Mysore Trip - Day 2

Day 1 of the trip ended in some confusion over the hotel rooms. We needed 2 rooms because we were four people. But the guy in hotel goofed up and we had to find another room at 11 PM!

Anyway, the next morning we woke up at 8.30AM in our new room at The Gallery view hotel right opposite the Jaganmohan Palace which is also the Art Gallery.

After a few hiccups with an auto driver which led to much bigger hiccup between me and my wife, we started planning our day. We ate mallige idlies for breakfast in Hotel Siddhartha. I strongly recommend this place - very clean and reasonably priced.

Our travel day started with Chamundi betta.

Chamundi Hills

The drive up to Chamundi Hills is serene. On the wat there is the Karanji lake. The views of the Lalith Mahal palace on the way is fantastic.

On top of Chamundi betta, is a huge statue of Mahishasura greeting you. The temple's gopura can be seen from quite a distance. Like any other pilgrimage place, it was very crowded. Sunday is completely different day in the calender of the indian tourist. Every place looks so scrowded. And the same place when visited on a weekday would seem like heaven!

Anyway, it was a long queue for drashan of Chamundeshwari. There were lot of people and quite some pushing around. The sevaks also looked ill-trained to handle crowds. But on darshan it felt good. The deity was done up nicely.

Shots here:

























View of Lalith Mahal from Chamundi betta:




















Somnathapura

Tucked away deep in Mandya district are the magnificent ruins of Somnathapura. It's 40Km from Mysore near Bannur. We drove through the countryside of Karnataka - the richer side of Mandya district.

As we arrived in Somnathapura, we had some Tea in local tea shop. There was an art store with bronze structures and carvings made by different tribals in India. That was a unique collection of bronze art and resembled the kinds we'd read in history textbooks about the Harappan culture. The stuff there is really impressive - but then so are the prices! There were art items from Todas in Nilgiris, Gonda tribe in Madhya Pradesh and some Naga tribal art too!

The main monument of Somnathapura is very well protected. The entire complex is beautifully maintained. The lawns all around the temple gives an impressive backdrop for the main attarction.

The deepa sthamba of the Keshava temple:
























The temple has some of the most intricate carvings I've seen made on soapstone.
Most of the sculptures are based on Ramayana, Mahabharata and other Vishnu's avatars. As we drove out of Somnathapura back to Mysore, it was a feeling of satisfaction.