MYSORE - Tour and City Palace

Today we were joined by a local Mysore Guide (the old man, as our driver unkindly described him)!   He was very knowledgeable but was a little arthritic but that actually suited us nicely as once we'd had the official introduction to the Palace, Temple and the market place, he was happy to leave us to wander round taking photos and meeting him at appointed places later.

First off we drove up Chamundi Hill to see the local royal family's temple to Sri Chamndeshwari.  Being a Saturday it was very popular with locals and pilgrims from farther afield.

There were lots of street vendors selling offerings of flowers and coconuts which were being snapped up.   We succumbed to buying wristbands guaranteeing us good luck!  This was the man I bought mine from

Statue of the slayer of the demons

Our Guide pointed out a religious parade that was taking place nearby involving a small procession wheeling a deity along the street accompanied by monks and priests.   Offerings of coconuts were being made to the deity and one of the priests blessed them then smashed them on the ground.   The broken pieces were scooped up by the devotees and taken home for distribution amongst family and friends.   The procession was just entering a temple when I reached it but I did manage to get piccies of a few of the monks/priests   

Later in the day whilst at the City Palace (which housed several small temples) the same ceremony was taking place there so I got some better photos.

The City Palace was originally built of wood but burnt down.  It was rebuilt in 1897 (finished in 1912).   The architect was British - Henry Irvin.  It was surprising to learn how many of the building materials were shipped in from the UK - huge ornate cast iron columns from Glasgow, floor tiles by Minton to name just a few.   Money was no object in those days of course.     David and I wandered around the grounds taking photos and admiring the views.    The architecture is superb (as with all Indian Palaces of course)

You'll notice the big bird getting in on the act here ... its a Kite and they are prevalent throughout India just lazily circling overhead almost everywhere you go

Devotees following the deity in the Palace Grounds ... you may just make out the coconuts being smashed on the ground by the guy in the mauve shirt in the centre of the group

These huge trees (Rain Tree) provided some much needed shade as temperatures began to soar late morning

Here's a better picture of one of the Kites that briefly landed on one of the floodlights in the gardens

and I was amused by these Black Ibis birds ... paddling in the Royal ornamental pools!  According to my Collins 'Birds of India' book, they aren't gregarious birds, but certainly 3 of them seemed to be getting along quite happily

We had a guided tour of the Palace interior which was really beautiful.  Sadly no cameras and no shoes allowed inside though. 

On Sundays and public holidays the exterior of the palace is lit for a short period by 100,000 light bulbs - that would certainly have been a sight to see.

Next stop was a visit to see a granite sculpture of Nandi, the bull upon which Lord Shiva travels the universe.   The statue sits 900 steps (out of 1000) up the hill on the devotee route to the local royal family's temple.  Thankfully, we drove there by car!   This statue is 350 years old, stands 16ft high and is 24 ft long.

After all this thirsty walk, sightseeing in the heat, what could be more refreshing than a local drink freshly made from sugar cane juice flavoured with chilli, mint, lemon and cardamom.   The sugar cane is crushed through this mangle several times, then one final time with the other ingredients sandwiched between the crushed stems.... it was delicious.   I was a little dubious about drinking it at first but we were given paper cups so didn't have to drink from the glasses (which were being rinsed in local water).