Day 7 in India:(set 1 of 2 groups of photos for today) Today was another full day. Another hotel, another amazing breakfast buffet. There’s soooo much to try that most of us overeat. Good thing we had a walking tour today to help wear off some of the calories (not enough as our Intake is still waaaaay more than what we’re expending).
The first stop of the walking tour was the University of Mysore. We had a brief history by our leader (a published academic scholar) of how the city of Mysore came to be and its development over major time periods. Then we had a very entertaining guest lecturer talk about the architecture and renovation of the building (he oversees many historic building projects). It was interesting because it really relates to what’s perceived as “knowledge” as the local workers knew the local resources on hand or what he called the “humble materials”, much better than those who are outsiders. Also of note was his view on the “bastardization” of architecture through the habits of “pattern books” that created copy-cat buildings with no innovation because you just picked elements out of a book that got pieced together to form standardized structures. (Reminds me of “little boxes on the hillside, little boxes made of ticky tacky...”. Suburbia, right?
For all of this we sat outside on the steps of Jayalakshmi Vilas, a famous former palace built for the Maharajas’s daughter. It is now a heritage building maintained by the university and it holds a fascinating museum. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside. PS the temperature is about 40 degrees or more warmer down here than northern India. Sorry MN folks, that means about 90 degrees or more warmer than you.
After touring the museum we walked the downtown colonized business section of town with very similar style architecture. We went to a super cool market that was designed to be the center of town, where people could gather and have a sense of community and engage. Now a lot of the stuff found in the market can be purchased in local neighborhood shops so it’s threatening the cultural aspect and other side benefits the market used to provide. It was still interesting to witness all the bright colors, fresh flowers and variety of fruits and vegetables sold there.
We also went in (but did not have time to shop in) a craft emporium. The artistic skills, especially in wood carving are amazing. I think our group wants to head back to this part of town if we get any free time (which we’re not really sure will happen with our busy schedule). Fingers crossed. Oh and back on the bus we saw a bribe of a police officer go down!
Our leader had arranged for us to have lunch at an organic pizzeria, thinking perhaps we needed a break from traditional spicey Indian food. We totally over indulged there too. I think it was some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. Wood-fired and delicious! Had a mint lime drink with it which was also tasty.
We continued on our way to our next stop, the grand Mysore Palace. There was a lot of land devoted to this fortress which included temples and gardens. When it was built they relocated a village in order to build at this particular spot. New neighborhoods also sprung up after its completion. We toured both the palace and an additional royal residence which housed various cultural artifacts. Which reminds me, one of the funniest artifacts we saw at the princesses palace, which was notorious for its famous visitors and which now houses objects associated with those famous people, was a “bar of soap used by Gandhi”. Also, throughout the trip people have taken our picture, sometimes the as much of the group as they can, sometimes just an individual or two or three of us, sometimes asking permission , sometimes trying to do it slyly from a distance, and sometimes separate and sometimes as a selfie. Today, here in Mysore was a photo feeding frenzy. But I guess it’s a little karma for all the photos I tried to sneak. You’ll see a few from both sides of this oddity included below.
From the palace we were bused over to the Vicekabada Indian Studies Institute where we had been invited for a special performance. We got there early so had tea (a very common practice for locals and especially important in welcoming new guests). Minnesota was well represented as there were two groups studying there from the University of MN, one was premed students brought by a professor to explore the urban clinics/health care system (a model in some respects he said) and the other students were in a global leaders program from the U. After doing the Skol chant we decided a group shot was in order.
All of us then attended a special performance of the classical dance style Bharatanatyam. It’s a combination of dance and sign language that is used to tell stories, often ones of a spiritual or mythological nature. We got to try some of the hand positions and let’s just say it gave us a greater appreciation for the professionals.
Before heading back to the hotel we had to stop for more food (although I think we all would have been happy skipping a meal). But the experience was worth the stop. We were served Thali style. Unlike at the buffets, we were able to ask what everything was and what sauce was supposed to go with what bread or side dish. The meal ended with a warm lime water finger bowl for washing, and then both a small bowl of candy coated fennel and a some kind of fruit bite (we think maybe papaya) wrapped in some kind of herb leaf fastened with a clove.
Lots of new experiences today.
Day 7 in India (set 2 of 2 for groups of photos from today) please make sure to see earlier post for other phots and for description. 
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