Hi how are you? Hope you are doing Good !
I had been to mysore very recently, well i had been in my childhood once in school trip..and was scared seeing the mahishasur statue...very much like you. This time i had a chance to stay in mysore for four days, Though the original plan was to pick up a friend( who is working their) and go around places in a day or two.
Friend fell sick with fever and i decided to camp at his room, till he is ok and later we can go to few place we spoke about...., my generous friend told me to take his bike and go around...while he will take some rest...thus my exploration of mysore began..
Here are things what kept me thinking...when you enter a city or in outskirt of city....you are welcomed by garbage,junk structures...etc etc...here is good thing about mysore...you enter from any root...you wont find any garbage , junk, slums.....its just lush green, clean roads ...let it be najangoodu road,Banglore road or ooti road... i could not even make out i am already in mysore...
I asked a fellow traveller - how to go to sarswatipuram ? how much time you can spend telling somebody the address or directions ? 10 seconds ? 20 seconds? And you still fail to give proper direction... , this fellow calmly told how to go , i dint need second attempt to know the directions...
if it was Bangalore, agreeably no one can tell you the directions this correctly and this cool.
Lets not do the comparison between banglore & mysore or any other town..each city has its own pattern.., but mysore certainly has a difference which i want to talk about. A lot to learn.
At midnight around 3 am ( early morning), my friend started shivering with cold..after all medication , the only damn thing we needed was hot water to comfort him, heater gone bad, no gas. I had no choice than disturbing the neighbour for it. I knocked the door, owner of the house peeped in the window and asked what is it. I said “ i need some hot water for so and so”
He called me inside asked me to sit, in next 5 minutes lady of the house came with 2 flasks , i asked one flask of hot water is enough , she said “ Ondralli kashaay idepa, begane hogi kudiyoke helu chali kadime aagutte”, the owner did accompany me to our room enquired everything and gave a phone number of nearby doctor. 3 am early morning can you expect this much hospitality ???
Obvisosly , mysore is rich city...next to banks of kaveri, fertile land, business etc etc... you can debate it has got lot of resource that the reason , the city is well built , well organised, good system etc etc..But being resourceful,rich is not the only reason why the city stands different , its the civic sense ,people, which have made the difference. Yes, there is influence of Raja,maharaja ruling , but its not only the power and money, it is people who have adhered to better living . No over night shops running, no scope & entertainment for illegal things at all like pubs,bars,gaming centers etc etc – everyone is in good sleep by 10.30..a village warmth in a big town.
Being new to the roads, i entered in oneway, so the traffic police (very much of head constable grade) caught me , what next....simple – He told me “ Saar, idu one way ..ekade baro haagilla, wapas hogi”....boy if it was hubli/dharwad its a different deal. Then i asked “ Jaganmohan place elli barutte? “ he laughed at me and jovially said “ adu illigantu barilla , nive hogbeku “ , i gave a giggle and he accompanied to show me the palace , came riding along with me !
In a near by hotel “ nalapak” i went to have break fast , ordered a pongal after hearing the menu ..
The waiter asked me are you from hubli ? i said “ yes”. “ saar, haagadre pongal beda, bisi belebaath togoli “ , i asked “ why?”... he said “ pongal khaara iralla , nimmage ishtaaglla bidi “ , winked his eyes.
He knew hubli and spice go hand in hand propably.. but he did please me.
It is indeed a great city and great people indeed, also eco friendly place, strictly no plastic, no language/culture mix up. A fine blend and touch modernisation.
I cant talk much about greatness of this city.. it should be experienced...,
On the downside, i started thinking being a mysorian what made this difference.
Its the laureates, legends , writers and ofcourse kings - Sir M V, Kegnal hanumantyaa,S Nijalingappa and many, but now do we any such leaders and legends who are capable of continuing this legacy ?
An autodriver with whom i stuck conversation over a coffee ( he was MA in kannada)...started telling what has started going wrong - real estate is under control of andras rich people,( all mines money is being invested here).Natives are not able to stand the price fight in their own town. Politicos have totally divided and deteriorated the system based on cast. Tourism spots have become places of illegal activity and filled with plastic,junk,liquor bottles. Younger generation does not acknowledge what a great place it is. Religious missionaries exploiting poor people with money.Pople are forgetting Karnatik music, painting and other arts.
Certainly “the change, different tastes, language of money” cannot be controlled, restricted or dictated....
Slowly people are falling in to the fast lane which won’t end to a beautiful destination nor the journey while is worth remembered.
Later that week , bunch of we guys went around – visited chamundi temple( i was luck to get chance that poojari let me inside garbha gudi very near to devi statue ,rangantittu,balmuri,
mahadevarpur where ravichandrans ramachari movie songs were shot .
Got to return to banglore tomorrow morning....
You guys visit once, making yourself ample time.
