Mysore Specials

Did you know that Dasara is a 600 year old living tradition?  It was first started by the Vijayanagara Kings in Hampi and later carried forward by the Kings of Mysore and this year is the 400th year of Mysore Dasara

From the 7^th to 17^th of October 2010 you will find the entire city in a festive mood. The Illuminated Palace with 97,000 bulbs would be the centre of the entire celebration.

Here are five new things that you could venture out this Dasara !!

Mysore Style Yoga: You find Mysore Style Yoga studios in New York, London, Paris or Milan. Ever wondered how did it spread to the west ? Here is your chance to experience Mysore Style Yoga and understand its positive effects on the body. In Mysore you can get to know the story of how this style started and why this city considered holy for Yogis which attracts close to 500 foreign nationals every month for Yoga practice. You have quite a few Yoga Shalas  to try out in Lakshmipuram and Gokulam

97,000 bulbs up there

Night Walks : Its time of the year when the entire city is decked up like a bride and the illumination makes it special. A Night Walking Tour where you get a feel this city,learn the Significance of Dasara, understand Mysore’s relevance in World History, Get to see one of India’s Oldest Secret Societies, Get to have Mysore Pak from the family that invented it and much more. Mysore was recently voted the second cleanest city in India. So its enjoyable Walking. Organised by Royal Mysore Walks Call # 96320 44188

Tradition Food: Mysore’s delicacies find their place in every Indian restaurant around the world. From the sweet named after the city,Mysore Pak to a Mysore Masala Dosa there is an entire gamut to choose from. When in Mysore try the local fare, From the delicious Masala Dosas in Mylari and GTR to tender meat at Mugal Durbar.

200 yr old Garadi Mane, A traditional Wrestling house !

Garadi Mane,Traditional Wrestling House: This city has always been famous for its traditional wrestling, also known as Kushti. You can visit century old Wrestling houses to watch the men in loin cloths practice before they work on pinning down their opponents to the ground, Even the King back then was known for his wrestling skills, Do you want to try your luck? Then Mandi Mohalla is your best pick.

10,000 dolls on display

Gombe Mane,House of Dolls: It is a practice in Mysore for the girls of the house to make dolls  during the time of Dasara and work on bringing out a magnificent display their collection A lot of families even today follow this practice. You can get a peek in to the colorful tradition and if you wish you can also buy the dolls from a collection of 10,000 dolls at Bombe Mane at the Ramsons Kala Parishad Call 0821 2443669

Lots in store !! So see you in Mysore this Dasara :)

This is a post about my recent visit to the Infosys Campus in Mysore ! It all started with a cold email (I’m guessing there must be some word similar to a cold call !! ) To be true I had been trying to get in touch with people from Infosys for a while now but without luck. Then one of my friends gave me this idea of just shooting a mail to the Infy Mysore DC (Delivery Center) head. So back I was on this modus operandi of cold calling (The only way for start ups to get in touch with people) Off I sent the mail to Mr Nagarajan Srinivasan, the only difference this time was the reply said “I have heard about you before” !! which made me believe like Paris Hilton, Any kind of publicity is Good Publicity

Mr Nagarajan Srinivasan (I shall take the liberty of calling him Snags, thats how he popularly known in Infy, plus I think it also sounds cool !!) Snags wanted to get his leadership team at Infy on the walking tour so we exchanged a couple of mails back and forth to decide the date and in between he suggested if I would be interested in coming down to the Infy Campus to talk about my experience with Royal Mysore Walks, They had their Leadership meet coming up and he extended the invite. You know for me if its Talking then there is no Stopping ! So gladly I accepted. The Walking tour also happened for their small group. Great audience to be doing such tours for. Well read, well traveled folks who have this strong love for the city !!

The date of the talk arrived and there I was at the gates. Now anybody who has been to the Infy Mysore Campus will tell you about the kind of security cover it has got, No!! not the Group 4 kind of joke that passes for security, In wake of latest terrorist threats Infy has armed CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) personnels guarding their campus, There is a “Quick Action Unit” too (Don’t know how exactly they act though) stationed out there. Trivia ! Infosys is the first corporate organisation in India to get CISF cover !! Anyways considering yours truly is not a terrorist getting past the rings of security was not too much trouble.

The Infy Mysore Campus has always been a kind of a crystal maze to me (the couple of times I have been there before) But thanks to my friends there this time, I got to the building I had to get to without much trouble.Here I met with Ms Soumya (who happened to be a alum from my college,SJCE) ,who took me to Snags chamber.A very unassuming personality who would put you at ease. The three of us headed for lunch to this restaurant called Rajadhani, Places like these are generously sprinkled in Malls all over but to expect something like this in your office food court must surely be soothing. After a sumptuous meal where the waiter in a traditional attire forces you to have more like you are one of the members of his family I hope do people get back to work after lunch here !!

Snags had given me this option of touring the campus post lunch, either by Walk or on a Buggy! No points for guessing what I chose !! Hopped on to the buggy with Soumya who is this pro at doing these campus tour and she was very polite in letting me know that,”The Buggy is used only when they have a client visit or important guests. Even the top bosses don’t get to use it in the campus” So she said I was privileged !!  It sure felt good but it also made me realize that with a Kurta you are undressed for the occasion!! I was from this  Gandhian Era when everybody else on campus was ‘tie’d up, in spite of the heat !! Anyways off we were on the tour. The shapes of the buildings unique stretching towards weird (for this common man), The running tracks, 7   food courts, The Global Education center, which makes you feel you are in Rome !! The sports complex, the series of Tennis, Badminton,Squash Courts, Rooms for Yoga, Aerobic, Super Market, Mini Hospital, Banks, Manicured lawns all over the place. In short you could say that they have whatever a man (even a woman for that matter) could ever need. But wait, they didn’t sell beer !! They also have this magnificent Multiplex which on the outsidelooks like a Cactus !! Soumya declared that this is better than the PVR multiplexes (Trivia !! PVR stands for Priya Village Roadies,A joint venture between the owners of the Priya Cinema hall in Delhi and Village Roadshows,the austrailian production firm, the folks behind the movie Matrix !! ) Anyways I thought she was kidding but when inside you are proved wrong. A 1000 seater big screen place was where the much coveted TED Conference took place last November.

Since the Mysore campus is their central training facility. The campus has approx 13,000 beds, The capacity to accommodate the highest number of people in a single complex in whole world !! Snags tells me that The Venetian in Vegas comes 2nd with 7,000 odd rooms , The MGM Grand again in Vegas with 6800 odd rooms comes 3rd !! Now this one place where Mysore beats Vegas huh ! and like Soumya quips, “If ever the software industry collapses, Infy can turn this facility into a world class resort !!” I’m sure their code will run the slot machine if that happens!  The hostel accommodation is spread across their sprawling campus and it almost never ends. At the end of the tour my respect for the facilities team increased who are always on their toes to keep the campus in shape and for Soumya who in spite of doing this tour for the nth time was so full of enthusiasm !!

I can already hear most you saying, I must be a great campus and all that but but whats the big deal !! Well, I too have seen my share of world class facilities but thinking of it some 30 odd years ago, A time when our Mulayams and Lalus were calling for a ban on computers in India because they thought it would take away employment, A bunch of guys from middle class backgrounds in the 20s decided to give up their cushy jobs to pursue their dreams and in the process they built a World Class Corporation !! Yes the Big two tech companies in India are TCS and Wipro, not taking anything away from them. The former always had the Tatas behind them and Western Indian Oil Products had made its money in the FMCG sector before entering the IT space !! Talk to most entrepreneurs today and they’ll tell you that they look up to Infy story for inspiration. Doubt the Infy founder had somebody to look up to in our country back then ! Which is why their story is so commendable. Back in Snags cabin, waiting for him to finish his work, got this thought, here is a person who is the Associate Vice President of the company today and The Head of this sprawling campus which trains 25,000 people each year !! But 19 yrs ago right out of college he joined Infy as a Software Engineer, when it still wasn’t a flashy company and climbed up the ladder to the position he is in today !! Its people like him who probably truly represent the Indian IT success story! And you ask him how ? His modest reply “I was at the right place at the right time” then you couple that with his  smartness and shrewdness and you’ll know why he got there so soon !!

Went for the talk which was their Leadership meet for Project Managers and above, Great audience to get across to. It was about “Converting your passion to Entrepreneurship” It was about my short journey so far of trying to club my interests and making a living out of it, with the challenges faced. It was close to an hour. After the talk over coffee I was still curious how would a one man venture addressing the leadership team of a billion dollar company help ? for which Snags replied “We would want our team to think like entrepreneurs not expecting all the decision to come from the top” He was right , Ownership makes all the difference. Something the Japanese Auto companies did very well and the American Auto giants didn’t !!

Here I was to to share my experience so that they could get a different perspective and probably learn from it but in the end I it was a great learning experience for me personally !! Happens so often than not that you get back more than what you could give… Aint it

n hey by the way.. Snags is a SJCE alum too !! I’m so proud of my alma mater I tell you

PS: Here I’m not trying to change anybody’s mindset on Infy !! Because even now I know i will have my friends complaining over minor issues in the company, I too did not appear for the Infy campus interview in college because back then I thought they were too big !! now I feel every entrepreneur should read the Infy story, It sure is a very humbling experience !!

I was in Baroda recently, I just couldnt help but notice how similar this city is to our very own Mysuru ! with so many connections it could just surprise you !!

The Mahrajas

Sayaji Rao Road, the main thoroughfare in Mysore is named after the Maharaja of Baroda, Sayaji Rao Gaekwad, The legendary Maharaja is said to have been adopted by the Royal family. The story goes that as a young boy he was asked by the queen as to why he was called to the Palace and the boy grandly announced with confidence , ‘I have come here to rule !!’ Mighty impressed he was appointed the heir apparent. He did a greatly reformed the kingdom of Baroda. When Dr BR Ambedkar did not have the money to study further, It was this Maharaja who sponsored his education in Britain of this brilliant student from the backward classes of the society which was unthinkable back then, Who would later on go on to write our constitution ! In a smiliar fashion it was the Mahraja of Mysore, Chamarajendra Wodeyer who would partly sponsor the trip of Swami Vivekananda to America to attend the first international religion parliament in Chicago in 1893, where he gave his famous speech on Hindu Religion which is still remembered to this day ! Infact one the main thoroughfares in Baroda was named after Chamarajendra Wodeyar which is now popularly known as Palace Road ! Chamarajendra Wodeyar was an adopted Maharaja too !! And as per one of the stories on the origins of the Wodeyar Dynasty, The very first King Yaduraya is said to have come from Dwarka in Gujarat.

Ramchandra Guha, the famous historian says, Most Maharajas of India were useless expect for two of them, Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad of Baroda and Majaraja Krishna Raja Wodeyar IV of Mysore for their great contribution to their respective Kingdoms !

Raja Ravi Verma

The famous Fateh Singh Museum of Baroda boasts of good collections of painting of Raja Ravi Verma’s painting,  And it sure is a very good collection indeed. It was this famous painter who introduced water colours to India and some of his great works adorn the walls here and his studio was set up right next to the Museum, which is now in shambles. But this Museum is surely one of the best kept ones in India with a great collection of painting and sculptures from across the globe. The Jagan Mohan Art Gallery in Mysore too has some priceless collection of Raja Ravi Verma and the other place which has a significant Raja Ravi Verma collection is the Sree Chitra Art Gallery in Trivandrum. They say time stops when one begins to admire Raja Ravi Verma’s paintings. This gifted artist with the strokes of his paint brushes created magic more than a 100 years back and even today it looks as if its brand new ! One needs to see it to believe it and be sure you’ll be drawn in.

The Musicians

Ustad Faiyaz Khan, the court musician of the Baroda Kingdom was an exponent in Hindustani classical music. In 1908, a grand competition was arranged in Mysore where he sang so splendidly that he eventually won the top spot for which the Maharaja of Mysore awarded him the title “Aftab-e-Mousiqui.” meaning the ‘the sun of music’. Veene Sheshanna,the famous veene mastter in the Royal Court of Mysore when on a visit to Boroda, It is said that the Gayakwad Maharaja was so pleased with his recital that he took a procession of Veene Sheshanna in a palanquin in the city of Baroda.

The Sights

In the heart of Baroda you have a bustling and colourful marketplace called the Khande Rao Market, In an old stately building selling fresh flowers, colour and vegetables, Built by Maharja Sayaji Rao in 1906 to commemorate the silver jubliee celebration of his rule and gifted it to the Baroda Muncipality. Its resemblance to our very own and vibrant century old Devaraja is striking.

You even find quite a few clock towers in Baroda just like how you find them in Mysore, Generously erected in the city by the Royalty back then for the benefit of their subjects. You find a very promineint one very close to the Baroda city Railway Station.

The stately Laxmi Vilas Palace sits pretty in the heart of the City. Intricately carved this majestic structure has more than 3000 beautiful stained glass windows, The highest used in any structure all imported from Belgium. The architect of the Laxmi Vilas Palace was a Englishman named Major Charles Mant who committed suicide in the 1890s for fear he had got his calculations wrong and that the palace would fall down !! How said because it still stands strong even today !! Unfortunately this Palace is very poorly maintained which is still the private property of the Royal family of Baroda ! Infact the central Arch of the Amba Vilas Palace in Mysore is modeled after the Laxmi Vilas Palace !

You also have a Oriental Library in Boroda which was inspired from the Oriental Research Library in Mysore which in Mysore is housed a grand structure which was built in 1887, to commemorate the jubilee year of Queen Victoria reign.

The century old central library is Baroda is sure not a place to be missed with some great collection of rare books,the entire flooring is made of Belgium glass and when you walk on it in the first and second floors, it sure makes you jittery The central Library of Mysore might not be housed in similar setting but set up in the Chamarajendra Technical Institute building, once up on a time it sure was a treasure for book lovers !

Baroda is house to the famous Maharaja Sayaji Rao University,Initially started off as Baroda collage and later on acquired the status of a University !  The Mysore University set up in 1916 was the first among the Princely States in India, For which Krishna Raja Wodeyar IV sent study teams to great universities around the world to come up with what is the best model for Mysore. Both are housed in beautiful Heritage Buildings !

One could go on with more such familiar sites in Boroda like the imposing Nyay Mandir, the Law Courts, The old city and its town planning, The beautiful man made lakes. Sprawing gardens, Crickets grounds and lush green golf courses so much like how it is in Mysore ! Infact a popular sweet in Baroda is called Maisur,which is also made from gram flour !

Like they say, in the Tale of town cities there are so many many stories that are common ! and it all stands out pretty for us to notice and compare. And as this lady from Baroda now settled in Bangalore  put it, Yes Baroda and Mysore are so similar, its just that Mysore is a little more classier. Couldn’t agree with her more !

It occurred to me that I hadn’t got anything for my mom since I ventured into my own business. She deserved something special, apart from being understanding and supportive she has always made sure that I’m so comfortable at home because of which I could focus better on work. And dont they say that behind every man’s success there is woman !! okay now you do not have to go and disect the word success and come after me, this is about Sarees and Moms so coming back to it I dint have to think too hard as to what I wanted to get her. It had to be a Mysore Silk Saree !! after all what else can the founder of Royal Mysore Walks think of !! apart from a Mysore Special So off went the mom and son one afternoon to the Mysore Silk factory !!

The Mysore Silk story has always fascinated me.  This factory was started in 1912, almost a 100 yrs back by the Maharaja of Mysore to provide Silk Sarees just for the women of the Mysore Palace. These days husbands have a problem taking their better halves out shopping and back then you had a king starting an entire factory to fulfill their need  chivalry at its best i would say !! Mysore Silk Saree is the only 100% pure silk saree in the whole world and they use pure gold and silver for the zari (the border). Did you know that women sometimes get old Mysore Silk sarees melted and get ornaments made from the precious metal that is obtained !! And any woman who has worn Mysore Silk will vouch for its super lightness unlike the other Silks.

The entire process, right from the silk yarn to the complete Saree  is done in their factory in Mysore and one can witness it. I have been taking a lot of my guests on this tour, and this time I was busy explaining my mom how the entire process is done, which is quite fascinating. But what really impresses me is that fact that just about 4 yrs back it was decided that this heritage industry should be shut down as it was a loss making one. Since then it has been restructured, the workers have gone from 3 shifts have to just one shift. The productivity has increased drastically and so has the quality. Now KSIC is a 400 Cr profit making industry !! People can just log on to their website and order the Saree of their choice and their are unable to meet the market demand. You talk to weavers there who so proudly showoff their handiwork and most of their kids are studying engineering across the street in the same college that the Infosys founder Mr Narayana Murthy went to !!

After the tour mom visibly impressed decided to buy not one but two Mysore Silk Sarees !! And I wasnt complaining Guys now that you know what to buy your mom, but then what are you gonna buy your girlfriend ??

Cast my vote y’day.. Its not my first time at it.. done it a couple of times before..The responsible citizen i am but thats not the point here..It that black indelible mark on every voter’s index finget that catches my attention..

The sole supplier of indelible ink to the Election Commission of India is situated in Mysore. This 72-year-old Mysore Paints & Varnish Ltd (MVPL)  is one of the many industries started by the Maharaja of Mysore..

And looks like its just not the indian voter who has the Mysore ink on the fore finger but citizens from a list of other countries too..   Just another of Mysore’s contributions making its mark.. this time literally  :)

Boni.. in the local language means getting your first customer and that’s what i had today My First Customer(MFC)!!! After weighing his options MFC finally decided to make it for the walk.. A Walk early is the morning taking in the fresh morning air is an enjoyable experience plus MFC with his curiosity and attention made it all the more interesting..

At one point in the walk MFC exclaimed “I’ve never seen so many bananas all my life” he was right.. there were quite a few of them.. he quite enjoyed the market place and yeah we both loved our desi cutting chai.

Having finished the walk in about 2 hrs we headed for a sumptuous south Indian breakfast.. MFC was quite generous in his appreciation and also quite thoughtful in his critical feedback.. It was over our conversation when i realised what an avid and an extremely interesting traveller MFC was .. i was quite taken aback.. i must say looks are deceptive.. I’ve always enjoyed listening to people’s travel experiences there is something in it that always makes me to want to see more..

On letting MFC know that is was “MFC”, he was quite happy and passed me a “silver coin” so that it would bring me luck!!! here I was to give MFC a memorable experience but he ended up giving one in return..

Hope MFC got much more than he had hoped for.. because i certainly did.. My Boni was turely amazing..

Its more than year since i had been toying with the idea of starting a walking tour in Mysore.. The travel bug i guess is in the family.. having seen almost the whole of India as kid.. the urge to see more of the world was always at the back of mind..

My stint in Singapore gave me a great opportunity to explore south east Asia.. It was fun backpacking at any given opportunity.. lying to my boss.. getting fake medical certificates i guess bosses are the worst enemies of travellers all over the world ..but there was so much to see that i had to do it quite often It was around the same time when heard about a walking tour in Singapura, Tried it and loved the experience..

Since then i had been harbouring this thought of starting such a thing in Mysore.. having quit my job more the six months back and nose diving into doing research and meeting people who gave me a glimpse into Mysore’s past.. i must say its an extremely fulfilling experience.. So after all the toil.. here we are now all set to offer RMW to the world..

Following what some great man associated with whisky said.. “Keep Walking”…