him. He would cup his hands at a safe distance over the flames to receive its warmth and energy and then join them in salute to the flame. Fire, as you might know, is symbolic of the sacred sun for Hindus, which in turn represents life. Therefore, Hindus do not snuff out the flame but keep it alive to symbolize longevity….. She would then complete the ceremony by wishing him life's sweetness with a piece of candy popped into his mouth.”

As I watched this baby being transferred from guest to guest, I realized that her family and friends adore this child. I had seen this same love projected by families in every strata of Indian society. Those who can’t afford a party like this one still find ways to make children feel valued and appreciated.

Here are some other photos I have taken of children with loving family members during my stay in South India.