Mysore Trip

Last weekend, got an oppurtunity to visit Mysore with my parents on account of my dad's friend's wedding. I had previously visited this beautiful place exactly 8 years ago. The journey was filled with images of vast lush green fields overlooking the indigo sky as we passed through some of the most fertile land in Karnataka (Mandya, Srirangapatna). These regions are synonymous with Agriculture what with the Kaveri river surrounding them. This is also the rainy season so droplets of water falling from the sky on the green carpet made it even more scenic.
Our train reached Mysore and we were received by our family friend Hema aunty in the station. The wide , non-congested streets of Mysore with greenery on either side left a great first impression of the city. Roads have very very less traffic and are less polluted. We arrived at the calm and green residential locality of Hema aunty and had a warm reception at her beautiful and very well maintained bungalow. Nothing had changed much in her house and I recollected memories of the past. Chatting with her daughter Gowri in the very same room, the cats, the beautiful visiting room, etc. That very evening we made a trip to the famed Brindavan gardens. Enroute we passed through the much famed Infy campus which was spread to a vast area. The gardens provide a good background for photos :) and we took plenty of them there.
The whole garden was lit up in the night and the colourful fountains made the place beautiful. We especially enjoyed the musical fountains which had the water in the fountains swaying to the sound of amazing songs. We had a great dinner at a nice hotel with our hosts. We spent time chatting with aunty and retired for the night. The next morning we had to leave for a typical Kannadiga wedding of a family friend. I was fascinated by the drive through the beautiful roads of Mysore. After the wedding, we proceeded to a beautiful Bonsai garden having a collection of miniature plants which we really enjoyed walking through. Our next place in the list was Chamundi hills. The drive through the Chamundi hills took us through some beautiful viewpoints of Mysore. We had a good darshan and purchased a few local stuff there and made our way to Lalith Mahal (now Hotel Leela Palace). They even had a helipad for helicopters to land. Though converted into a hotel, the ground floor is thrown open to the public. Several films were shot in this famed place including the likes of Chandramukhi. It took us through the ages of the kings and queens and the royal life they led. We also had an oppurtunity to visit the place where the much famed "Raa Raa" song from Chandramukhi was shot. Though the architecture is not as intricate as that of Mysore Palace, it was beautiful and we had a pleasant time there. Our next stop was the famed Mysore Palace. The exteriors are not as attractive. But once you get indoors, the architecture is just mind blowing! The designs right from the tile to the roof are so detailed with the best colour combination you could ever imagine. So if you ever visit Mysore, dont miss this wonderful place. Unfortunately, we needed to cut short our visit due to time constraints. We returned back and our hosts made our stay extremely memorable from the first step into Mysore till the last one outside in many ways than one. Our return train journey throught the horrible Thirupathi Passenger Express needs a seperate post on its own. Though officially the coach is called reserved, its just like any other Unreserved compartment with the crowd entering the train in an adhoc manner and seated on the sleeper berths of reserved people and causing chaos. And to add on to it, the passenger train exactly twice the time of a normal train. However, minus this, we had a lovely trip and it would go down into my memory as some lovely experiences of mine.