The Mysore I cherish

Date: May 8, 2010

RE: The Mysore I cherish

Date: Sep 2, 2006

Mysore is when elephants resided in ‘Ane Karoti’ in Ramanuja Road and the infernal concrete corbuncles of JCC complex was not there. Mysore is when wild elephants were brought for taming at the’Ane karoti’ and kids were allowed to witness the taming process which included the wonderful ritual of feeding elephants. Mysore is when the big tusker was prepared with wonderful ornaments for the Maharaja to mount and I as a yougster sat on the roof of our house with my sisters and saw the prepararion of the tusker literally 100yards from us. Mysore is when the Maharaja ruled the roost and the politicians did not put their sticky fingers in the state’s money kitty. Mysore is when the Dasara is held in grandeur , was envy of the whole world,and Goddess Chamindi seated on a ‘theru’ was pulled by hundreds of devotee to signal the end of Dasara festivities. Mysore is. when there was only Kannada spoken. Mysore is when all the kids could play in the street, and women can walk safely in the streets all times of the day. Mysore is when there were trees every where, air filled with jasmine and sandalwood fragrance and mango trees near Chamundi Hills pregnant with fruits were ready to welcome the visitors as guests. Mysore is when its university was famous all over the world with scholars like Dr Shama Satry, the discoverer of Kautilya’s Arthasasatra and when that great scientist JC Bose visited Germany, he was greeted as a scientist from the land of Dr Shama Sastry . Mysore is when there was only NIE, where admission was on merit and there was no other engineering college created purely on caste grounds and was used as a ‘cash cow’. Mysore is when my beloved poet Adiga was in St Philomena’s College and all of us in the NIE and Mysore Medical college, were swayed by his’Navya Kavya’

Date: Aug 30, 2006

Mysore cannot be experienced in holidays or weekends. Like a creeper growing and encircling the staff, you have to live, and grow with Mysore to experience it. You have to be with the ajjis who have seen you from the time you
were soooo small, where the maid who works in your house is your family maid, your ajji had "recruited" her mother.

When you go on an evening walk, and the poojari of the Ram mandir, stops and chats with you, and moves on saying there is a pooja at 5 next morning, that's Mysore for you. When you walk a little ahead and the librarian says he has the latest copy of "Kasturi" or "Mayura", that's Mysore for you. When the milkman sees you on a walk, and delivers an extra half litre without being
asked, that's Mysore for you.

Mysore is when you board a bus at the bus-stand and conductor-uncle gives you a ticket without asking. Mysore is when you collect little red 'gulganji'
seeds on your way back home from KukkarahaLLi lake. Mysore is when you come by the Tippu express, and you find someone going in your direction to drop you off.

Mysore is when elephants are marched in from the forests for Dussehra. Mysore is when you wait for your copy of "Star of Mysore". Mysore is when the English movies are only at Rajkamal. Or Sterling. Mysore is when you look for your KEB uncle to book tickets at woodlands. Mysore is when there are student body elections in Sarada-Vilas. Mysore is the eternal SJCE-NIE feud. Mysore is when Jayciana is. Mysore is when you got your project report bound at Venkateshwara Binders in Saraswatipuram.

Mysore is having grape juice at RTO circle. Mysore is buying vegetables at Agrahara. Mysore is buying plantain leaves in NanjumaLige, savoring the aroma of
the agarbatti factory behind. Mysore is eating ice-creams at Penguin. Mysore is eating dosa at Mylari Hotel. Mysore is having biriyani early in the morning,
near Philo's church. Mysore is drinking sugarcane juice near kukkarahaLLI lake. Mysore is munching corn-on-the-cob in the palace foreground.

Mysore is when I grew up in Mysore. My Mysore.Mysore before GRS, before the underbridge in front of Saraswatipuram Fire Brigade, before Infosys, before
Ring-Road. Those who grew up in that Mysore, will relate to me more than those who came to Mysore, for a three-month stint in Infy. Than those, who think
Mysore is a good place to invest. Than those, who think chilling out in Mysore is just CCD or Pizza Corner. Oh, How they misunderstand my pretty home !!!

I Love Mysore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sindhu Gowri, Santa Clara, US - Vidhya Mysore

Date: Mar 3, 2006

I am looking for the same information when people came to houses in Huli Vesha and sing Kamana kattige Bhimana Berani and ask for money or Kattige. I also remember when there was elachina hannu and Kaasu was done on children Aarathi.

Date: Jan 25, 2006

In my blog, Information visualization, I have links to my alma matter: Mysore University, esp Library Science alumni:

This blogsphere is about a world of touch, feel, look and visualization. We are in a world where we can synchronously see, hear, share and do much more. Interestingly, to follow what's up in this blog does not need special skills, competencies, etc. We deal with common things, as well with human visualizations. In short, "information is in the eyes of the beholder."
Akbani (not my name although) is a Memon family name.

I will be happy to add any content that is appropriate to the Blog's objective of adding visions, visuals, and vistas.

Please keep visiting this blog for a different worldview on any given subject. Email

Date: Jan 6, 2006

Vanitha Sadana.... this takes my memory esp. down to 1970-71. Like all boys, I had a great fancy for tennis ball cricket. I was in the 8th std at Sarada Vilas High School. Someone among our classmate-friends told that a match had been arranged near Vanitha Sadana after school some weekday. We went there around 5pm or so. All I can remember now of that day is that I clean bowled 4 batsmen in 5 balls including a hat-trick. I have no idea now against whom we played, but I was the hero that hour and I think we won the match without a fight. Even now, that piece of open land [now enclosed by compound wall] is still there. Just happened to pass by it recently [Dec.'05] and that memory popped up.

Another vivid memory is of playing a match with the cork ball in that Vanitha Sadana School ground where the 'slide' was in the middle of the ground. It was now '73 I think and that was the eve of my College cricket team selection. I bowled one end only to find my hands stiff for the selection and I could not perform - gave my name as an off-spinner and just spent time that day. That was my first experience too with a real cricket ball! Our team of street-boys played many games here on this ground --- "Dumma Vasu" has always been a common factor in all our matches those days. This Vasu used to boast of his Sixer he had once hit. The ball had landed on a shrub in a house across the railway line! We teased him as the distance was way too long for a tennis ball to carry from even this hard-hitting Vasu!

Date: Nov 18, 2005

It is great to recall the olden days of Mysore and its nostalgic aroma while any one entering Mysore. The sleepy town slowly waking up in the morning and not much of hustle bustle of other cities. The whole city coming to life after 10am in the morning. Visiting Devaraja market in the morning was an experience with the fresh green vegetables and big bargains across the "street counters ". The evening walks and jogs on Kukkanahali kere was memorable on the deserted bund. The warnings of elders not to visit those isolated areas on banks of the tank still come to the mind. It is truly a nostalgic feeling even now although the virgin feelings are gone with the advent of globalization. Festival days were colorful for its own uniqueness. I used to compare Bangalore with respect to Mysore in those days of late fifties, but always felt a different feeling in Mysore since Bangalore used to more business look:

Date: Nov 15, 2005

I congratulate on floating this idea of an anthology.

Mysorians, have memories of all kinds, and my list includes, a) hiring a bike (with no questions ask, or any background checks); b) buying vegetables (from amma, ayya, or babu -- irrespective of their affiliation of faith or creed); c) giving away -danam: cash or kindness--to the needy (without looking at his / her face or color, and with no blinkers); d) enjoying the facilities of choultaries and chattars for marriages of people who belong to any religion or community (Dassappa Chattar, is the one that comes to my mind, and there are still many of this category); e) studying in any school (Christian, Hindu, Muslim) with total religious accommodation and tolerance; f) understanding and respecting the neighbor in the cosmopolitan "extensions" that grew, I suppose in the 1960s, 1970s, and later; etc. I am not stating this from the utopian planet. I remember Gundamma (my Kannada Teacher, Good Shepherd Convent, Mysore in 1963-64); Mrs. Philo D'souza (St. Mary's School, Mysore, in 1966-67); Gopal's dairy in Mandi Mohalla; etcetra.

Re: the anthology let me give you my mind. I think it is better to plan for a series of anthologies (may not be so wonderful idea for some!). The series may be classified as follows:

a) An anthology covering all information available on the Web, about Mysore and Mysorians (example1, example2, example3: Mysore-based researcher gets US patent). b) Another anthology about the people. To get an idea about this, a publication already exists in Urdu, with a title: Mysore ke Khadeem Chirag (transliterated as, "Old Celebrities of Mysore"). c) Yet another anthology that deals with products, processess, services, tourist sites, etc.

I will be happy to contribute more ideas, if some one is interested. Best, Dr. Mohamed Taher

Date: Nov 15, 2005

Great idea. Yes, we do remember our teachers in high school especially from Sharada Vilas High School and the way they molded us. I can never forget Nagesh Rao and Susheela Bai (Anna and Amma for eveyone) of Vanitha Sadana in Jayanagar. And how can we forget Sattar of Sattar Cycle Shop and the occasions we waited for a cycle to be returned from a renter instead renting immediately from Gopal Rao Cycle Shop who had newer bicycles. Faith one follows was never an issue. It was all about a good person. Gopal Rao was a good man. But, oh! Sattar, can't explain the feeling. Got to experience it. This was at a time when we were still very very young in our formative years over half a century ago and I can remember those days so clearly even today. Yes a very good idea to share our experiences in one of the greatest cities of the universe Mysore. B.R.Ramaprasad, Millington, New Jersey, USA

Date: Nov 14, 2005

I have vivid memories of trips to Kukkanahalli kere to immerse Ganesha when I was a student in Vanitha Sadana, the years spent playing cricket in the Gubbachchi school grounds and many others. Wish someone can write about the huli vesha, Kamana habba celebrations in the field where they built Siddharta Hostel etc. I would be very happy if anyone of you can write about life in the Royal Mysore those days. It could very well be an anthology on Mysore. Please try to jog your memory and put them in black and white. I will be more than happy to accept the responsibility of putting them together, if people can comply with my request and contribute articles. A book with these articles would be a treasure.

U.B. Vasudev vasudev@tampabay.rr.com