Archive for October, 2009

Bombe Mane as it is called, literally translates into “House of Dolls” A age old tradition where traditional families still go on to make dolls at home and have a wonderful display of their dolls in their houses and its open for people to come and take a look. So you walk into a house take a close look at the dolls but there are so many of them that the only thing that lasts is the effect of the display

Was at one of my friend Raghav’s place, they had a nice display of dolls and few of them were made from ivory. His aunt was telling me that they were more than a hundred years old and they got them for a Rupee or two back then. She also said that the sellers would force people to buy they dolls if it meant the payment came months later. Guess Mysore had quite a few elephants to spare All this displayed in a 100 yrs old house which Raghav’s granddad bought from a British Officer makes it even more special.

Was also at the Ramsons Kala Parishad , They have one of the finest collections of handicrafts in Mysore and they had organised a week long exhibition cum sale of their dolls. Most of them very tastefully done, like the chess board game with Tipu’s army on one side and the British soldiers on the other. Creative ! The reason their dolls appeal to me is because there seems to be some kind of life infused in their creations, You would not refute it if you knew the people behind it, Mr RG Singh and Mr Raghu who have done some incredible reserach on the history on dolls and also on traditional board games in India. It blew me. Their passion comes out in their creations. Check them out the next time you are in Mysore, well worth a visit.

Lastly, I went to this place in Srirangapatna where this woman had displayed a collection of 500 odd dolls. I personally dint enjoy them. And I dont think just buying dolls from all over and displaying it talks about your interest in them but rather about the size of ones husband’s wallet :)  like I said some dolls are great, some dolls are fine , Not all dolls are pretty

Recently during Dasara Jessie Paul, Chief Marketing Officer of Wipro and her family were in Mysore and were on the  Royal Mysore Walks. It was interesting how we got across to eachother. It was on twitter where Jessie was promoting her new book No Money Marketing A  very catchy title for any entrepreneur. And I was promoting my Walks

Coupla days later, Got a tweet from Jessie saying that she and her family would be in Mysore and wanted to know if they could do the Night Walk during Dasara. A few tweets and a few hours later I was showing them around my city which was beautifully illuminated for Dasara.

NoMoney Marketing is a book on frugal marketing. A concept every business no matter how big or small would like to implement. After all who wouldn’t want more mileage by spending as little as possible It gives you a good perspective as to how you should go about creating your brand and how you ought to market it effectively. The book is simple, to the point (no high flying jargons), crisp and gets you thinking. Though it talks about examples from the IT world, The ideas can be put to use across businesses. In fact watching the Author promoting her book is a great learning on marketing. After all the Internet is going to change how we all do business and this a good book for anybody who wants to sell.

As for me, I was delighted to have an autographed copy of the book from the author and some real good tips on marketing from the CMO herself  And I must say they cracked all my trivias on Mysore, the only ones to do so on my Walks so far

During the 10 days of Dasara festivities, The King holds court every evening. A tradition that has been going on for centuries. Even now there is a Private Durbar held every evening at 7PM during the first 9 days where the Maharaja’s family and friends are invited for the same. And if you lucky enough to sneak in like I did you might as well get to steal a glance.

After pulling a lot of strings and a bit of my patience we managed to enter the Private Durbar Hall of the Mysore Palace, Which in my personal opinion is the grandest and the most beautiful place in the Palace (of the little that i have seen). You had the cremonial Golden Throne out on display. It is really impressive with all the gold and studded with precious stones. With a line of priests sitting in row in front of the throne and also the Palace staff deressed up in ceremonial robes waiting for the Maharaja to Arrive. The entire ambience makes you feel thatyou are actually in the bygone Royal Era.

The Maharaja makes a grand entrance, The Palace staff guide him to the throne, A lot fanfare, Bugles being blown and respect shown (real or otherwise) in lot a ways. It feels like you are watch a 1960s movie on some royal dynasty ,

They go on to announce loudly something that you can never decipher expect for the words “SriKantaDatta Narasimha Raja Wodeyar Bahadur”, guess they were singing praising for the Maharaja. He accends the throne and salutes.For the next 20-30 mins there are a lot of Pujas that are performed and the loud annuncement keeps coming up regular intervals. After which the Maharaja decends the Thonre and is escorted away.

The best part of the evening was when we came out and happened to meet Mr Paramesh the  turban maker, He is from the family of turban makers who makes the famous Mysore Peta (Traditional Mysore head gear). You see him in the pic wearing the traditional robe and silver in his hands. Took down his contact , So you might end up seeing more insider details on the Mysore Peta on Royal Mysore Walks

The frenzy festival of Dasara just came to an end in Mysore. A time when the whole city is decked up like a bride all major roads lit up and so are the important circles. The icing on the cake is the colorful lighting on most heritage monuments and the road going up the Hill, Chamundi and to top it all the fully lit Majectic Amba Vilas Palace. As you navigate through the city it feels like you are riding through a Alice in wonderland setting, too good to be true.

Series of events are lined up each year, This time you had the Yuva (Youth) Dasara where Shaan, Shreya Ghoshal et all performing but guess the person who stole the show was our very own local lad who has achieved national fame Raghu Dixit of the Raghu Dixit project fame.. He performed in the Maharaja College grounds prolly where he played cricket in his chaddis (shorts) as a kid. Also some great performance in the Palace by legendary singers like Jagjit Singh, Harprasad Chaurasia . Performing in front of the fully illumnated Palace to the crowd I guess is quite an expereince for the artist. Also plays were staged every day, movies aired and a series of other events, all of which come free to the aam aadmi (public)

It is also a great photo opportunity for people behind the lens, Infact thats what kept me busy caputring moments which if you miss will have to wait another full year. Got some good shots this time around. Also everybody offers something new for Dasara and Royal Mysore Walks had its Night Walks

Of the 10 days the last day was the Procession, the victory march. A tradition started by the Vijayanagar Empire of the Hampi fame, more than 600 years ago which is still kept alive. The highlight being the Jamboo Savari (Golden Howda

carried by the Elephant). It was nice to see the elephants strolling on Mysore roads as a part of their daily practice routine. The traffic had to wait elephant crossing in the city for the last couple of weeks

You again had the authorities with poor planning (as always) Dasara happens every year wonder why the confusion each year, crazy amount of crowds that pour in , esp during last last days and coupled with the rains (wonder why does it have to rain during every Dasara) it wasn’t all pleasant and rosy.

But all in all it was a time when the entire city celebrates, No wonder its called the Nada Nabbha (The festival of the state)