Mysore-home of incense

Mysore is a land of million aromas. The aroma of incense sticks or agarbathi's is one that has both religious as well as asthetic appeal. Apart from the incense sticks many variants such as doopa's etc.. are also made in Mysore.

The cycle brand agarbathi is a pioneer in incense sticks. Owned by
N RANGA RAO & SONS it is involved in manufacture of incense sticks not only for india but also abroad. It is situated in Mysore with branch offices in various cities. The fact that Mysore is still the leader in the manufacture of incense sticks is proven beyond doubt by this very fact.

The hand rolled, incense sticks, provide employment to numerous people as it is a labor intensive industry. The huge base of workers in Mysore and surrounding areas provides the right atmosphere for such an industry. The variety provided by these incense sticks is diverse.

Mysore rockets-Tipu Sultan the inventor of war rockets

Chinese are generally credited with the first use of rockets. However, Tipu Sultan (the Tiger of Mysore) is the first person to have used rockets for the purpose of warfare. The rockets used by in Mysore were far more advanced than those used for the purpose of entratainment as fireworks. These rockets were superior in that they used iron tubes for holding the propellant.We could as well see this as the birth of the modern rocket launcher. The use of metal provided higher bursting power leading to longer range.

The Rocket Court-Srirangapatna.

Refrences can be found to prove the use of rockets in the battle of Pollilur (1780) in which the Britishwere defeated - a scene celebrated on the walls of Darya Daulat in Srirangapatna - a strong contributory cause is thought to have been the explosion of Colo Baillie’s ammunitiontumbrils, touched off by Mysore rockets. It is interesting to note that no other armies seem to have used rockets at this period or just prior to that. Where the Mysore rockets simply modifications of the cannon ball?Certainly not as can be seen by the Interest of the British in Mysore rockets.These were different in that they were not accompanied by the recoil as in a cannon.

Thanks to the interest of the British in these rockets, they were studied more scientifically!! The industrial revolution provided the tools and materials needed to further the development of rockets. William Congreve was given the job of improving the range of the rockets for possible use against the French. However, it was as late as the end of second world war that Rockets were used as effective weapons.

Rockets were also used in the 3rd and 4th Anglo-Mysore Wars as well; although they caused much confusion and fear especially when used against massed troops or cavalry, they were too inaccurate to tilt decisively the fortunes of battle in favour of Tipu. The Galaxy bazzar (Taramandal Pet) is the place were the rockets and fireworks were manufactured.These rockets are supposed to have consisted of bamboo poles with sharp ends.

The sorry state of affairs is that the only specimen of the Mysore rockets used by Tipu Sultan is in London in the Royal artillery museum .The Rocket court in Srirangapatnam now lies in ruins, being used as a public toilet.Its indeed worth investigating the origins of the rockets in India prior to the Mysore Rockets. The fate of rockets in Mysore seems to have suffered the same fate as rest of the scientific and technical developments in British India.

The recent interest in the rockets of Mysore was stimulated by our Honourable President APJ Abdul Kalam. In his book "Wings of Fire" he mentions, how he saw the picture of the Mysore's Rocket war in NASA. The fact that today India is not inferior to any other nation in its potential to develop and launch rockets is very reassuring. The Tiger of Mysore, Tipu Sultan would have indeed felt proud of this fact.

Mysore to get electirc buses

Mysore is soon to become the first city in the country to get electric buses. The routes along which electric lines are to be laid are being surveyed. The most likely routes will include kuvempunagar.

These buses promise to bring in comfort and eco-friendly service to mysoreans. However, the charges may be more costly than the normal fare charged by normal city bus service. How soon these electic buses will be put into service is not very clear though-as the electric lines are to be laid along the entire route.

Mysore Damascus sword

Was Damascus sword made of Indian steel? Did wootz steel originate in Mysore? Or that the gift King Porus gave to Alexander in the fourth century BC was Ferrum Candidum, believed to be steel? Or that Pliny, writing in the first century BC, says that iron was imported from ‘‘Seres’’ (Cheras)? The list of surprising facts is endless. What is shocking is that we Indians know so little about such an important ancient industry of India.

Mysore wootz steel: Wootz is the anglicized version of ukku in the languages of the states of Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, a term denoting steel. Literary accounts suggest that the steel from the southern part of the Indian subcontinent was exported to Europe, China, the Arab world and the Middle East. India has been reputed for its iron and steel since ancient times. Literary accounts indicate that steel from southern India was rated as some of the finest in the world and was traded over ancient Europe, China, the Arab world and the Middle East. Studies on wootz indicate that it was an ultra-high carbon steel with 1-2% carbon and was believed to have been used to fashion the
Damascus blades with a watered steel pattern.

Wootz steel also spurred developments in modern metallographic studies and also qualifies as an advanced material in modern terminology since such steels are shown to exhibit super-plastic properties.In India till the 19th century swords and daggers of wootz steel were also made at centres including Lahore, Amritsar, Agra, Jaipur, Gwalior, Tanjore, Mysore, Golconda etc. although none of these centres survive today. Different types of Damascus swords have been identified in Salr Jung museum in Hyderabad.

The English word steel and the German Stahl are derived from Stahal in Old High German (~l1th century AD) and contain the reconstituted Indo-European root *sta which can be found in the German verb "stehen /stand" or in English "to stand", and related to the Sanskrit stakati, which means: "it resists". The same root is used in Nordic languages and in modem Russian, Polish, etc. In Celtic languages the same root is generally used, e.g., stailin but other words meaning force or hardness are also found, e.g., dir in Breton.

A major problem in doing scientific experiments on wootz Damascus steel is the inability to obtain samples for study. Such study requires that the blades be cut into sections for microscopic examination, and small quantities must be sacrificed for destructive chemical analysis. A rare example where museum-quality wootz Damascus blades were donated to science for study is reported in the 1924 .

The sword blanks and cakes of ukku wootz were exported in large numbers. Aristotle reportedly commented on its qualities. Some say it dates from around 500 AD. while others say it is far older. But the technology seems to have dwindled and vanished by early 1700's.
But history proclaims that wootz steel came from Mysore and few other southern parts of India.
It means that from yore ,Mysore has had inventions that we could be proud of.Is it sufficient to be proud or do something worthwhile?

Mysore Mallige Idli - the most soft idli's

Mysore sure is famous for lot of things. And "Mysore mallige rice" sure needs to be branded just like "basmati rice". This variety of rice is exclusively used for making, probably the worlds most soft idli's. These are the Mysore mallige idli's.

Take a look at one of the idli recipe's. The only major difference is that Mysore mallige akki or rice is used in place of ordinary rice. And urad dal is generally not added and puffed rice is used instead. This make the idli more light-which means it has less calories. You can eat as many of these soft and delicious idli's without worrying about your weight.

http://festivals.iloveindia.com/onam/idli.html

I am looking for some places in mysore where mysore mallige idli's are the best. I just am not able to put my finger on one particular place though.

Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashala Mysore

One of the best resedential schools not only in Mysore , but also in the entire country. Founded nearly 50 years ago, the school is situated in Yadavgiri, Mysore.The school is known as "Home away from home" by its students, due to its atmosphere resembling home. Situated on a huge area of around 30 acres, the school is a pre-composite setup, with classes from 8th standard to the Seoncd year pre university.

You can take a look at the www.srkvs.org site to know more about the school. Vidyashala held its golden jubilee celebrations recently and it was inded a grand event, with golden moments to treasure. You can look at these at
www.srkvs.org/golden_jubilee_photos.html

The school is run by the ramakrishna mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda. Very recently on the 19th November this year, the school held a inter high school competition in general knowledge.It seems to be annual event which attracts large number of students from all the schools across the city. The picture of Buddha under a bodhi tree was taken at vidyashala. The small Statue is blended into the background which has a fountain and resembles a forest. The School also has a nature school, which has facility to teach students amidst the serene atmosphere of the garden. Words seem inadequate to desribe the entire school in a single post though.

From Mysored to mysoored

The words like "Banglored" now appear in most dictionaries, meaning to say having lost one's job to somebody else in Banglore-a city in India. But have you come across fears of the people of Banglore. Yes these people are talking about being Mysored or chennaied. The fear does not stop there...

I came across a post in which the titl Is "Bored and Mysoored", well not musch differenc in the spelling of Mysoored and mysored, but yes it has a lot of difference if you look at it this way, In this post the person is aldready posted to mysoore. The Feeling of being marooned is pervasive among such people. They seem to have lost the glitter of the big city life. Sentences such as "the internet connection is so slow that..." and "its becoming a pain..." etc show the level of discontent, this can generate. Not that mysore is a village with a single telephone line for the entire city....Actually on the contrary Mysore has one of the best internet connectivities in the country.So much for being Mysoored, I would give a bundle to be mysoored really...honest!!.

Mysore election fever

Its time for elections in the Chamundeshwari constituency. The only noticable difference i can think of is the bus deteour. Yes!! due to an election meeting in Hinkal, the bus service was delayed, as they had to take a longer route. It is rather a pathetic situation, that this is the case in most of the democracies that, elctions are becoming more and more pre-decide. I am not saying their is no competition bbetween the candidates, the only thing that is amiss is the zeal for development.

I dont blame any specific political party for this, rather i am of the opinion that we are responsible for our own situation. If not for our stupidity, ignorance and among other things carlessness, it would have been a rather vibrant democracy that india would have had. What i mean is that, rather than developmental issues, we are more intrested in issues of dispute. Correct if i am wrong, but it is but natural for me, a person who has never ever cast his vote to complain about politics.

Mysore Railway museum

Mysore railway museum, situated beside the Mysore railway station, is a interesting place to visit. It has a collection of railway engines, caoches of the erstwhile royal family of Mysore. It was setup in the year 1979, but is exceptionally well maintained by the indian railways. If you want a technical review of whats kept there and its significance to the railways take a look at

http://www.trainweb.org/indiarail/mysore.htm

The visiting hours for the same seem to be fixed between 9 am and 6 pm. I found the mini train ride rather pleasant after the walk through the museum. It can be noted here that Mysore has a huge railway campus near Ashokpuram, where train repair and design takes place. The rail museum has its entrance just opposite to the entrance of CFTRI.

Gopalswamy Betta -great weekend getaway

The Gopalswamy Betta is famous for its misty peaks and is well known as "Himada Gopalswamy betta" The hill which is situated near mysore has a panaromic view of the Bandipur forest.Best way to reach the place is by your bike, as no bus service seems to be available. The city of mysore is about 90 kilometers from Gopalswamy Betta, so its a going to be quiet a trip, taking around 2 hours.

The hill has a temple of krishna, or some incarnation therof. It is rather difficult to remember and classify the gods of india as they have a different name at each temple.Swamy vivekananda is said to have mentioned something along the lines that there are 33 crore gods and godesses in india. Well if i remember correctly he told that all these gods were of no vail if a person did not have confidence.

The gail forced winds at Gopalswamy Betta are legendary, they are known to have blown away may jackets, and what not...
The proper name for the place is Venugopalswamy betta with the suffix himadvat.If you visit the place make sure it remains clean, with increasing tourist load the place is slowly but steadily getting dirty.and make sure you carry your own food and water.

Mysooru Mallige-Mysore Jasmine

The other day i was talking about Brand "Mysore", the jasmine flower known locally as Mallige is also branded, though not officially. Its popularity is to the extent that movies titled mysore Mallige have also been screened.The movie which was made during the early 90's was also a big hit.

The bus service run by KSRTC has named a few of its routes as "Mysooru Mallige" due its popularity. Its still not clear tio me how a particular product is branded as belonging to a particular region though. The sweet fragrance of the flower no doubt should qualify as a criteria to differentiate it from other jasmine flowers!!!!!

Mysore tourism-Panchalinga darshan

Some really informative stuff about panchalinga darshan. It is nearly as good as a virtual tour. Check the Mysore Tourism Web Site www.mysoretourism.org has details on Panchalinga Darshan and also there is a picture gallery, video gallery and also mobile phone download on panchalinga darshan.

Mysore train accident

The mysore mayiladu Thorai express rammed into a road roller which had stalled on the railway line. Pre-liminary reports suggest no causaulty. The road roller was smashed into pieces by the impact . Although the engine suffered extensive dammage , it seems to have reached the station . Due to the accident the trains between Mysore-Banglore were delayed.

Mysore helmets from tommorow

The dead line is over. From tommorow Mysoreans are supposed to wear helmets. Although many people have bought helmets, they are yet to wear it. Some feel it is difficult to ride the vehicle with the helmet on. In a debate we had, some people even went to the extent of criticising the helmet of restricting the fiels of view.

Others wanted various innovations to be introduced. The refractive index of the cover should be made such that it does not cause glare. Some others wanted a facility to connect the mobile to the helmet.The debate was rather complicated, with questions being raised about the quality of ISI certified helmets.

Inspite of all the debate, it seems Mysoreans are doomed to wear helmets from tommorow.

Mysore Ayurvedic College

A ayurvedic hospital which is nearly 100 years old is situated in Mysore. The hospital which was constructed by the maharaja has a college attached to it. The college which started as a gurukula system, later developed into a diploma. The college which was started by Gundulu pandita Lakshmanachari has now become a professional degree course. The course is certified by the government and the doctors are awarded a degree "BAMS"-Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and surgery.

From the past 25 years MD course in Kayachikitsa has been available.Since one year the MD course has also started in Sidanta. The building is situated in the center of the city opposite to the central library. The Hospital and college are situated adjacent to each other. Aprt from this the college also has a separate botanical garden elsewhere.

Panchalinga Darshan-to be held in talkad

This year the Panchalinga Darshan is being held in talkad.Talkad is situated about 30 miles from mysore on the banks of the river kaveri. This event which takes place once in 12 years is scheduled to take place on november 20th this year. The basis for selecting the day of celebration is rather complicated and based on the hindu calendar. Talkad which has vast stretches of sand has many temples. Many of these temples get buries in sand and dug out only on the occassion of Panchalinga darshan.The famous five temples Vaideshwara, Pathaleshwara, Maruleshwara, Arakeshwara, Mudukuthore Mallikarjuneshwara,gives the festival its name."Pancha"-meaning five and "linga" meaning shiva(god) together it means having the darshan of the five gods.

It is popular belief that bathing in the river kaveri which flows through Talkad during this period is very beneficial. Many diseases are said to be cured by bathing in the river.Howevr, it is difficult for me to comprehend, keeping in mind the level of pollution that has entered our river systems.If you plan to see the temples it would be a good idea to visit now, as the temples have been cleared of all sand.

The Mysore brand

Now it is official, the brand mysore has been accepted officially. Be it the mysore sandal soap or mysore silk, they are now official. But what about our mysore pak, mysore bonda, mysore rasam and what not..The quality of these products is unquestionable, but without competition, the struggle for excelence dies out.

The charm of the very name mysore seems to attract consumers. But it has to be acknowledged that mysore is a time tested brand, that has stood its ground.Mysore-now mysooru(i keep remebering) is a sure seller when it comes to traditonal products.

The curse on the mysore Maharajas

A curse is a very horrible thing that can happen to anybody. It is more so when a king is cursed as his entire kingdom suffers. Legend has it or hisotry may have witnessed it-Long ago when the mysore rajas invaded and killed one of the pallegaras, the wife of that chieftain is said to have cursed the kings. The curse has three parts:

1. Let Thalkad become a desert
2. The king shall have no children
3. Let the great river have a whirlpool.

Yes talkad is indeed a desert. Although situated on the banks of a river, sand fills the entire region. Eucalyptus trees grow everywhere.And the second part also seems to be true as the kings adopt a relative as a son.The third part which is rather general can be interrpreted in many ways.

Mysore Hotagalli sunday market

Near the city of Mysooru formerly mysore, a small village called Hootagalli. In this village, which is now included within the city limits, a new trend has started. A sunday market is being held.Different kinds of vegetables are being sold here. These include cucumbers, raddish, carrot, beans, various types of greens, brinjal, tomatoes, onions, etc.. What is so fascinating about this market is that for the first time so amy farmers who actually grow the vegetables are able to sell it directly to the city folk. Thus, both the buyer and the seller are making a profit. By avoiding the middle men, the farmer makes more profit. Similarly the buyers can buy at a cheaper price.

Does rest of the country have something to learn from this??, may be !! although this trend of sunday markets in the city suburbs is somewhat prevelant in some villages which have become a part of the city it is yet to become a established trend. The practice of sunday markets is very much in vogue in the villages, but let us hope the same spreads to the suburbs as well. Apart from this the city of Mysore has a separate market. This market has now been declared as a heritage site. However, plans to modernise the market has created a public debate. But the results will be known in a few months time. More about the market in a later post.

Its raining helemts

With the helmet rule becoming compulsory, people could be seen buying helmets. Although the majority of the two wheeler riders dont wear the helmet, it is yet to be seen how strictly the authorities will enforce the law. The Mysoreans have been given a relaxation of 15 days, till november 15th. Some of the bigger shopes had sold out all their helmets, and where waiting for stocks to arrive. The points to note about helmets if you want to buy one are

• It should have ISI mark
• Beware ISI stickers will not withstand the rains of mysore
• Only ISI painted on the helmet is a "good" helemet
• The cost of ISI helmets starts from 500 INR

Lot of vendors can be seen selling helmets on the foot path leading upto the city via Hunsur road and other places. Although these helmets are cheaper, they are pasting stickers of ISI. You can buy helmets in the city at places like scooter house and other shops in the same lane, cutting across the old bank road.