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28.11. – 02.12.2012 Mysore & Surroundings
Sonja:
Yes, we are still alive and yes, we are doing fine!
Sorry, that you didn't hear from us for such a long time. First of all, sometimes it is quite stressful, both physically and mentally, to travel around in India, on the other hand electricity and internet are not always available and we also often just didn't feel like writing or editing pictures. We hope you cut us some slack.
So, what happened after the wedding in Mangalore? The next evening we boarded a night bus to Mysore together with Ronny, a relative of Reema's. We had imagined we would sleep all night in our reasonably comfortable cabin and arrive well rested the next morning. Forget it! The trip was a nightmare! To get upcountry coming from the west coast, you have to cross the Western Ghats, a mountain range with an average altitude of 900 meters. So we went constantly uphill on an extremely winding and pothole rich road. We were given a good shaking like in a roller coaster and kept rolling back and forth on our mattresses all night. Sleeping was impossible. I had the greatest trouble keeping my food down, while Olli had other problems...
Olli:
All of a sudden my bladder was almost ready to burst and the bumpy ride and rolling back and forth didn't make things easier. Unfortunately, I did not know you could stop the driver at any time, and I thought I had to bear it until the next stop, which could be in 5 minutes or in a few hours for all I knew. After briefly concidering my options, I dumped the remaining contents of our water bottle out of the window, pressed my back up against the ceiling of our cabin to gain more stability and tried to aim into the bottle as best I could. That's easier said than done. Have you ever tried to pee into a bottle during a roller coaster ride? The whole procedure cost me a lot of strength and nerves and was with a duration of about 30 minutes by far the longest and most difficult visit to the toilet of my life.
Sonja:
After the long-awaited arrival in Mysore, Ronny accommodated us in a Christian relief organization (ODP - lots of thanks to Father Staney) and we could rest for a few hours, which unfortunately couldn't relieve me from feeling a bit queasy for the rest of the day.
For the next two days Ronny and his niece Anisha made a great effort to show us all the highlights of Mysore. Our warmest thanks to both of them! Most impressive was the Amba Vilas Palace, one of the most famous palaces in India. Every Sunday evening it is brightly lighted for an hour with about 80 000 light bulbs, but unfortunately during our visit this event was canceled due to the death of the former prime minister the day before. This day of all days... Instead, for the first time, we had the opportunity to ride on an elephant and furthermore, I was blessed by this elephant: After donating some money, he blessingly layed his trunk on my head. When he lifted it up again, he sucked in my ponytail and lifted it up as well, which felt pretty funny and afterwards my hair was gelled with elephant mucus. Yummy!
In addition, we visited the bird park and the zoo, where Olli was a far greater attraction for the visiting school classes than the animals and they all wanted to take photos of him. At the musical fountain in Brindavan Gardens it was the other way round. Here, the cheering and excitedly screaming Indians were a greater attraction than the night lit fountain that spits out water to the rhythm of the music. Furthermore, we visited the Chamundeshwari Temple on Chamundi Hill, an important pilgrimage site.
Since we both prefer quiet and more remote areas, we have been looking forward, during all this sightseeing, to enjoy the idyllic country life, as Ronny had promised to take us to his parents' place in his native village. Here we were finally away from the urban bustle to enjoy the full extent of Indian hospitality. We got our own room with attached bathroom in Ronny's small parental home, his mother received us like her own children and cooked for us delicious local specialties. We weren't even allowed to wash our own clothes on her typical Indian washing stone. Olli tried but he was immediately snatched away the laundry and was rebuked that a guest mustn't lift a finger. As already mentioned, many families in India have no washing machine, but a washing stone outdoors to do the laundry by hand, also fridge and air conditioning are often not available and several times a day you have to expect power cuts, which is why some households have a large battery, a so-called inverter.
While visiting the family's small farm, a little distance outside of the village, we took a walk through rice fields and banana plantations and were informed that the livestock like cows, goats and chickens all need to be locked up at night, to prevent panthers coming out of the woods from feasting on them. Good thing we decided against camping in India. Apart from the dense population of India, which makes it difficult to find a quiet place, you never know what lurks in the woods at night.
Here, we also came into contact with wild monkeys for the first time. We were immediately impressed by the sweet little animals, but also had to learn at the same time, that they are not to be mixed up with cute stuffed animals, but that they are wild ones, which can be quite aggressive and dangerous. When one of those little monkeys came running towards us, Olli and I jokingly suggested to feed it a banana. Ronny's father, instead, threw a biscuit towards the animal, whereupon immediately about 10 of its friends or family members came running around the corner. The leader was wildly hissing and baring his teeth while coming towards us. We tossed him the whole package of cookies and took to our heels. Dear children, do not try this!
Olli:
Here in the village one of my biggest dreams came true: I was allowed to drive an auto rickshaw (tuktuk) as well as a motorcycle on the bumpy country roads without a license. I liked it so much that I didn't want stop and, to Sonja's horror, I would have loved to buy a tuktuk in order to cross the Himalayas with it. Well, maybe another time.
What we have also learned here is, where all the Indian priests sent to Germany come from. The Catholic Church builds churches, monasteries, schools and hospitals for the villages, for which the rural population is so grateful that in many families one son becomes a priest and one daughter a nun.
Sonja:
I had the chance to witness a normal Sunday mass, during which the church was so packed, women in colorful churchgoing saris left, men in lungis right, that many had to sit on the floor or stand outside at the open doors and windows in order to witness the service. When singing together everybody participated loudly and enthusiastically.
Amen.
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