Mysore

We are staying in Mysore for three and a half weeks studying so I am able to get a better sense of the city. We are staying a little bit out of the city but are easily able to take a rickshaw downtown in about 10 to 15 minutes (costing about $1.50).

(View of Mysore from the 1,000 steps up to Chamundi Hill)


We are staying at a catholic residence in an area surrounded by a Muslim neighborhood. I have seen several woman in the full burka (black veil that covers the entire face) although they do not all wear this. The neighborhood is very well kept-the streets were clean and the houses are beautiful. Most of the houses have flat roofs and they are painted different colours.

The catholic residence that we are staying at is dorm style accommodation and the meals are served in a cafeteria.  There is a curfew of 9:30pm when the gates lock so we have to hurry back from downtown when it gets late. Because of the Muslim population around our residence, several times a day there is something called the "Call to Prayer" which we can not miss. It is a really loud call out of a speaker of a man yelling out a chant. It starts at about 5:00am in the morning and wakes us up every morning and also happens at different times throughout the day.  Our Hindi teacher says that they are calling "Allah". She also said that although it is something that happens everyday and everyone can clearly hear it, you can not talk about it in public. Apparently Muslims are very sensitive to this and it can lead to conflict. Religion is so deeply ingrained in Indian culture that events such as the call to prayer happen everyday without question.

While staying in Mysore we are having yoga classes in the mornings on the roof of our residence. We start at 7:15am and the sun is setting as we start yoga. I am really enjoying yoga for the relaxed feeling that I get after class and because I feel my flexibility slowly increasing.

The central point of downtown is Mysore Palace. Situated downtown, around the palace are multiple tailoring shops, stores for jewelry and textiles, restaurants, and a market.

Mysore is known for its sandalwood and silk and you are able to purchase both of these downtown. There are many large silk emporiums that have a huge stock of silk scarves, shirts, and saris at pretty reasonable prices. As opposed to shopping at home where everything is on display or hung up and you are able to find what you like, shopping in India involves much more personal attention and service from the sales people at stores.

There will be walls full of scarves and you have to get help from a salesperson to pick one that you would like to purchase. First they will ask you what you are looking for and then they will continue to bring out more options that they think that you will like until you decide what you will finally take. It can be a very overwhelming process because of the sheer volume of products that they have available. Each new scarf that they bring out will be totally unique from all the others. It gets to the point where the counter is full of scarves in a tall pile and all of the scarves that you decide not to get have to be neatly folded and placed back on the shelves by the salesperson.

I really enjoy the market and have made a few trips there already. It is nice to just walk through  or pick up just about anything that you need. In the market there are stalls for flowers, soap, fruits and vegetables, spices, dyes, jewelry, and kitchen ware. The market is open late so we can go after class and then go out for dinner.

We found a stall where there was a young boy who had collected old pictures of Hindu gods from rural villages and put them in unique picture frames. For each picture, he could tell you the story behind it.
This market has a very good section for incense and essential oils. If you go to the market on Tuesdays, you can watch them make the incense and even try yourself. We read in the Lonely Planet about the best stall to go to for incense and essential oils and went there. The owner of the stall is a charismatic man who speaks English really well. His products are very good quality and his prices were really good. He recommended a restaurant that we should go to close by.

If we didn't know about this restaurant, we would have never known to go to it. From the street there is a door that is situated between two stores that seem to be closed down. We walked up the stairs to a rooftop patio restaurant that overlooks downtown Mysore. Sitting on the rooftop you are just high enough to have a peaceful dinner while still experiencing the downtown. The food was really good and the atmosphere was better.