Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Day Seven: Mysore
Tell me why I don’t like Mondays… The working day begins here at 8am sharp, and I worked pretty solidly right until 5pm. All the travelling, working and sightseeing is very tiring, and most nights so far I’ve been glad to be in bed by 11!
Straight after work (after being invited for a ‘cup of tea’ at the hospital director’s place, at which we were presented with enough rice and such like for a whole meal –Indians do like their food!) we were taken 15kms or so into the countryside to Brindavan Gardens. As we crossed the river Cauvery on our approach, the outline of an enormous castle wall appeared in middle-distance stretching out in both directions. This was, in fact, a dam, whose reservoir serves the entire city through the dry season. After parking the car, we walked back to the waters’ edge, where a long, narrow causeway crossed a lake at the dam’s foot. It was dark by this time, and the causeway was lit up by a string of little lights. There was also a large geyser-type fountain in the middle of the lake. On the far side lay ornamental gardens, with several levels leading up and away from the water. At far end of these gardens was a glade, with the dam wall along one side and surrounded by palm trees. Hundreds of people crowded around here to see, at the centre of the glade, the famous and spectacular Musical Fountain. Floodlit jets of water swayed and danced, looking almost like fireworks, in time to an Indian dance beat. People were cheering and clapping; it was like an enormous outdoor party. The only thing that annoyed me was that cameras, especially video-cameras, were strictly forbidden, so I have no photos – you’ll just have to take my word for it!
Straight after work (after being invited for a ‘cup of tea’ at the hospital director’s place, at which we were presented with enough rice and such like for a whole meal –Indians do like their food!) we were taken 15kms or so into the countryside to Brindavan Gardens. As we crossed the river Cauvery on our approach, the outline of an enormous castle wall appeared in middle-distance stretching out in both directions. This was, in fact, a dam, whose reservoir serves the entire city through the dry season. After parking the car, we walked back to the waters’ edge, where a long, narrow causeway crossed a lake at the dam’s foot. It was dark by this time, and the causeway was lit up by a string of little lights. There was also a large geyser-type fountain in the middle of the lake. On the far side lay ornamental gardens, with several levels leading up and away from the water. At far end of these gardens was a glade, with the dam wall along one side and surrounded by palm trees. Hundreds of people crowded around here to see, at the centre of the glade, the famous and spectacular Musical Fountain. Floodlit jets of water swayed and danced, looking almost like fireworks, in time to an Indian dance beat. People were cheering and clapping; it was like an enormous outdoor party. The only thing that annoyed me was that cameras, especially video-cameras, were strictly forbidden, so I have no photos – you’ll just have to take my word for it!
# posted by Pgd @ 6:55 am 
