Mysore with Mom

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February was a busy month. My friend from the houseboat, Trude from Norway, spent about 10 days with me in Mysore. I said goodbye to Trude and hello to my mother on the same day — the spare bed in my room was empty only for a couple of hours. Between these two lovely companions, my last weeks in Mysore were a bit of a blur. There were cooking lessons, walks to the lake, walks in the neighborhood, silk sari shopping, breakfasts at Tina’s, lunches at Shaila’s, climbs up Chamundi Hill, our favorite thalis at Hotel RRR, trips to the post office, and of course early morning yoga every day.

Picking up mom from the Bangalore airport required many little pieces to coordinate, and they did perfectly. She had three flights, including a 10 hour layover in London, all of which were on time. Apu’s brother Shiva picked me up from the shala on time, my train left Mysore on time (my first train travel in India), there was a shiny new a/c bus waiting in front of the bus station on its way to the airport, and so on.

When I arrived in Bangalore in November, it struck me as a huge sprawling trafficky city, but the train and bus rides through the city showed its sparlier side — loads of trees and parks, and obvious modernity. The airport itself was impressive. When I arrived in November, it felt like any other airport. Now having spent 3 months here, I recognize its finer qualities: 2 modern coffee shops, a bookstore with a big collection of English wares, western toilets with toilet paper even!, fast food restaurants, an organized parking and bus service area. I paid 80 Rupees ($2, the cost of a decent meal or 2) for the privilege of waiting inside the air conditioned terminal for mom’s flight to arrive.

Mom acclimated like a champ. She got onto the Indian food diet and my early morning schedule without any problems. After a week to get into the swing of India, mom and I left Mysore together to see more of India.

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