Ashwin Upadhyaya’s Blog

What is the connection between Mysore and Dan Brown’s favorite secret society? How did the Maharajas of Mysore plan the city? Why does NASA, in its Virginia facility have a painting of Tipu and his soldiers of the war at Srirangapatna? These and hundreds of interesting facts plus an energetic presentation by Vinay plus a morning walk at the pleasant city of Mysore make up the experience called Royal Mysore Walks.

The walk starts at 7AM in the morning at town hall. You walk by century old cast iron street lights imported from London, then walk by the clock tower of Mysore and admire the mixture of architectural styles it encompasses, then get mesmerized by seeing unbelievable things (which until then I never even thought of in spite of being a Mysorean).

You then walk by a palace which still has a king, then walk through a 100 year old yet functioning market and visit some more landmarks. During the course of the walk, you get to eat what the Maharajas ate, you get to see whom the Maharajas worshipped and you get a sense of their far-sighted city planning too.

I have lived in this city for 25 years and yet I felt like I visited a totally different city during the walk. For a tourist to Mysore probably, this should be the first thing in his itinerary, for whatever he would do in the rest of the day could be seen from a whole new eye. The painting on the palace walls would now carry more meaning, the stone walls of the palace would now tell stories and stone inscriptions would now get you thinking.

About Vinay: He was a software engineer for a good number of years until his passion for history made him quit his job and start Royal Mysore Walks.

Towards the end of the trip, I saw an old house and started thinking if this could have some history as well. I was not sure if Vinay would have an answer for this because ‘who could know every single building in a city?’. Yet, I asked and here’s what I got: ‘Oh. This is the house of the owner of Freemasons lodge’. I was bowled over.

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.

1. It gets tougher and tougher with every step you move forward, more mentally than physically. Yet, the only way you know is forward.
2. Resources are limited and you try to conserve and optimize them to the max.
3. It is not the goal, rather it is the path that gives the happiness.
4. The team moves only as fast as the slowest person!
5. For the outside world, it only matters if you reached the top. Until you reach the top, slog, slog and slog. The world doesn’t care.
6. You will never see the true height and the beauty of it unless you actually start the journey.
7. For every few people who succeed, there are a few who failed too. Its just a fact of life.

Why I write this? For the single reason that I am now able to see the tip of the mountain in our startup venture. And I know it is still not easy reaching there. It still needs many days of slogging and a lot of mental strength. Yet, how beautiful the path seems! I just hope our resources permit our journey to the top.

You see that peak of the mountain over there?. Kumara Parvata is beyond that peak. Add to this the fact that this photo was taken after climbing half way. The climb never ends. And sometimes, you feel it shouldn’t ever end. Because then, you wouldn’t have something to look up and say “I’ll reach there in some time”.

The journey is hard sometimes. Five minutes of walk up the hill can feel like a lifetime. Yet, these are the moments that will stay throughout one’s life. Many people break on the way and turn back. Some stick together though and reach the top.

At places like these, when you are one with nature, you begin to appreciate the importance of water when there is no water left in your bottle, of fire when you need to cook in the forest, of the sun when you have a solar torch, of wind when it is the only respite from sun.
And finally when you watch the morning sun illuminating hundreds of hills submerged in fog, you know life is beautiful.

Photos credits: Suraj Rampure.

Like Mysore Santhe (I had earlier written about this here and here), GVK has proposed another superb idea called ChitraSanthe. I am reproducing much of the mail here with a few additions:

Among the ideas that emerged  in our weekly Sunday meet is a chitra santhe for amateur artists at a designated space. The idea is to provide exposure to spare-time painters, photographers and other artists to showcase their works. We can mobilise students of CAVA, art teachers and others who wish to exhibit their creations. In our weekly Sunday meetings I run into several youngsters, mostly IT professionals, who have flair for photography. They would be happy to have an opportunity to show off their photographs for anyone who cares to drop in at the Sunday chitra santhe.

There is nothing novel about the idea, and weekend artists gallery on pavements can be found in several cities in the world. I know in  London, they use the Thames Embankment on Sundays. Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco attracts  residents and visitors who appreciate art forms on weekends.

In Mysore, Chitra santhe could be developed into a Sunday pavement art gallery. And over a period, it could become an attraction for art-minded tourists. Our experience with Sunday meetings (which now attracts 20 to 25 persons on a regular basis) set us thinking about providing such a forum for amateur painters and photographers.

Among possible venue could be the grilled enclosure at the back of the Oriental Research Institute or the triangular space between  two  roads  converging into a boulevard behind Oriental Institute.

I would appreciate your reaction to this idea. If you think there is merit in this and it is ‘do’-able , we could work together and make Mysore an art center of sorts.

-GVK