Incredible
India
Incredible India | 1, 2,
3
Part 3: Mysore in Karnataka Province, Belur and Halebid,
City Palace Mysore, Bangalore—flight home
Day 11 Early train to Mysore in Karnataka
Province. Our tour guide puts me on a 6AM train
for a 7 hour trip to Mysore in the interior province of
Karnataka. Mysore, the cultural capital of Karnataka, is
a city of palaces, gardens and parks, dominated by the
awesome City Palace (Maharaja’s Palace). I check
into a large corner suite at the Sandesh the Prince hotel,
conveniently located next door to a huge silk fabric store
where later I have blouses, slacks and a skirt made for
me. I dine alone in the hotel dining room where it seems
a small army of waiters are eager to provide my every whim.
Days 12 Belur and Halebid.
An amazing day. With driver and guide we head first to the
site of Sravanabelogola. My guide, who is suffering from
a foot injury, leaves me to climb 700 steps. This complex
has Jain shrines with fine carvings from the 12th Century,
and a 57 foot high 10th century nude statue.
Then we proceed
to Belur and Halebid. These are great temple sites from the
Hoysala dynasty who ruled Southern Karnataka from the 11th-13th
centuries. These are built of soft soapstone and the deep
relief carvings are the most intricate and detailed. At Belur
I’m captivated by sculptures of voluptuous female
figures, bands of elephants, musicians, dancers and deities—all
carved in astonishing detail. This is one of the monuments
of medieval art in India. At Halebid again the lions, elephants,
horsemen, celestial beasts and birds, narrative friezes and
scenes from Hindu epics. As we circle around the star-shaped
temple, my guide tells me the stories depicted. There’s
Brahma on his swan, Krishna playing a flute…
Days 13 City Palace Mysore.
The City Palace in the heart of Mysore stands as a reminder
of the splendor and opulence of the maharajas, the illustrious
Wodeyar kings who ruled their kingdom from this royal city.
The Palace of today replaces three earlier palaces that were
destroyed. This one was designed by the British architect
Henry Irwin and completed in 1912. It is a splendid 3 story
building of granite and marble, with a 145-foot dome gilded
in gold. On Sundays and holidays it is illuminated with 97,000
light bulbs.
All around the sprawling palace, there is much
to see. There is the portrait gallery, the royal armory,
collections of costumes and jewelry, intricately carved doors
of mahogany and solid silver, delicate chandeliers, exquisite
stained glass ceilings, decorative frescoes. The walls of
the palace are painted with pictures of the Dasara processions
which have been painted in such a fashion, that, from any
angle it appears as if the procession were heading towards
you.
The Dasara celebration is still celebrated
every year—now
as a 10-day State festival—but offered with all the
grandeur and pageantry of old. The descendents of the royal
family of Mysore still make appearances to the public during
Dasara. Cultural programs by famous artists take place
in the Palace, including music and dance performances to
which the entire public is invited. The traditional Dasara
procession lead by elephant cavalry and horsemen leaves and
returns to the Palace. The famous and spectacular royal throne
made of 200 kgs of pure gold is on display. In last year’s
Dasara (Oct 2007) a vintage car and motorcycle rally
was held, with cars like a 1909 Wolseley, Jaguars, Austins,
Delage, and a 1934 Harley Davidson, previously owned by Maharajas
were shown.
Click
here to view a slide show of the Mysore segment of my trip.
The Desara celebration truly an historic event that takes one
back through centuries to a time and place that to westerners
will be scarcely believable. A trip to India that included
this cultural event would surely be an unforgettable experience.
Days 14 To Bangalore—flight home. I
have a car transfer from Mysore to the international airport
at Bangalore, where I will board my first flight homeward
in the evening,
My guide accompanies the driver and myself for
the first leg of the 5-hour journey. 14 kms outside of Mysore
we arrive Srirangapatnam. This was the capital of the Mysore
State under Tippu Sultan. As a result there are a number
of historical monuments related to the life and times of
Tippu Sultan. After the death of Tippu Sultan in 1799AD the
British shifted the capital back to Mysore.
 The Daria Daulat Palace, the Palace of Tippu Sultan in Srirangapatnam
is a beautiful Palace built mainly of teakwood. The walls
of the Palace are covered with colorful frescoes that represent
the reign of Tippu Sultan and the different battles that
he fought including against the British. After visiting the
palace, I sadly say goodbye to my wonderful guide who has
been with me for my 3 days in Karnataka.
The traffic seems to
get heavier by the minute the closer we get to Bangalore.
As we finally reach the city, we are barely moving. There
are carts pulled my oxen carrying statues of Nandi, the Elephant
god (is the Nandi festival STILL happening, I wonder—hasn’t
it been with us this whole trip?).
Finally at the airport to join a formidable crowd and degree
of chaos. Goodbyes to my diligent driver and some rupees
to a porter to help me get checked in. Then a wait in a noisy
departure hall full of people, most of whom are cheering
the soccer matches on a few little TVs in the hall.
It is a
long trip home. This time with a long layover in Singapore
I rent a day room (only $50) and have a shower and a good sleep
for 6 hours or so. Then it’s another 13 hour flight,
a few more Indian meals, a few movies, a lot of music listening
on my essential IPOD, and at long last, I reach San Francisco.
Incredible India | 1, 2,
3
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