Blogs from Mysore, Karnataka, India, Asia - page 5

For all those ladies reading this that like to wear silk scarves you might want to brace yourself for the inside story on how this amazing fabric is produced. In the UK we associate the Mulberry with very old bushes as depicted in the traditional nursery rhyme. Today we were lucky enough to get a guided tour of the Mysore Silk Factory, which is famous for it’s intricate gold and silver woven patterns. It is actually protected with a Geographical Indicator which recognises the unuque product produced in the city and means nobody else can copy the designs. The factory receives the silk yarn from the farms (more about that later!) and first needs to soak the yarns to remove the saliva from the silk worm who has woven the cocoon. This process is known as ... read more

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 ... read more

India: to summarise so far, 14.01.13 To say that we have been welcomed is an understatement. In India a guest is like a god. Our hosts can not do enough for us. We have been piled up with presents much too heavy or bulky to carry home. One day last week I was taken to a large private school and asked to address the 1,200 students. That was relatively easy, since I could tell them about the Lake District and explain why we were in India. I was then asked to present prizes to the cutest tiny kids, all about five years old. To my surprise, I was told later that most of the students had gone home and told their parents all about me, even remembering my name. Imagine that in a British school! Later ... read more

Yesterday we got a day off from lectures and instead we got to go sightseeing! We woke up early and piled on the bus at 5am to take the ~200km trip to Mysore. In a car or on a motorcycle it probably wouldn't have taken too long, but on a huge trundling bus the trip there took around 3 hours. NOT my favorite way to spend the morning, but I'm pretty flexible about where I can sleep. And, in fact, I would have slept quite well on the bus since I smuggled a hotel pillow out and planned to prop myself up in a corner and snooze and drool until we reached our destination. (Okay, "smuggling" is a bit strong. I kinda just walked out with it...) But, there was something that I did not account ... read more

13.5 Mysore Hab mich von Wwoofhost getrennt und ab in den Bus nach Mysore. Die Busfahrt ist ein Abenteuer. Vor uns bleibt irgendwann ein LKW stehen und blokiert die Strasse. Nicht gross erwaehnenswert beim aussteigen faellt aber auf, dass unser Bus viel einer neongelben Fluessigkeit verliert. Ich haette auf eine Art Hydraulikflussigkeit getippt. Jedenfalls scheint es keinen zu interessieren, weiter geht die Fahrt. Irgendwann halten wir dann an und sie kippen Wasser nach. Warscheinlich war es doch nur Kuelfluessigkeit. Trozdem seltsame Farbe. Jedenfalls halten wir noch 2 oder 3 mal an. Einmal an einer Moschee, wo irgendein alter Mann scheinbar gar nicht gluecklich ist, dass sein gutes Moscheehahnenwasser jetzt als Buskuehlwasser missbraucht wird, einmal an einem Bach bei dem ich mich frage wie sehr sich der Bus ueber die Truebstoffe freut. Auf dem Weg fahren wir ... read more