A Demon Cannot Be Hurt
The palace of Mysore
A hall in the public court.
The private court.
Sri Chamundeshwari Temple
Mysore, Karnataka, India
The Palace of Mysore still belongs to the Wadiyar dynasty, the titular monarchs of the Kingdom of Mysore, and can be toured with an excellent audioguide app. The well-kept walled grounds have two temples, a stable of elephants, and multiple large gateways. On display in the palace are a small portion of the Wadiyar traditional figurine collection, portraits, and a set of caskets used by supplicants to deliver written requests and mementos to the maharaja. The highlight is certainly the architecture—the palace, built after the previous wooden palace burned, is stone, and has enormous spaces with rich tilework, frescoes, bright colors, and stone and ivory inlay.
I walked through the nearby market, where flowers, spices, vegetables, dyes, and other everyday goods are sold in a loud, frenetic, chaos. Many vendors approached me, followed me, or otherwise tried to get my attention, though a quick pace and polite but firm insistence that I didn’t need a wooden cat puzzle box, junky souvenirs, or ingredients for dinner got my message across.
I had an fantastic onion dosa from a stall on the main market square.
The final stop was at the Sri Chamundeshwari temple, which is the main temple dedicated to the state’s local goddess. A complex of many temples, the main focus is the shrine and idol of Sri Chamundeshwari, who myth claims defeated a snake-wielding demon. This victory is commemorated annually with a 10-day festival, while other nearby regions share the festival and the vanquishing of evil is always accomplished by a deity, Mysore is unique in both celebrating and being the seat of this important regional goddess. The temple is located atop a huge hill that overlooks the whole city of Mysore, and the palace grounds and palace itself are oriented so as to face the temple, to identify the dynasty and the goddess.
From Mysore, it was a bit more than 3 hours to the Bangalore airport. My flight was at 3:30 in the morning, which put me in Frankfurt at about 9 am.