Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Day Six: Mysore
Sunday, as in the UK, is a day of rest – which meant for us another day of whirlwind tourism. I guess this is what the average American would do: see as much as there is to see in the quickest time possible. It’s not relaxing at all, and it’s so hard to take everything in. We were met at 9am sharp by two social workers from the hospital we’ll be working at, with a mission to show us all the ‘must-see’ attractions of the city. First up: Chamundi Hills.
These reminded me of the Malverns – a group of rounded hills surrounded by plains on either side. The views were breathtaking, particularly of the city; a sea of green dotted with white, spread out at the base of the hill almost as far as the eye could see (which wasn’t actually too far, as the heat and dust created a haze). At the top was a Hindu temple similar to that at Vellore, surrounded by outbuildings, stalls and car-parks. After taking a look around, we descended on foot down some 300 steps to the Hills’ other main attraction – a large decorated statue of a bull, carved in stone but coloured a tarry black from oil deposited there by Hindu devotees (I’m not quite sure of the significance of this practice). I hadn’t really been able to get outside so far, so the hillside breeze and views were just what I needed.
Next up: Mysore Palace. As befits a palace, it is colossal, ornate, and surrounded by huge grounds, walls and gateways. It is, apparently, one of the largest and grandest of its kind in India. The most spectacular sight was a huge balcony overlooking a wide avenue leading out from the palace towards a massive entrance arch. In the time of the kings, huge processions of people and elephants would enter this way – it must have been quite a sight.
After lunch, we drove 14kms down the road to the fortress of Tipu Sultan, the leader of the local resistance to British forces in the ?16th century and known as ‘the Tiger of Mysore’. His summer palace has been converted into a museum of his life and times. The fort itself, situated on a large river island, offered disappointingly few sights to see, and most of it is now a surprisingly large village.
By this time it was late afternoon and time for a very well-earned break back at the hotel, before having a very pleasant evening meal at the family home of one of the researchers.
These reminded me of the Malverns – a group of rounded hills surrounded by plains on either side. The views were breathtaking, particularly of the city; a sea of green dotted with white, spread out at the base of the hill almost as far as the eye could see (which wasn’t actually too far, as the heat and dust created a haze). At the top was a Hindu temple similar to that at Vellore, surrounded by outbuildings, stalls and car-parks. After taking a look around, we descended on foot down some 300 steps to the Hills’ other main attraction – a large decorated statue of a bull, carved in stone but coloured a tarry black from oil deposited there by Hindu devotees (I’m not quite sure of the significance of this practice). I hadn’t really been able to get outside so far, so the hillside breeze and views were just what I needed.
Next up: Mysore Palace. As befits a palace, it is colossal, ornate, and surrounded by huge grounds, walls and gateways. It is, apparently, one of the largest and grandest of its kind in India. The most spectacular sight was a huge balcony overlooking a wide avenue leading out from the palace towards a massive entrance arch. In the time of the kings, huge processions of people and elephants would enter this way – it must have been quite a sight.
After lunch, we drove 14kms down the road to the fortress of Tipu Sultan, the leader of the local resistance to British forces in the ?16th century and known as ‘the Tiger of Mysore’. His summer palace has been converted into a museum of his life and times. The fort itself, situated on a large river island, offered disappointingly few sights to see, and most of it is now a surprisingly large village.
By this time it was late afternoon and time for a very well-earned break back at the hotel, before having a very pleasant evening meal at the family home of one of the researchers.
# posted by Pgd @ 6:52 am 
