The South Indian city of Mysore is known for its temples and palaces, but in the last few years it has also become South India's centre for yoga studies. For tourists travelling in South India Mysore is a great destination to spend a few days. The city is small by Indian standards, and easy to get around.
Visiting The Mysore Palace
Until India's independence Mysore, and a large area surrounding the city, were ruled by the Wodeyar family of maharajas based in the Mysore Palace. The palace is built in an Indo-Saracenic style and is worth visiting both during the day and on Sunday nights, when the 97 000 light bulbs that decorate the palace and the palace grounds are lit at 7pm. During the day one can spend hours wandering around the palace and admiring its mosaic floors, beautifully decorated ceilings, intricate wood carvings and a throne made of solid gold.
Chamundeswari Temple
The Chamundi Hill overlooks the city of Mysore, and on top of the hill stands a temple devoted to the goddess Chamundeswari (whose victory over an evil demon Mahishasura is celebrated in Mysore every October with the 10-day Dasara festival). Pilgrims are expected to climb the 1000 steps that lead up to the temple, for others there are buses and autorickshaws.
The temple is small but busy, and is surrounded by a chaos of flower sellers, souvenir sellers, postcard sellers and beggars. Half way up the hill is a large statue of Nandi, Lord Shiva's bull.
Studying Yoga
Several Indian magazines have called Mysore India's new Yoga Capital (Rishikesh being the old one). Thousands of Westerners visit Mysore every year to study yoga. Some of Mysore's yoga schools accept drop-in visitors, but many require a commitment of at least a month. The most famous yoga school in Mysore is the Shri K Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Insitute that attracts thousands of Ashtanga yoga students from around the world.
Sandalwood Shopping In Mysore
The Devaraja Market in the centre of Mysore is a derelict, colourful and noisy market area full of stalls that sell exotic fruit, vegetables, flowers, handmade incense sticks and suspiciously cheap "Sandalwood perfume". Truly genuine oil, however, should be bought from the Sandalwood factory or from the government's Cauvery Emporium on Sayyaji Rao Road, the main shopping street. Silk weaving can be observed in the Government Silk Factory.
Eating Out In Mysore
When tired from shopping, head to the award-winning Green Hotel for a South Indian lunch in the hotel's beautiful gardens, or stop for an all-you-can-eat South Indian thali in one of the cheap eateries in the city centre. There are several Western-style coffee shops and fast-food joints in Mysore, too, and the city even has its own sweet: the Mysore Pak, made with milk, clarified butter (ghee) and sugar.
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