Downtown Mysore

Posting on the run today, sorry for any misspellings or incorrect sentences. It is what it is!

Today my mother took us all over Mysore to visiti tall her old haunts as a child. The compound where she grew up is now a 3 floor department store. I remember coming to the compound as a child. It had beautiful gardens in the front and a huge house set way back centered around an open-air courtyard. There was a tall guava tree on the side that I used to climb with my cousins and jasmine bushes lined the walls. At night time the buds would open and it would smell wonderful. It was a little sad to see the huge store built on that spot.

On the street next door all the vegetable and flower vendors still had carts. May got yet another flower for her hair! and we walked around in the smaller stores.

You can get fresh sugar cane juice from the many street vendors. It si fun to watch them pressing it and it tastes great.

Maya couldn't believe this cow walking across the street in the middle of traffic. It was amazing he didn't get hit! The vehicles are zooming by him.

There are many temples that my mother remembers visiting  growing up. They used to be open all the time but now they are just open early in the AM and in the evening. We will be coming back to a few to visit.

On the way back to the hotel we saw some fun things. It was Saturday, so we caught some women washing clothes in the river:

 These are rice patty fields. There are acres and acres of the rice patties on the long drive back.

Everything seems to be full of color in India even the trucks! The are called "Lorries"

Back at the hotel we went to the Kauvery Temple and performed a Pooja with the priest. A pooja is worship to the Deities of the Hindu Religion in the form of prayer, offerings and sacrifices...

They are done in a fixed, ritualistic pattern, by celebrating in praise and offerings to Lord Ganesh, the Divine Mother, Lord Shiva, the Nine Planets, Kalsa (representing the Universe), and Mother Lakshmi.
During a Pooja, offerings are made to the fire (Agni devta), which is viewed as the mouth of the Divine – it is the actual feeding of the God. During a Pooja, sixteen prescribed steps occur (symbolic of the sixteen ceremonies to be completed in the life span of a Hindu) including the welcoming of the Deity, giving the Deity a place to sit, the washing of the feet, decorating the Deity, and the offering of food items, clothing or money to seek blessings. Fresh, sweet-scented flowers along with specific herbs and plants are used, as well as Jhal/Phaag (a combination of milk, ghee, honey and spices).  The priest is in Orange.

Maya and my mother with their red dot after the pooja ceremony

While walking the gardens at the hotel we got to see a tribe of lambani's! They are nomadic people from the Indian state of Rajasthan and  North-West Gujarat. Women are known to wear colorful and beautiful costumes and the men wear Dhoti and Kurta (short with many folds). These clothes were designed specially for the protection from harsh climate in deserts and to distinguish them from others. I took a ton of pictures,and here are just two to give you a sneak peak. My mother was surprised to see them this far south!