Saturday, 27 February 2016

Kabini & the Nagarhole National Park: India's Deep South Part 3

A Evening River Safari and a Morning Forest Safari

26-Feb-2016

From Mysore to Kabini

Karnataka

India

It took a while to shake off Mysore and its outer suburbs, but eventually we found ourselves speeding south west across agricultural land. The main crops, rice, coconuts and bananas were interspersed with plantations of teak, eucalyptus and tamarinds. Casuarinas, huge rain trees and mangos in full bloom lined the roads and the field boundaries.

We passed through several villages, the land rising gently to the Nagarhole National Park and Tiger Reserve. We crossed a corner of the park to the Kabini River Lodge, just outside the protected area, in time for a briefing and to put our names down for an evening boat trip and a morning land safari.

Day 3 Mysuru to Kabini

Kabini River Lodge

Our room was one of half a dozen occupying a long wooden bungalow and while sitting outside with a cup of tea we were approached by a representative of the Ayurvedic Centre. I booked a full body massage for 7 o’clock that evening.

Lynne outside the 'long wooden bungalow' Kabini River Lodge

We strolled down to look at the lake. The Kabini River rises in the Western Ghats and flows eastwards to join the Kaveri, the main river of south India. The 700m wide Kabini dam was constructed in 1974 and the lake that formed behind it is 12km long as the crow flies – though it twists and turns to follow the course of the river. Perched on a bench in the shade of a kapok tree, we amused ourselves by unpacking a fallen pod. Man-made materials have reduced the use of kapok for stuffing, but it is a remarkable material. We extracted such prodigious quantity of fibre that it was hard to believe it all came from one 10cm long pod.

Underneath a kapok tree, Kabini Lake (or River), Kabini River Lodge

Deciding we could never pack it all back in, we made for the communal eating area. I am generally no great fan of buffet lunches, but for once I was impressed by the wide selection of vegetable dishes plus chicken biryani, fish curry and egg masala.

Evening 'Lake Safari', Nagarhole National Park

Later, when he heat started to wane, a crowd gathered for the safaris. Buses and jeeps lined the road and boats waited at the jetty. Kabini River Lodge is a central departure point and visitors were arriving from other lakeside lodges. Despite the apparent air of chaos and disorganisation, we approached a man holding a clipboard and he not only had our names on a list, but directed us to a particular boat, one of four, each with a dozen or more passengers.

Lynne embarks for the 'lake safari'

We pushed off roughly on time and puttered past a dead tree, obviously a favourite with the local cormorant population.

Cormorant central, Kabini Lake

We chugged down the lake for forty minutes or so without seeing much of interest. We did this trip in 2010 and knew that most of the animals were further down, inside the park, and mostly came out later in the afternoon. Seeing two women doing their laundry was the highlight until we spotted a distant pair of mongooses running along the forest edge.

Laundry in the Kabini River - the mongoose were too far away to photograph, so this will have to do

There was a lone deer…

Lone spotted deer, Nagarhole National Park

…..and a heron on a dead tree stump.

Heron, Nagarhole National Park

An Elephant and a Kingfisher

Then, somewhere near the park boundary we rounded a bend and right in front of us was a venerable tusker (although he only had one tusk) uprooting grass with his foot and rubbing it up his legs with his trunk - apparently a normal activity for elephants. The boatman stopped the engine as we paused for a stare.

One tusked elephant scratching up grass, Nagarhole National Park

After a while he restarted it and we crossed the lake to look at a pair of pied kingfishers.

Pied kingfisher, Nagarhole National Parl

Breakdown - Indian Darter, Swimming Elephant - Rescue

Then we crossed back and he stopped the engine again. I was trying to work out what we were supposed to be observing, then it slowly dawned on me that we had actually broken down. The boatman walked to the stern and used the hydraulic lift to raise the big outboard from the water. The propeller was not fouled so he lowered it again and tried restarting. The engine clearly wanted to go, but sounded starved of fuel. He changed the fuel line and tried to pump fuel through by hand, but whatever he tried the blockage remained unbreached. Eventually there was nothing to do but phone for help. I was, not for the first time, impressed by the way it is possible to get a signal in remote locations.

The thirty minute wait was not wasted. The boatman continued to tinker ineffectually with his engine while his passengers watched the one tusked elephant wade into the water and swim across the lake. I knew elephants can swim, but I had never seen it before. While their legs do a sedate doggy paddle - or rather elephant paddle - they swim just below the surface using their built-in snorkel.

As the heat abated a herd of deer came down to the water,….

A herd of deer come down to the water. Nagarhole National Park

…. while on a nearby sandbank an Indian darter was hanging out its wings to dry. Like cormorants, darters’ feathers absorb water allowing them to swim below the surface with only their necks protruding. Their unusual neck muscles make them look like rearing snakes, hence their alternative name ‘serpent bird’. From most angles, though not in my photograph, they are sinister looking birds.

An Indian darter dries its wings, Nagarhole National Park

Eventually the relief boat showed up....

The relief boat arrives.

... and we all moved across.

We all move across

Crocodile, Gaur and More Deer

We did not go far before our next halt. There on the mud was a crocodile, its mouth agape….

Crocodile, Nagarhole National Park

….while on the bank just above (the same tree stump can be seen in both photographs), sitting as relaxed as you like, was a gaur, the Indian bison and the largest bovine still in existence.

Gaur, Nagarhole National Park

As we left the gaur we entered the hour before sunset when all the animals come to the water’s edge.

We saw a herd of spotted deer….

Spotted deer, Nagarhole National Park

….several of the larger sambar deer and a few wild pigs…

Sambar deer (left), spotted deer (right) and wild pigs (behind) Nagarhole National Park

… and a whole herd of gaur and, in quieter areas, more elephant.

Gaur - and a few spotted deer, Nagarhole National Park

Back to the Lodge for an Ayurvedic Massage, Gin and Dinner

We made our way back to the lodge arriving just as the sun was setting.

Sunset on Kabini Lake

There were a few fishermen out in their coracles – I am not convinced I would back their flimsy craft against a crocodile.

Coracle fishermen, Kabini Lake

By the time we had disembarked I had to set off for my massage. A film about local wildlife was starting in the clubhouse at 7.45 and if the massage took an hour we would miss the first 15 minutes, but that seemed no great loss.

At the Ayurvedic Centre the proceedings were similar to those I experienced in Sri Lanka, except the Indian way is to provide a loose cotton g-string, more for show than to cover modesty, but it is not a good look for a man of my build. I sat on a chair for a back and shoulders massage then lay on the slippery, oily wooden bed for the body massage. For 45 relaxing minutes I was rubbed from head to foot in warm oil. When that was over I had a steam bath and finally, unlike in Sri Lankan, I was offered a shower before putting my clothes back on, not that soap and water did much to remove the oil.

Lynne was a little miffed when I returned at 8.20 rather than the promised 8 o'clock. 'We've missed the film, ' she said. 'But at least I smell lovely,' I countered. She had a sniff. I expected her to say something about sandalwood and cinnamon but instead she said 'smells like cooking oil to me.' We may have missed the film, but were in time for the bar where we had a gin and tonic and a chat with four other survivors of the broken down boat, an American IT entrepreneur and the thirty-something senior managers of his Indian company who were on a 'bonding trip’. Then we went to the canteen for a different but equally good buffet.

Gecko on the wall at Kabini Lodge - These little fellows work tirelessly to keep the insect population down

27-Feb-2016

Morning Land Safari, Nagarhole National Park & Tiger Reserve

We were awake before the 5.45 knock on the door. By 6.15 the safari departure point was full of milling people but again, despite the apparent confusion, a man with a clip board told us which vehicle we were assigned to and around six thirty, pretty well on time, we set off towards the forest. With so many vehicles we were concerned that it might be like our Sri Lankan experience in Yala where the crush of snarling jeeps frightened the animals away. We need not have worried, Nagarhole was big enough to absorb all the vehicles and ensure we rarely met.

It was a misty morning and chilly, too, at least when driving in an open vehicle. Our Indian companions wore woolly hats and pullovers, but as hardy north Europeans we eschewed such comforts, confident it would warm up later.

According to the white board outside reception tigers had been seen on three of the last five days, but only one vehicle had to see a tiger for it to be recorded so the odds were still against us. At the point where we left the tarmac and headed onto the rough forest roads I saw this poster and photographed it in case it was the nearest thing to a tiger we saw. As I have reproduced it here, you may deduce that it was.

The only tigers we saw

Peacocks and a Racket-tailed Drongo

For a while we did not see much except trees and mist. We did see peacocks, looking far too exotic to live in the wild, but they are always common.

Peacock, Nagarhole National Park

A racket- tailed drongo - another fairly common bird, but always worth seeing - flew across the path and posed in a tree. My picture is no danger of winning a wildlife photography award but you can see the unlikely rackets that dangle from its forked black tail the best part of a body length below it.

Racket-tailed drongo, Nagarhole National Park

Deer and Mongoose

There were, as ever, spotted deer among the trees…

Spotted deer among the tress, Nagarhole National Park

…and then we saw this magnificent stag looming out of the mist by the lake and things started to improve.

Stag looming out of the mist, Nagarhole National Park

here are 29 species of mongoose. These two, I am fairly confident, are stripe-necked mongooses which we have seen in India before but this is by far the best photograph we have managed (and even then is not good). The common grey mongoose in Sri Lanka is much cooperative.

Stripe-necked mongoose, Nagarhole National Park

Monkeys and a Giant Squirrel

As the day warmed the monkeys came out to play, bonnet macaques and black faced langurs. At one point a large male langur came swinging down from the trees, calling angrily and dashed across a clearing to chase away a potential challenger and reassert his authority over a group of females. The best langur picture I have though, the family group below, was taken in our previous visit to Nagarhole in 2010.

Black faced langurs, Nagarhole National Park (2010)

The Malabar giant squirrels can often be seen in the trees but for the first time we also saw them on the ground. Brown, tawny and white, larger than a domestic cat with broad bushy tails they looked too large to scurry about like squirrels, but that was exactly what they did. We have seen them several times, and this 2010 photograph is the least unsatisfactory.

Giant Malabar squirrel, Nagarhole National Park (2010)

Serpent Eagles and Wild Pigs

Serpent eagles sat at intervals, wherever there was a good vantage point, waiting patiently for a snake-y meal to appear. There are, apparently 16 species of serpent eagles. This a crested serpent eagle, spilornis cheela (I think).

Crested serpent eagle, Nagarhole National Park

We drove through the forest, along the forest edge…

Along the edge of the forest, Nagarhole National Park

…and down to the lake where we saw some wild pigs.

Wild pigs by the waterside, Nagarhole National Park

Tiger's Paw Print - That was as Good as it Got

We saw no elephants, no leopards and certainly no tigers. Overall our safari was a little disappointing and even seeing a very clear tiger paw print was only a small compensation.

Tiger paw print, Nagarhole National Park

We were back at the lodge by 9.30 for a late breakfast, before setting off south with Thomas towards Ooty.

India's Deep South

Part 1: Bangalore to Mysore
Part 2: Mysore, Somnathpur and Srirangapatnam
Part 3: Kabini and the Nagarhole National Park
Part 4: The Road to Ooty
Part 5: The Nilgiri Blue Train to Coonoor
Part 6: Across the Palakkad Gap and up to Munnar
Part 7: Munnar - Tea, Dams and Elephants
Part 8: Madurai
Part 9: Rameswaram
Part 10: To the Very Tip of India
Part 11: The End of India and Beyond
Part 12: North to Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram) and Kollam
Part 13: Ants, Mollywood and Varkala
Part 14: The Backwaters of Kerala (and some Coir)
Part 15: Marari Beach, Rest, Recreation and Refuse
Part 16: Kochi, a Second Visit

THE END

Thursday, 25 February 2016

Mysore, Somnathpur and Srirangapatnam: India's Deep South Part 2

A Unique Temple, the Story of Tipu Sultan and a 'Walking' Tour of Mysore

Why We Returned to Mysore

Karnataka

India

This was our second visit to Mysore, and there was a reason for that. In 2010 Thomas had driven us here from Coorg and that afternoon we had seen the Maharajah's Palace, Chamundi Hill and Devararja market as described, six years after the event, in yesterday’s post. In the evening we ate at a large and busy restaurant with a mixed Indian and Western clientele, usually a good sign. My butter chicken had seemed fine at the time but around three o'clock it woke me up with the information that I needed to vomit. The next twelve hours are best not discussed in detail.

I spent the day in the air-conditioned luxury of our hotel room, rising from my bed only (though frequently) to visit the bathroom. The consolation for being ill in India is that there is always cricket on the television, so I settled down to watch a one day international between Australia and the West Indies. I don't know how long before it had actually been played, but it kept me amused.

There was no reason why Lynne should miss out so she went out with Thomas and a local guide to visit Somnathpur and Srirangapatnam, arriving back mid-afternoon to tell me what a fascinating trip it had been - and has gone on about it ever since. Today was to be the day I caught up.

Yesterday we drove from Bengaluru to Mysuru (Mysore), today we are visiting locally

Mysore to Somnathpur

We set off at eight o'clock with Thomas and a different local guide. Our route first took us eastwards and across the Kaveri (or Cauvery) River. Rising in the Western Ghats and flowing southeast for 800km to the Bay of Bengal, the Kaveri drains most of Southern India.

River Kaveri, east of Mysore

The sugar cane harvest was still in full swing but Indian agriculture never pauses for breath and the cleared fields were already being prepared for the next crop….

Preparing the ground for the next crop, near Somnathpur

…in some places it was even being planted.

Planting the next crop, near Somnathpur

After an hour or so we reached the small village of Somnathpur.

Village India, near Somnathpur

Somnathpur and its Unique Hoysala Temple

From the 10th to the 14th century, before the Wadiyas ruled from Mysore, Karnataka was the fiefdom of the Hoysalas. Records say they were patrons of the arts and indefatigable temple builders, but they left little behind for their years of domination; only three fine examples of their distinctive temples survive. We have seen those at Bellur and Hallebid a hundred miles to the north, but they lack their roofs; the finest of all, the only complete Hoysala temple, the one I missed, was built in tiny Somnathpur in 1268.

Somnathpur Temple

The three conical towers each contain a shrine to one of three incarnations of Vishnu. They are built on a star-shaped foundation and each point of the multi-pointed stars is faithfully followed up through the decorations to the very top.

The points of the star go all the way up, Somnathapur Temple

The temple is covered with carvings, many of them signed by the master craftsmen that made them. The lower parts of the wall have five bands with elephants at the base holding everything up, then horsemen, curling serpents, scenes of warfare and two rows of mythical animals.

Lower sections of the wall, Somnathpur Temple

Above are gods and goddesses carved in sumptuous detail.

Shiva, Ganesh and Other Gods, Somnathpur Temple

The stars, detailed carvings and heavily decorated towers are the essence of the Hoysala style

There is little to see inside, though the roof, as in the other Hoysala temples, is supported by granite pillars decorated by turning - common enough with wood, but a difficult undertaking with stone using medieval equipment.

Inside the Somnathpur Temple

The details of many of the roof decorations are only revealed by flash photographs.

'Banana Flower' roof decoration, Somnathpur Temple

Each shrine has a ‘Holy of Holies’ (guides usually prefer the Latin, Sanctum Santorum) containing an image of the appropriate avatar of Vishnu.

Santum Sanctorum, Somnathpur Temple

From Somnathpur we headed back towards Srirangapatnam on the main Mysore-Bangalore road.

Somnathpur to Sirangapatnam. We went by car, but other transport is available

Producing Jaggery

En route we called in at a workshop making jaggery - unrefined sugar from the cane harvest. Walking in over the 'feather', the stripped off tips and outer leaves, we were surrounded by a rich vegetal smell not unlike silage but, perhaps ironically, not quite so sweet.

Boiling up the cane sugar juices, near Somnathpur

The juices from the cane are boiled until only the solids remain and they are then sun-dried in moulds. Palm sugar produced this way (see The Road to Mandalay) is often eaten as it is - though it can be mixed with coconut or other flavourings - and has a rich smoky flavour. This raw cane sugar, known as jaggery, is less instantly appealing with a green vegetal taste neither of us liked. Jaggery is much used in the production of Indian sweets and it obviously pleased our local guide as he purchased several large slabs which looked like Sunlight Soap as it was sold in the 1950s (younger readers might find that last comparison baffling - never mind, it does not matter).

Jaggery, raw cane sugar

Srirangapatnam and Tipu Sultan, The Tiger of Mysore

The town of Srirangapatnam, some 40 minutes north of Somnathpur, is more of an outsize straggling village and now spreads beyond the island in the Cauvery where the Vijaynagars, who ruled the area to the north, built a fort in 1454. The Wadiyars took the fort in 1616 and moved their capital there from Mysore. In 1761 The Hindu Wadiyars were deposed by Haider Ali and for the next 38 years he and his son and successor Tipu Sultan transformed Mysore into a small but powerful Muslim state.

Daria Daulat Bagh (Tipu Sultans's Palace) and the Anglo-Mysore Wars

Our tour of Srirangapatnam actually began at Tipu Sultan’s mausoleum, but a more logical start to this story is at his palace Daria Daulat Bagh.

The palace is approached across a formal garden, a green sward dotted with bushes and trees - mango, mahogany (leafless at this time of year), araucaria and rain trees. The palace would look better without the tatty green shades – they were new when Lynne was here last – that protect the murals painted on the walls of the surrounding open walkway.

Daria Daulat Bagh, Tipu Sultan's Palace, Srirangapatnam

Haider Ali had fought and lost the first two Anglo-Mysore Wars giving the British East India Company control of much of southern India. Tipu Sultan’s ambition was to remove the British from India, or at least his bit of it, and the murals depict his efforts. The self-styled Tiger of Mysore was keen to promote his image and stripes feature prominently in his clothing and the uniform of his troops.

In 1789 he started the Third Anglo-Mysore War by invading the Kingdom of Travancore an ally of the East India Company. Lord Cornwallis, best known in America for his surrender at Yorktown, but by now military commander of India fought a four year campaign ranging over much of southern India. Eventually a defeated Tipu was forced to sign a treaty ending the war to the advantage of the British East India Company and the surrounding Indian states.

All this is shown in Tipu’s propaganda murals and, in more measured terms, in a wealth of other pictures, documents and artefacts. Sadly no photographs were allowed.

Srirangapatnam Fort, The End of the Anglo-Mysiore Wars and The Death of Tipu Sultan

In 1792 Tipu had another go. Mysore had long been an ally of the French and he expected French assistance. Napoleon, then a 23 year old Lieutenant Colonel, proved unavailable but his nemesis Arthur Wellesley, not yet the Duke of Wellington, was free and he soon cornered Tipu Sultan in the nearby Srirangapatnam fortress.

Srirangapatnam Fort

Wellington's forces found a way into the fort through the Watergate from the River Kaveri…

The Watergate, Srirangapatnam

… and after fierce fighting Tipu Sultan was killed less than 100m away - not the last leader to be brought down by problems at a Watergate. So the fourth and final Anglo-Mysore War ended and the Wadiyar Maharajas were restored as rulers, to the general satisfaction of the largely Hindu populace.

Where Tipu Sultan died, Srirangapatnam

The Gombaz - Mausoleum of Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan

The Tiger of Mysore was buried in the Gombaz, a mausoleum he had built for his father....

Gombaz, the mausoleum of Haider Ali ad Tipu Sultan, Sirrangpatnam

...and he lies beside him, beneath an appropriately tigerish covering.

Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore, lies next to his father, Haider Ali and his mother

Nearby is the mosque of Mysore's last Muslim rulers.

The mosque at Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan's mausoleum, Srirangapatnam

We returned to Mysore in time for a light lunch of paneer and chicken kathis - basically wraps, but nicely spiced.

Raj's 'Walking' Tour of Mysore History

When the afternoon heat abated we descended to the lobby to meet Raj who would conduct a walking tour of Mysore history. In the event, the availability of Thomas and the car meant there was little walking.

Brahminy Kite

We paused for some orientation by a small wooded area where brahminy kites by the dozen were wheeling and diving. ‘Something of interest to them has been dumped there,’ Raj observed.

Brahminy Kite (and a crow), Mysore

An affable young man with excellent English and a ready wit, Raj was a native of Assam which is about as far away as you can get and still be in India. A graduate student at the local university, he hoped to continue his studies next year at UCL or Glasgow University. He had been accepted by both he said, but was put off UCL by the enormous cost of accommodation in London.

Wellington House

Our tour started at Wellington House, an unprepossessing building now serving as an art gallery. It was, he told us, the first two-storey building in Mysore and was once, as the name suggests, home to the Duke of Wellington.

Wellington House, Mysore

Rangacharlu Hall, Freemasons Hall and Maharaja Chamaraja Statue

A few blocks away, near the gate to the Maharaja's Palace is the Rangacharlu Memorial Hall. The photograph below was taken from out hotel room during my ‘unpleasant day’ in 2010 and is better than any I could take from the ground. A neo-classical pile it is named after CV Rangacharlu, the Maharajas’ Diwan (Prime Minister) from 1881-3. A gifted administrator he was also instrumental in the introduction of education for all, girls included - a revolutionary step at the time.

Rangacharlu Memorial Hall, Mysore

Several of the Maharajas were keen Freemasons and the old Freemasons’ Hall is the closest building to the palace entrance. A dispute with the Singer Corporation left the building vacant for many years, hence its state of decay. There is a brand new Freemasons’ Hall next door, its edge just appearing in the picture.

The old Freemasons Hall, Mysore

Opposite stands a statue of Maharaja Chamaraja X (ruled 1881-94). When the statue, sculpted from Rajasthan marble (the stuff the Taj Mahal was made from) by William Robert Colton in London, was unveiled the Maharani ordered that it be beheaded as it looked nothing like her late husband. A new head by Indian sculptor Ganaptrao K Mhatre was attached. Mhatre used local marble and Raj said that if you look closely you can see the body and head are different colours - we were not convinced.

Chamaraja X, New Statue Square, Mysore

We continued to the closed main entrance of the palace (the rear entrance is good enough for tourists and other every day occurrences). At night the palace is lit by several thousand old fashioned tungsten filament bulbs, once enough to cause awe and wonder though no longer particularly impressive. Each bulb, as Raj showed us on those surrounding the entrance, is stamped with the word Mysore Royal Palace. There used to be a problem with theft, so they changed the bulbs to screw fitting – Indian domestic bulbs are of bayonet type - and the theft problem was solved. What surprised me was that people were stealing the bulbs to use them.

Mysore University and the Jagan Mohan Palace

Back in the car we had a tour of the University Campus which has several fine old colonial buildings...

Colonial style building, Mysore University

...before heading for the Jagan Mohan Palace (the Maharaja’s palace is far from Mysore's only one). The original palace, largely invisible behind the flamboyant frontage, was built by Krishnaraja III in 1861. The frontage was added for the installation of Krishnaraja IV in 1902.

Jagan Mohan Palace, Mysore

In the courtyard, for no obvious reason, is a millstone once used for grinding rice which Lynne and Raj posed beside.

Lynne, Raj and a millstone, Jagan Mohan Palace, Mysore

St Philomena's Cathedral, Again

Our last call was at St Philomena's Cathedral, which we walked to yesterday. This time we were early enough to go inside. No photographs were allowed, but the interior would be familiar to anyone who has ever been inside a Catholic Church.

That evening we still did not feel that our heads or bodies were quite in the same time zone so instead of dinner we went to the bar where Lynne had a large local gin with tonic, I had a beer (Kingfisher) and we worked our way through a plate of cashews and a bowl of spicy peanuts. It was not health food, but we enjoyed it.

Wednesday, 24 February 2016

Bangalore to Mysore: India's Deep South Part 1

An Old Friendship Renewed and an Favourite City Revisited

To Bangalore (Bengaluru) and a Reunion with Thomas

Karnataka

India

The twenty hours of hard travelling required to reach Bangalore from Staffordshire (via Dubai) left us sleep deprived and more than usually slow on the uptake.

Having availed ourselves of the new e-visa scheme and finding a very small queue we imagined we would be quickly out of the airport. Wrong! Foreigners entering India are now photographed and fingerprinted, and the fingerprint machines do not work. Three pictures are required, left hand, right hand then both thumbs, but each had to be done four or five times with much wiping of greasy screens and greasy palms between attempts.

An hour later, after much trying, failing and trying again for us and those few ahead of us in the ever-lengthening queue, we finally received our all-important stamp and proceeded to customs to hand over our conscientiously completed forms so they could be filed and forgotten. Then we walked unchecked into the concourse. There was no one there to greet us. After walking its length peering left and right, our fuzzy minds slowly realised that there was no one greeting anyone and there must be a reason for that. Forsaking the air-conditioning we pushed through the doors into the heat outside and found greeters by the hundred. Some meeting families, others friends, business contacts or tour groups and right in the middle was Thomas waving at us.

Us with Thomas, Bangalore Airport

Thomas M. had been our driver on our second south India trip in 2010 (just pre-blog). Finding him a safe driver, a congenial travelling companion and an all-round good guy we had kept in touch ever since and ensured he would be driving us on this trip, too. He was accompanied by a man sent by the travel company to meet us, introduce us to our driver and do the translating. He was largely a spare part - we knew Thomas already and also knew that his largely self-taught English is better than that of most qualified 'English speaking guides', but he did take the photograph above.

Bengaluru - a Fleeting Visit

Bangalore, now officially called Bengaluru, is one of India's fastest growing and wealthiest cities, its success based on the information technology and aerospace industries. The road from the new airport (2008) is well maintained and lined with colourful blooms, neatly trimmed hedges and manicured grass.

Success and growth bring problems, notably with taffic and pollution. Our drive may have started on some of the most kempt roads in India but we soon encountered more variable driving conditions as Thomas fought his way along busy highways to and then round the outer ring road. We followed a series of toll roads, many of them raised on concrete stilts, their outer margins patrolled by swooping kites who looked large and determined enough to carry off, if not us, perhaps a small Maruti or definitely a motorcyclist, maybe two, one in each talon.

Round the Bangalore outer ring road

From Bangalore (Bengaluru) to Mysore (Mysuru)

We eventually made it past the city and into the flat land beyond, at first on a four lane dual carriageway then on an ordinary highway. This is sugar cane country and it was harvest time, workers in the fields slashing through the canes with their machetes. Dotted along the road were men with sugar crushing machines that quickly turn raw cane into a sweet yet surprisingly refreshing drink.

Cane Sugar Crusher (photo 2009 somewhere in Tamil Nadu)

Frequent piles of green ‘tender’ coconuts provided a different but equally refreshing drink. 'This year the coconuts of Karnatica are not good,' Thomas warned us, ‘and in Kerala they are all right by the coast, but there are very few inland.’ The trees have been affected by disease, and coconut milk and oil, without which Kerala’s distinctive cuisine cannot exist, have increased in price. 'People have had to use other oils for cooking, ' he added. 'Some say they do not like the taste.' He left it a bit vague as to exactly where he stood on this particular debate.

At lunch time we took a break in a branch of Coffee Day, a chain of bright, clean upmarket coffee shops we have used before (mainly in Lucknow) where a green tea and a chicken tikka sandwich proved some sort of restorative. We ate and chatted with Thomas about his family, one son now at university, the other well into his secondary education, and about changes in Kerala - the creeping prohibition of alcohol and the attendant corruption (while noting that Kerala is among the least corrupt states in India).

Thomas asked about changes we saw in the south since our last visit six years ago. It was difficult to say on such a short time, but I had noticed a sign beside the busy Express Way (by name if not speed) into Bangalore. 'Accidents do not happen' it read, 'they are caused.' Was the expression of such a strikingly un-Indian attitude a sign of real change or merely cosmetic?

Southern India

We eventually reached the city of Mysore - its name officially changed to Mysuru in November 2014 - and by mid-afternoon we were in a comfortable hotel room. As we had been up all night - albeit a night five and a half hours shorter than most – we were soon asleep.

Mysore - The Highlights of our (pre-blog) 2010 Visit

The Maharajah's Palace

We visited Mysore six years ago with Thomas and had returned for a specific reason (next post) but were not planning to revisit the city's major sights, so here is a very brief run through of what we saw last time. First on any tourist’s itinerary is inevitably the Maharajah's Palace. This Indo-Saracenic flight of fancy was designed by an Englishman, Henry Irwin, and was built in 1912 to replace an earlier palace that had burned down and which, itself, had been far from the first on this site. I offer here a picture of the outside only, cameras were not allowed inside.

Maharajah's Palace, Mysore

Mysore

What became the princely state of Mysore was ruled by the Wadiyar Maharajas from the 14th century until independence - with one significant 19th century interruption (next post, again). The current Maharajah still has an apartment within the palace, but in today's democratic India his is now only a courtesy title and with a freshly minted degree from MIT in Boston (Massachusetts not Lincolnshire!) he is hardly a medieval monarch.

Chamundi Hill

Chamundi Hill offers fine views over the city...

Mysore from Chamundi Hill

...but the official reason why all visitors come here is that this is where the goddess Chamundi (also called Durga) slew the demon Mahishasura, an event from which the city takes is name. The temple on the top is 12th century and beside the temple square there is a 40m high gopura.

My back and the temple gopura, Chamundi Hill, Mysore

Pilgrims who climb the hill’s 1000+ steps pass a five metre high Nandi carved from a single piece of black granite that has sat there since 1659. The idle, who go up and down by car, can also see him. Often adorned with bells and garlands, he is an object of worship in his own right and has his own priest.

Lynne and Nandi, Chamundi Hill, Mysore

Devaraja Market

Back down in the city is Devaraja market where you can buy garlands - you can't get far in India without someone bunging some flowers round your neck (see this post’s first picture), and they have to buy them somewhere....

Garlands of flowers, Devaraja Market, Mysore

...vegetables...

Vegetables, Devaraja Market, Mysore - You will never see a shinier aubergine

....including chillies. We asked the price of dried chillies and were told 100 rupees. We asked for 100 grams, an order that was treated with disdain for being so small, but 100g of dried chillies fills a sizeable bag. We also received 90 rupees change from our offered 100. Do people really buy dried chillies by the kilo?

Chillies, Devaraja Market, Mysore

Back in the Present - St Philomena's Cathedral

To return to today; we did a little more than merely sleep, we managed a stroll down the road to St Philomena's Cathedral whose twin 55m towers - apparently modelled on Cologne cathedral - were a landmark we could see from the hotel. Built in 1840 in neo-Gothic style it stands strangely but rather proudly in what feels like not quite the right place.

St Philomena's, Mysore

We did little else that evening. We headed up to the bar for some much needed rehydration and once that was done we had had more than enough for that day.