Ashwin Upadhyaya’s Blog

Mysore Santhe started on January 10th, 2010 as an informal gathering of people who do not necessarily have anything in common. To know it better, be at the Rangayana open theater this Sunday any time between 11AM and 1PM (earlier held in Samvaada vana, Yuvaraja college). (See here for an earlier post). It is amazing to see how 7 Sundays can create many new things or at least ignite new ideas. Here is a list of some of the outcomes from my perspective:

1. Mysore Chitrasanthe/Kalasanthe – A fixed location in Mysore would host artists of all kinds on a weekly basis. Being a weekly, it has the potential of creating a cultural change. (I had blogged this earlier here).
2. Startuppers: A sub-network of entrepreneurs/wannabe-entrepreneurs was formed and this has resulted in a great deal of motivation for ourselves.
3. An Events calendar: Mysore being a tourist destination and a place with daily cultural activities still does not provide updated information on the events to visiting tourists. A weekly product such as this should be of great value to tourists and could be a good sell at the hotels and restaurants of Mysore.
4. The Mysore Santhe idea itself: Is instrumental in helping many of us meet interesting people whom we otherwise wouldn’t have possibly met.

From my experience, not all ideas necessarily succeed. Yet, the higher the number of ideas, higher the chance of at least a few of them succeeding. This is where Mysore Santhe is making the difference. Apart from creating ideas, the other great advantage of such a gathering is the spreading of information. Another list on interesting initiatives here:

1. Divyadeepa Trust: Started in 1992 with a mission of providing value based quality education to rural and underprivileged children. Many of the Santhe enthusiasts are active volunteers at Divyadeepa.
2. Mysore Grahakara Parishat: I think everyone in Mysore knows about this organization. It is an organization into consumer, civic, environmental activism among others. Some of the Santhe enthusiasts are active volunteers at MGP.
3. Kukkarahalli nature walk: This is a free walk around Kukkarahalli lake conducted on the first Sunday of every month (7AM) by environmentalists, professional bird-watchers etc. Although I am yet to attend one of these, it seems to me like an interesting walk.
4. Royal Mysore Walks: Walk tours in Mysore by Vinay. This week, I am going on an invitational walk with him. I will write more on this after that.

I definitely have missed many more initiatives here which we come across at Mysore Santhe. Every time I have been there, I have found at least one new and innovative idea/initiative at the Santhe.

Above all, the event is more about the people. If you want to learn from others’ experiences and others’ mistakes, these are the kind of gatherings you want to be.