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Published: January 22nd 2013
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Tuesday 15 – Wednesday 16 January 2013
Lack of wifi here means we can’t keep you all up to date as much as we would like. Some of us have it in some homes and others don’t so we are trying our best to use open networks in malls and shops when we get a moment. Thank you to everybody who has left comments and messages on the blog so far, we all really appreciate them.
Our first full day in Mysore kicks off with a visit to the silk factory which produces the world famous Mysore Silk. Unfortunately (like all the best places) we can’t take photos inside. The process of creating beautiful saris from the spit of silk worms is fascinating; especially the gold threads which make them appear extra special. At the end of the tour we get to take a look around the silk shop to admire the saris, scarves and shirts. We are all a bit like kids in a sweet shop looking through the beautiful colours and designs. Even the poorest people here are dressed beautifully and when we ask about second hand shops, they tell us that people simply pass on old
saris to maids. However, the saris are so well made and durable that many of them last for years and years.
After meeting our new hosts and visiting their homes, we head to Srirangapatna, the land of Tipu Sultan, and we learn all about the history of his palace, the battles fought and the battles won on this land. My host Anuradha joins us for this trip. Anu is married to Nandakumar and they have two children who live at home. Nimisha is 20 and studies civil engineering at a local university and Nishanth is 27 and works in software production. Anu works for an organisation that aims to develop employment opportunities for adults with learning disabilities. Nandakumar is an engineer and has his own construction company. They are both heavily involved with Rotary, Inner Wheel and the local branch of the national union for builders.
Last stop for the day is Ranganathittu, a bird sanctuary, where we take a boat around the lake and see quite a lot of crocodiles basking in the sun. A quiet night with the family gives me a chance to learn more about them all and we watch the DVD of Mysore
festival so that I can learn more about the city too.
Day two in the city is my vocational day. A lovely Rotarian called Keshav takes me along to the Star of Mysore newspaper, the University of Mysore, and then a church and reservoir with a beautiful temple and hotel for lunch just for good measure!
The Star of Mysore newspaper is one of the best read in south India and a morning copy is printed in Kannada, the local language. The evening copy is in English. News Editor Meera shows us around and explains that there are three reporters and one photographer on demand ready to react to stories across the city. Today there has been a fire at a factory. Most of the news here comes from locals phoning the office. Very few press releases received ever make it to print. The reporters here don’t have any real qualifications. They just need to have good English and a flare for writing. They don’t use social media here, although they do have a website and some news can be found online. The most common news here is crime, major incidents such as the fire, news about religion
or community leaders and they have also recently started a column of feng shui. Other contributors do music reviews, columns and features. Local newspaper reach may be declining across the western world as more people go online to hand pick their news, but in India and China, circulation is increasing. As more and more of the population become literate, and as the country is constantly changing and developing, people want to be a part of it and reading a newspaper is an ideal way to learn more.
Next stop is the University of Mysore. They have a big Communication and Journalism Department which has links to Kingston University in London. Media in India is still male dominated but things are changing and the male to female ratio in the faculty is 4:3. The students here are Masters students, 60% of them without any background in journalism. Hundreds of students are applying for the course each year as media becomes a more popular subject. They must study both practical and theoretical classes each day and they produce a newspaper every 15 days, one in English, one in Kannada. Sapna shows us around the faculty. She is a former GSE member
from 2008 when she travelled to Brazil.
As we have some free time, Keshav shows me St. Philomena’s Church. From the outside you could be mistaken for thinking you are in Europe. A wedding is taking place inside and the bride is wearing a traditional Indian sari in green and white, topped off with a veil. The church does not look like a traditional church from inside and the vibrant colours make it look and feel quite different. Keshav also takes me to the reservoir. It was created in the 1930’s to store water for agricultural purposes and a town was flooded to create it. However, around eight years ago, the water levels dropped and the 1000 year old temple was visible. A businessman, specialising in liquor, asked the Government to gift the temple to him and he would restore it and relocate it, brick for brick, on higher ground. Maybe his way for making up for his sins around encouraging alcohol consumption?! The reconstruction is still taking place and it looks like a painstaking job! However, as this temple is not yet in use, it’s almost deserted so we get a real chance to look around and enjoy
it. People here are genuinely worried about the lack of water and what it will mean for them. The next state, Tamil Nadu, has an ongoing dispute with Karnataka about water as one particular river runs through both states. Neither has enough supplies and they hope that the water levels will rise in the monsoon season. There are daily updates in the paper about the feud and what might happen.
Next stop is Silent Shores Resort where we have lunch. This is by far the nicest resort I have seen in India and it’s not hard to see why this place attracts international tourists. It looks just like a Caribbean resort except the swimming pool and bar are deserted! And apparently it’s only around £60 per night to stay here. Bargain I think! The team spend the evening in the Chamundi Hills above Mysore. The view is beautiful. There is a mad dash to make it into the temple along with all of the locals so that we can see the idol they are worshiping. This idol fought on the hill and she should bring us good luck. There are monkeys all over the top of the temple and more cows than ever strolling around the streets. After the hills, we go along to watch some traditional singing which is part of a presentation organised by my hosts. The singing is quite unusual and somebody has explained that it is about giving women in India equality.
At home, Nimisha, a movie addict, shows me my very first Bollywood film, Three Idiots. It’s actually quite easy to follow as the languages here seem to have merged together and every third or fourth word is English. The subtitles help too! Nimisha has promised to paint some Mehendi on my hands tomorrow and let me wear one of her Saris too so I’m looking forward to that!
Tracy x
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