Yesterday my group and I were taken on a day-long tour of the main attractions in Mysore. It was a very long day - but I have never said the word "incredible" more times in one day in my life! The people, the colours, the architecture and the history are amazing here. We visited Chamundi Hills, Somanathpur, Mysore Palace, St. Philomena's Church, as well as an Indian clothing store and a silk store.
Our first stop yesterday morning was Chamundi Hills - one of the eight most sacred hills in India. There are actually 1000 steps that go from the main portion of Mysore city to the top of Chamundi Hills (we didn't climb the stairs though...). If an Indian woman wishes to be married early, she must climb all 1000 stairs and perform puja (Hindu prayer) at each step. Most people, however, just climb the stairs for exercise on the weekends. At the top of the hill is a temple built for a Hindu goddess. It is built in the traditional southern Indian style of temples, meaning that it has a "step-like" construction. Every southern Indian temple has 3, 5, 7 or 9 steps - and the one at Chamundi Hills had 7 steps, each with different representations of Buddha. We were unable to go inside, as Saturday is a holy day and there was a very long line to wait. But we did get to climb down 300 of the 1000 steps to see the Bull of Shiva! It was incredible. The second largest stone monolith bull in India, it is 4.5m tall and is carved from local rock. Every 6 months, a ceremony is performed to redecorate the Bull, and we were able to see it after it was freshly redecorated. It was incredible - one of my favourite parts of the day (but I'm awful at picking favourites, so I probably have 15 favourite things from yesterday!).
On our way to the Somanathpur temple, we passed the Banyon Tree where the Buddha reached enlightenment. It's one of the largest banyon trees in souther India, and is over 500 years old.
The Somanathpur temple is one of the most famous Hindu temples in India. Carved entirely from local soapstone about 750 years ago, this temple was constructed for the worship of 3 Hindu Gods. It was intended for use by the brahmin caste (the upper class), but was never actually used. Sadly, the temple was never even completed because it was attacked by a group of Muslims three times, and after the third time, the work was never completed. The outside of the temple is covered with intricate carvings of elephants (for strength), horses (for courage), as well as many representations of different Hindu gods and goddesses. It was so interesting - on each carving of Shiva, if you just looked at his torso, you could see the face of a bull (which was Shiva's mount). It was so cool. Somanathapur was also where I had my first experience with a non-Western toilet. Let's just say it was an authentic Indian experience.
We then travelled to Mysore Palace, an enormous complex that was built for use by the Indian Kings (I'm not sure if it was the King of all of India, or southern India) and designed by the British. The palace was actually in use for hundreds of years, but after the end of the reign of the last Indian King in 1969, it has been used primarily as a historical site. The entire building was stunning - beautifully ornate, yet tasteful. All of the chandeliers were made of glass from Czechoslovakia, all pillars from Scotland, each stained glass window from England, a set of each crystal, bronze and gold chairs each made in different Indian cities. The most breathtaking rooms though, were those that we were shown as "VIP Guests"... we were taken into a room that housed the entire Royal sword collection! It housed over 300 swords and special weapons designed solely for use by the Indian Kings. Connected to this room was the Royal animal collection. The entire room was filled with taxidermy Indian and African animals - everything from elephants to crocodiles to cheetahs and even a giraffe! So incredible. It was such an honour to be shown such special artifacts. We were even able to see the palace illuminated in the evening! It looked just like an Indian version of Disneyworld, only more historical. The entire complex felt so magical.
Our first stop yesterday morning was Chamundi Hills - one of the eight most sacred hills in India. There are actually 1000 steps that go from the main portion of Mysore city to the top of Chamundi Hills (we didn't climb the stairs though...). If an Indian woman wishes to be married early, she must climb all 1000 stairs and perform puja (Hindu prayer) at each step. Most people, however, just climb the stairs for exercise on the weekends. At the top of the hill is a temple built for a Hindu goddess. It is built in the traditional southern Indian style of temples, meaning that it has a "step-like" construction. Every southern Indian temple has 3, 5, 7 or 9 steps - and the one at Chamundi Hills had 7 steps, each with different representations of Buddha. We were unable to go inside, as Saturday is a holy day and there was a very long line to wait. But we did get to climb down 300 of the 1000 steps to see the Bull of Shiva! It was incredible. The second largest stone monolith bull in India, it is 4.5m tall and is carved from local rock. Every 6 months, a ceremony is performed to redecorate the Bull, and we were able to see it after it was freshly redecorated. It was incredible - one of my favourite parts of the day (but I'm awful at picking favourites, so I probably have 15 favourite things from yesterday!).
Chamundi Hills was our first experience being immersed in Indian culture and being out in public with the Indian people... and did we ever stick out. People were stopping to stare, point, wave and yell "hi!" just to hear us say "hi!" back. But the greatest was when entire families would run over to us, excitedly wanting us to pose for pictures with them, or when mothers would force their young children to take a picture with us, or when Indian men would come up to the guys in our group wanting to shake hands. At first it was a little uncomfortable, but then we got used to it - and just enjoyed it. It's not tourist season here now (mostly because it's so hot) so we are definitely a bit of an oddity around here!
On our way to the Somanathpur temple, we passed the Banyon Tree where the Buddha reached enlightenment. It's one of the largest banyon trees in souther India, and is over 500 years old.
The Somanathpur temple is one of the most famous Hindu temples in India. Carved entirely from local soapstone about 750 years ago, this temple was constructed for the worship of 3 Hindu Gods. It was intended for use by the brahmin caste (the upper class), but was never actually used. Sadly, the temple was never even completed because it was attacked by a group of Muslims three times, and after the third time, the work was never completed. The outside of the temple is covered with intricate carvings of elephants (for strength), horses (for courage), as well as many representations of different Hindu gods and goddesses. It was so interesting - on each carving of Shiva, if you just looked at his torso, you could see the face of a bull (which was Shiva's mount). It was so cool. Somanathapur was also where I had my first experience with a non-Western toilet. Let's just say it was an authentic Indian experience.
We then travelled to Mysore Palace, an enormous complex that was built for use by the Indian Kings (I'm not sure if it was the King of all of India, or southern India) and designed by the British. The palace was actually in use for hundreds of years, but after the end of the reign of the last Indian King in 1969, it has been used primarily as a historical site. The entire building was stunning - beautifully ornate, yet tasteful. All of the chandeliers were made of glass from Czechoslovakia, all pillars from Scotland, each stained glass window from England, a set of each crystal, bronze and gold chairs each made in different Indian cities. The most breathtaking rooms though, were those that we were shown as "VIP Guests"... we were taken into a room that housed the entire Royal sword collection! It housed over 300 swords and special weapons designed solely for use by the Indian Kings. Connected to this room was the Royal animal collection. The entire room was filled with taxidermy Indian and African animals - everything from elephants to crocodiles to cheetahs and even a giraffe! So incredible. It was such an honour to be shown such special artifacts. We were even able to see the palace illuminated in the evening! It looked just like an Indian version of Disneyworld, only more historical. The entire complex felt so magical.
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