 |
| Mahishasura, the demon whom Chamundi killed; the city is nameed after him (Mahishapura) |
On the day we were supposed to start for
Mysore, Murphy’s Law was in full force and our programme was in deep
doubt. However, things fell in place in
the last minute and we started. This time, we stayed at friends’ place instead
of a Guest House. A big word of THANKS to my
friend
and family for taking us in, and also for giving up their air-conditioned room
to us! My friend’s assistant had made out a schedule of the places to visit in
and around Mysore over a period of two days.
We were supposed to visit the Uthnahalli temple by about 9’o clock. We
could not get ready before 10’o clock, so we had to rush to the Chamundi
Temple, where we had a wonderful darsan. On our way back, we got into the Sand Museum,
where the artist made a number of wonderful sculptures, which we will see a
little later.
From there, we also went into the Wax Museum, where there were
statues of some famous personalities; there were also depictions of
contemporaneous scenarios as well, like, for example, the co-existence of
poverty and prosperity. There were also a number of instruments, which we may
have read about, in books and newspapers. There was also a Horror World in the
same campus for which we purchased tickets. At the entrance, we saw a
disclaimer that people who are not bold should not enter. So, we wanted to
return the tickets, but that did not happen either. The girl at the sales counter indicated that
one would find moving images in the dark and that there was nothing to
worry. This finally encouraged us; we
moved through the dimly lit hall, found the moving images synchronizing with
scary, loud sounds and yet, came out the hall in fine fettle.
We then went over to the Lalit Mahal
Palace which was, to say the least, amazing! Of
course, we had come to the place where a number of films of the 1980s &
early 1990s were filmed, notably Jagadeka Veerudu – Atiloka Sundari (the song, Dhinakuta) and Kodamasimham (the song, Chakkiligintala Ragam). We took rest at home because of the heat (no
sign of even a drizzle). In the afternoon, we visited Shri Ganapati
Sacchidananda Ashram, where we went round the Suka Vana (‘Parrot forest’,
literally translated) as well as the Bonsai Garden. In the Suka Vana, photography was prohibited;
but one got to see large number of small as well as large birds, including a
Macaw. Each one of them had names. There was particularly an enclosure, where
we could get pictures clicked from the Ashram photographer by having birds all
over us; my team-mates were utterly uninterested, so I had to keep out. I will
make one more visit if only to get clicked with the birds.
In the Bonsai Garden, one could see
Bonsai plants dating back the 19th century; there were certain
bonsai plants related to the stars of the almanac; each day of the year had a
specific bonsai plant; there was also an acupressure walkers’ path, where one
was expected to walk bare foot to feel its impact.
We covered the Uthnahalli Temple this
time, just before dusk. There were clouds which were covering the Sun in parts,
giving the impression of golden lightning.
We had a peaceful darsan of Uthnahallamman
a.k.a Jwalamukhi. She is said to be a sibling of Goddess Chamundi, and the Protector of Mysore. When we came out of the temple, the leaves of the eucalyptus
trees in front of us showed up against the dark grey sky and gave our eyes a
feast. We went back to our home and
called it a day. Day Two was programmed
to be outside of Mysore; that will be covered by another post...
(to be
continued).
No comments:
Post a Comment