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Karnataka - Mysore Eudaimonia
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Karnataka - Mysore Eudaimonia

This trip lists all the footprints I left in the state of Karnataka while I stayed in Hebbal, Mysore. And all subsequent sentimental visits there!
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  • Trip start
    July 27, 2015
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    First Look

    July 27, 2015 in India ⋅ ☀️ 40 °C

    New to the southern domain of India, I was a little apprehensive of how it might turn out to be. Verily, when the Mysore Express pulled into Mysore 7 hours behind schedule, after two long days of hard journeying, it did nothing to ease my apprehension.

    Not that the journey itself had been bad. I did manage to find some fellow travellers to Bangalore on d train. Neha Salah, HR at a private firm and Darth, tech guy at Cognizant. Travellers less, students more. But good companions. The two days were spent in fun, exchanging berths, food and a lot of music.

    On the morning of 26th, as the train pulled into @Vishakhapatnam, I felt a certain shift in the climate than what I was accustomed to. Far on the horizon were the blue Nilgiri Hills. Backbone of the south. When not cracking the silliest of jokes n laughing our asses off, the day was spent hanging from the train's doors, gazing out at the blue hills in the distance n the waving coconut/khajur trees lining every single road. Bangalore, we reached at 5am in the morning where I bid adieu to my new companions.

    All my doubts were laid to rest as our train pulled into Mysuru junction @10am. I was awestruck. A more serene and peaceful city I hadn't seen. It was like the entire city had been taken out and put out of time compared to the contemporary world. A timeless old fashioned classic.

    I reached my destination from the station in one the hundreds of autos that ply here. I didn't look back once. I was looking forward to staying here. Getting to know this place inside out. Little did I know what this place had in store for me in the weeks to come! ;)    Read more

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    Infy Days

    July 28, 2015 in India ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    Not much that I am gonna comment up here. That part of my work life, as endearing as it looks to workaholics is a regular pain in the ass for me.
    Though it does do come with it's own perks. Look at the pictures for the amenities.
    Okay, my first idea has always been that life of an IT guy sucks. And sucking on an ice cream fruit salad, I thought how true it was. Still.... Fingers crossed.. You never know.    Read more

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    First Outing

    August 3, 2015 in India ⋅ ☀️ 40 °C

    First weekend, and man were we excited about it!!
    What was the craze about Mysore, the cleanest city, all about? We were about to find out. So, we managed to pinpoint on three locations to start our footprints : Mysore Palace, Chamundi Hills and Karanji Lake!
    Stop One was the busiest attraction.
    The rich cultural heritage of Mysore unfolded before us via a tour of the palace. The place was teeming with tourists. We learnt more about the King Wadeyar and his family.
    The people of Mysore are one of the friendliest I have ever seen.
    We boarded a bus from the city bus stand and took the winded road up to Chamundi Hills and had one of the best views of the entire city sprawled out beneath us. Verily, the journey is worth more than the destination.
    Chamundi Hills houses the temple of Goddesses Chamundeshwari, the patron deity of Karnataka. The temple, a shining example of South Indian architecture is a full house of tourists, worshippers, devotees and hawkers alike. It was an infantry of people.
    Crossing Chamundi off our lists, we made our way to Karanji Lake. Karanji boasts of a hundred acre garden, an impressive aviary and the namesake, a lake. That really caught my attention was the display of birds at the huge aviary. It was a perfect blend of a million hues of the birds and the wild greenery. Peacocks, cuckoos, Macaus and innumerable others I have no idea of the names of.
    The perfect ending to this day came when we made the climb up a 100 foot watchtower and watched the serene sunset over the sprawling sparkling lake. A thousand words cannot describe that single picture.
    Mere words are all I had.
    This wasn't just worth a week's wait, it was a precursor for the weeks to come.    Read more

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    Coorg - Land of Spices!

    September 5, 2015 in India ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C

    My first weekend away from Mysore and boy, was I excited about it! Nearly 12 of us booked a van and were off in the wee hours of the day to visit the much rumoured Madikeri to see if it really lived up to the hype! And did it do so! With aplomb!
    Since Madikeri was too big to be properly visited in a weekend, we focused on South Madikeri. Rushing through the forests of (whose name is eluding me at the moment), to the monasteries of Bylakuppe, to the tea and coffee estates, we reached Abbey waterfalls. Abbey is one of the most popular waterfalls in the midst of coffee plantations with a hanging bridge for observations. It was simply mesmerizing for me who was witnessing such a huge waterfall for the first time in my life! The monasteries of Bylakuppe, like all monasteries was too peaceful for words. We finally reached a booked guest house in the evening where after a lot of drama and action among large groups, we finally fell asleep. We had hardly slept a minute before we had to wake up and visit Tala Kaveri, the origin of the Cauvery river. Well, visit is a small word, we had to climb over 300 steps (who's counting) to reach the top which was too foggy to see a thing. All for fog!
    What really struck us were the chocolate and spice stores along the way, every few hundred metres. Warm coffee and chocolate in the cold weather, is really the topping on the ice in this place. I could unfortunately not complete the entire Coorg or Madikeri and vowed to come back a second time to complete it! Madikeri made my day.. weekend!    Read more

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    Back to Coorg!

    October 3, 2015 in India ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C

    I made good on my vow to come back to this place. There was something about the waterfalls and hot chocolates and coffee about this place that pulled me back. Much of north Coorg was left unexplored the last time so I had my heart set on Iruppu falls which was a scenic waterfall as beautiful as Abbey but with a walking path through jungle like locale!
    Guys, do NOT mess with waterfalls. I and my friend Himanshu know this well as we nearly slipped down the waterfall in our excitement to clamber up it. Never again, never again so foolhardy!
    All's well that ends well however and our day culminated the way I had wished it to be. Sipping hot coffee and eating local chocolates.
    As our car winded back to Mysore, 90's music playing on the stereo I realized I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day in my life. :)    Read more

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    Ashtamir Dhaak

    October 21, 2015 in India ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    A hundred miles away from home. A thousand leagues away from the hustle bustle of my city. I cannot describe the immense pleasure and gratitude I felt at being able to sway to the beats of the dhaak once again.
    Undoubtedly, I was morose at being away from one of the biggest celebrations in the world. Durga Puja at Kolkata. So imagine my joy at finding a committee which organises this in Mysore.
    In true traveller fashion, we had scoped out the place a day before for timings. :P
    Wednesday morning dawned bright n clear. The ice bucket challenge of bathing literally made my knees weak. When we reached Gokulam (in 5 mins, courtesy of UBER :D ) we wasted no time in queuing up for morning anjali, an offering to the Goddess. With flowers and the beat of the dhaak and the Sanskrit chanting of the purohit, made for a welcome change from local language that I was getting used to.
    We spent time sniggering at holy Sanskrit words and then feeling mortified. Anjali was followed by a series of selfies with fellows Bengalis. Before the hour was up, it was time to rush back to our workplace.
    One hour, one million memories, touched one lonely homesick heart! :)
    Looking forward to Dusshera! ;)    Read more

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    Dusshera Night Out

    October 23, 2015 in India ⋅ 🌬 21 °C

    Dusshera. Dashami. Departure of the Goddess.
    The spectacle unfolded before us in Mysore on terms grander than I expected. The roads were chok-a-block with people.
    Dusshera in Mysore involves a grand exhibition where a procession of elephants is led throughout the streets upto the gates of the Mysore Palace. The 275 year old palace is alit with lights and gets a new life of its own.
    80 to 8 year olds all pour out on the streets for a glimpse of the fever that grips the city.
    Street food to restaurants, vendors to shops, roadside golgappas to coorg spices special, everything gets a makeover during this period! And people revel in this madness.
    Hence, we made a plan to spend a night out in this madness to catch the experience first hand. Well, less of a plan, more of an impulse.
    We had no rooms booked, nothing as a backup. The evening passed in a haze of madness, crowds, revelry and culinary satisfactions.
    Started the evening with a dandiya night wherein all our inner MJs and Pandit Birju Maharaj awoke and made us sway to the beats in ways unknown to us before.
    And then we definitely made hikers all over the globe proud from the sheer amount we walked that night. There was an exhibition ongoing but we decided to skip that for lack of time. Exploring each and every crowded side street, each and every food stall vendor, pushing and get pushed, we made our way from one part of the city to the other.
    Tired and exhausted by midnight, when we found ourselves in front of the Mysore mall, we had no guilty feelings in rushing in and relieving ourselves. In all senses of the word. Refreshed, but unable to walk further, we decided to catch a late night show of any movie running. For a better part of 3 hours we spent in the mall and then left it for the city's nightlife. The crowds had thinned by now, so we made our way through the empty streets to the suburban bus stand, the only place with a 24 hour hustle bustle and made ourselves feel at home in the cold with large cups of cappacinos! Cold thawed and unwilling to sit silently, we played and thoroughly enjoyed a game of dumb charades impromptu. Shared our acts with a eagerly gathered crowd who left no 'guesses' unturned to help us with our games. Time flew without us even realising it.
    When the sky finally grew lighter, and the early birds made their way out of their nests, we made our way back to our campus. The whispers on the returning bus finally subsided and I turned back to see everyone asleep with a tired but happy smile on their faces.
    A perfect night out. A perfect lot of people to spend it with. A perfect place to spend it in.
    #MysoreDiaries    Read more

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    Light 'em up, up, up!

    November 11, 2015 in India ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Our ancestors lit up their homes with candles with the belief that it drove demons away. Once in a year, the people of this country come together to light up the night sky and dominate the darkness. Oppress it through the lights and sounds that rip through the air all night.
    Diwali. A single word that lights up our soul and exorcise the demons in our heart. When people of all cultures light a simple diya to signify unity against evil.
    These days it comes down to crackers. The more you burst, the more your heart swells. Sometimes by abandoning caution. Naught for nothing do I firmly believe in "Date a patakha, don't burst one."
    Diwali in Mysore started for me in d evening, symbolically. The streets were filled with people making merry without a worry in their hearts. Thanks to the last say of two girls in our group, we decided on celebrating outside a Gurudwara.
    After tying the traditional on our heads, we sat through the. The small community of Sikhs impressed and warmed our hearts with their kindness, friendliness and merriment. We were then led to the dining hall where we gorged on bread, mouth watering chole masala, sweet n spicy halwa and innumerable sweets - jalebis to sandesh, barfis to rasgullas, each mouthful making our evening all the sweeter.
    The fun started afterwards when we brought out the huge stacks of crackers! Colours and hues and sounds took on a new meaning after that. Each deafening sound was followed by shouts and chorus of their native language which I joined in without abandon with whatever words I could cook up! And when the bhangra started, hands and feet flew fast and in any direction. The people welcomed me in their dance as one of their own. Someone went shouting past me and went straight into the drain!! Some slipped n fell and brought a bunch of others down with him! Madness redefined! Colourful Phuljhadis and chakris, tubris and rockets, chocolate bombs to TNT! Ah! Everyone fulfilled their secret wishes of destruction!!
    As the night grew older, we reluctantly made our way back to our homes and killed time chatting and laughing.
    Finally, when the night was at it's darkest, and the chatters had finally died, a girl brought out a diya and lit it up. Simple, elegant and proudly the oil dipped wick burned defiantly against the darkness. And the single blue flame warmed the hearts nearby and gave us hope... :)    Read more

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    Meanwhile at Infosys

    November 27, 2015 in India ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Meanwhile at Infosys, routine life continued. Begins at 7am in my wonderful room. A quick shower and a 4km hike later, we reach classes at GEC2. A whole day of frustrations interspersed with visits to Gazebo and lunch at Magna food court ended usually late evenings. Followed by time at RC, dinner at Maitri or FC. Late night outs with friends with singing and joking summed up an entire weekday. Weekends were where the fun was. Visiting DDR road, Mall of Mysore, Water Tank Vijayawada, Momo Plaza, etc. I can't just keep on listing names here. Honestly is this a memoir or just a list of place I visited! Anyway enjoy the bits and pieces from my stay at Mysuru.Read more

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    Guns n' Roses!

    January 2, 2016 in India ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Air Rifles. Hand guns. Pellets. Bangalore Food. Oh and a rose! That sums up how I ended up spending Valentine's Day.
    While the idea of cosying up for a movie can be fun, let me tell you, the real joy lies in aiming at a cardboard cut-out and firing away to your heart's content. So, when my traditional ideas when for a toss, me and my non traditional Valentine's day was spent in Kormangala Shooting Arena, Bangalore. With great facilities, this place is a must visit for couples looking to... well.. maybe not a must visit. But definitely one of the most fun ways to spend your time.Read more

  • InvokationsKarnataka - Mysore EudaimoniaInvokations
    From where the journey began!
    Birds of a feather flocking together!Biker's paradise!Excuse me! Where can I get the local bus from?O.oGokulam Residences

    Gee! These places look familiar!

    July 14, 2018 in India

    Backpack? Check.
    Extra undies? Check.
    Speakers? Check.
    Tickets? Oops! Almost missed those!

    Going back to one of my fav places for a trip, after almost 3 years, made me a little fidgety and forgetful. And I could be excused for that! The royal city of Mysuru holds a special place in my heart.
    As my bus wound it's way from the City Bus Stand, through the twisty roads of Gokulam, I felt a sense of belonging. This city had sheltered me for 6 months and I was grateful for it.

    Upon reaching Infosys, it was a different story altogether. The respect I got, as a senior employee, made me pause and pinch myself.
    To test if further, I asked a young trainee to get me a glass of water.
    I almost choked when he came back and said, "I didn't know if you wanted hot or cold, so I brought both glasses."

    Boasting of a world class campus, (look at my complete trip for more pictures) Infosys Mysore is the epitome of cleanliness and eco-friendliness! I checked in and was welcomed to a small personal guesthouse, complete with all the amenities I could think of. After dumping my backpack on the bed (the backpack jumps right back at you, the mattresses are that springy!), I zipped off for a bicycle ride (no fuel vehicles are allowed inside). After a couple of miles, I was drenched in sweat but grinning and happy. (Note to self: Your gym membership back home, is not meant to gather dust. Use it, you're fat!)

    Time flies by, doesn't it? There's something about watching the food court table where you and your friends used to sit everyday, the wayside halt where you used to sing and dance, and realising there is now a new younger group of people who do the same. The place hasn't changed, just the people have.
    After a quick meal, I met up with Devika, and after an hour of chatting, came up with a plan to visit the Chamundi temple the next day! An innocent plan which would have repercussions I have nightmares about.. The fateful plan where I would re-evaluate my life and only hope to come out of my ordeal alive! To be continued... :P    Read more

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    Mysuru by the morning light!
    So, what's the time again?Where's the elevator when you need it?Guess who that is? Your's truly!The one who made me walk a mile down a hill!The crowd at Nandi temple.

    A thousand steps! That's all?

    July 15, 2018 in India

    "881.. 882.. 883...
    Devika, if I don't make it down, tell my friends I love them!"

    My legs had started shivering at this point and I was seriously contemplating rolling into a ball and rolling down the hills. Hey! Blame Tom and Jerry for teaching me that!
    Our throats parched, we sat down on the 884th step awaiting the inevitable.

    You might think I'm exaggerating, probably I am, but this all started when we made a plan yesterday to visit the Chamundi temple. Built atop the Chamundi Hill, the temple commemorates the victory of Lady Chamundeshwari over the demon Mahishasura, after whom the the city of Mysuru is named. It is one of the, if not the most famous places in Mysore and expectedly people come in droves to seek blessings and offer gratitude.

    So when my friend Devika said, "Hey Anish, did you know that there are a thousand steps built by the side of the hill, which people climb up and down for good luck?" I was eager to explore it for good videography shots. Especially since 500 steps down, we could book a cab online and ride the rest of the way down.
    The first couple of hundred steps flew by, shooting pictures and videos.
    300 steps.
    The Nandi temple is a beautiful piece of architecture.
    500 steps.
    What we had not taken into count, was the fact that there are no internet towers atop a hill.
    In hindsight, a grave mistake. So we were in for a rude shock when we stood there with our smart and advanced phones useless without a connection. Now I know how aliens feel when they come to earth!
    I turned to Devika, "The way I see it, we have two options. 500 steps up or 500 steps down. And I remember my Physical Ed teacher telling me that climbing down is easier. So down we go!."
    Let me tell you guys, I think what my Physical education teacher had assumed was that all steps are of the same height. And in real life, on man-made steps cut into a hill, it is not so.
    The steps got progressively steeper and our breathing got more laboured.
    "700 steps down. We have fallen quite low." I sighed.
    Devika cocked her eyebrow, "Really? A staircase joke?"

    And it finally brought us to the 885th step. Where we sat, spent and exhausted. And just as I could see no light to the end of the tunnel, as my eyes started drooping, I heard Devika say what every guy wants to hear, "Anish, I managed to book an Uber!"
    And thus ended our adventure of StairMaster. Needless to say, we almost kissed the driver and took the Uber to tour the rest of the city spots. It was a day well walked, and as I had kadhai chicken that night at the food court, I admitted, maybe it's worth a second try! Not anytime soon though!    Read more

    Trip end
    January 4, 2016
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