When I was little I found these picture postcards of a Mysore - The palace fully light up at night, the daytime view of the palace, the inner chanbers, the Vrindavan garden. I thought I would definitely go there someday. Our family travelled in summer or the winter vacations but we never really went to Mysore.
Years later when I started working we also started interacting with the Bangalore branch folks and over time some became quiet good friends. So I took a 4 day trip to Bangalore to meet the friends there. Mysore is quiet close to Bangalore and I was really keen to include it in the itenerary. On Friday when I reached I asked if anyone would want to come along there were about ten people who said they would join me however by end of the day the numbers had dwindled to just three girls. There was Baby Boo, Raspy Rams and me (ofcourse these aren't the real names!). It was too late in the day to get a booking with a tour guide so we decided we shall go to Mysore on our own take the early morning 7 a.m. bus to Mysore.
The next day I reached the bus depot at 9 a.m. and by the time the girls arrived it was 10 a.m. We reached Mysore City at around 1 p.m. and more than half of the day was spent just getting there. We had thought of a day's trip in the city but with all the sights to see we realised we would need to spend the night in that city. After a nice sumptous meal we scoured around to find a nice hotel where three girls would be safe. After checking 3-4 places we finally booked one. I was the most happiest. This was the place I wanted to visit for so long and I was finally here. I couldn't stop jumping :D We quickly freshened up and left to see the much famous palace.
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| The Brave Trio |
The Mysore palace was everything was so much more than I imagined it to be. It really takes your breath away. To imagine that once upon a time a royal family lived in there. It was also sad that something that was home to royalty is now just a meuseum. Photography isn't allowed inside the premises, the below photographs are postcards that were sold there.
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| The Royal Seat |
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| Golden Room |
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| The Palace Exterior |
It really felt quiet fulfilling to see the place I always wanted to visit. It was 6 p.m. when we finally finished touring the palace grounds. The next place was Vrindavan Gardens. We headed to the bus depot since one of the locals (atleast we thought was a local) told us that Vrindavan was just an hour away by bus. Rams knew it closes by 9 p.m. and thought we would have enough time and would be able to get back in time. We got in a bus and were happily chatting away. It was about 1.5 hrs later that we realised there might be a problem. It was the longest time I spent stuck in traffic ever. We realised we were lagging due to this crazy traffic, the queue of vehicles went on and on we couldn't see the end of it. A few people started to disembark and started to walk. Thats when I started to get worried.
It was almost 8.p.m. the place would close dowm by 9 anyway and we were still far from it. I was considering if we should just take the buses going in the opposite direction to take us back to Mysore and back to our hotel. But Rams was still optimistic that we would make it. We stayed put. another hour went by the bus had moved a little and it was the edge of patience for me. The girls and I got off the bus and started to walk in the direction that all the cars and buses were headed. We could see Vrindavan compund at a distance but we knew it must be closing. Walking more further we saw hordes of school childern walking toward the opposite direction. It was a weekend and kids walking away from the Garden - enough proof that the place had closed. We decided to turn back, find a bus that was now going toward Mysore city.
It was almost 9.30 and I was extremely worried. I was the oldest and I felt a sense of responsibility for the girls. It was because of me that we had made this plan. The place that looked so wonderful in pictures now seemed a forsaken end of the world. Away from familiar surroundings, amongst strangers and none of us trained in defence, it felt like we could be vulnerable targets. What if we were kidnapped or killed or if something worse happens. All horrible thoughts started to cloud my mind. The bus we had left behind was now finally reaching where we were. I was tense and very quiet. Baby Boo realised it and was trying to cheer me up. Both the girls were calm like they knew we would make it back. I just wanted to get us back to the comfort of the hotel room. After walking and waiting for buses we finally managed to get one. I was relieved. Tt was 10 o'clock and we were tired, I was also very hungry.
We hadn't eaten anything since lunch. Tensed and hungry are not a good combination. I was starting to get agitated and was just quiet lest I vent my anger on the girls. Baby Boo was making jokes. That girl is a one pack of energy. The whole time she was soo cheerful I guess she balanced out the tense mood between the three of us. Both the girls were chatting and trying to make me laugh. Baby Boo said something which I now find couldn't be anymore true. She said "Nikki, years later when we talk of this trip we are going to think of this very moment in the bus and laugh :)"
We finally reached our hotel dead tired and hungry as hell. The hotel had a cave themed restaurant and the food was good. After dinner we felt like our oldselves again. The next day we ventured out, hired a rickshaw and saw the places close to the hotel. We had a noon bus back to Bangalore so we weren't able to see anymore of Mysore. But we all hope that someday we shall return to see the Vrindavan ga rdens and other places that we did not manage that day. What seemed like a night of ordeal is now a crazy fun trip that we all took - one that built a bond which is truly rare. As Baby Boo said we do laugh when we talk of that Mysore trip.
