This is something I have shared with people on and off.. And MasthMysore gives me another opportunity to do the same; my inspiration being one of the previous blogs ‘Weekdays in Bangalore, weekends in Mysore’. I have almost the same views to share; in fact you all may feel this as an extension of that blog:)
Well, through all the ups and downs, life seems to have come to a standstill…
Post graduation, like all others (or at least like most of them) I too sat and blindly prepared for my Post Graduate entrance exams. Born and bought up in Mysore, all I wished for was a PG seat away from home (Crazy!). And so, here I am, doing my post-graduation in Bangalore.
Happy to be away from home, and have all the freedom I could have, I was raring to go to a new place, a new college, a new environment, a new experience….So, I am not really eager to come home in the weekends (courtesy : the traffic snarls I have to endure before I get to Majestic from Whitefield!!). But then, I invariably end up coming to Mysore because Mysore is irresistible!! 
Mysore is a lovely place and I am in love with it more than ever. It’s an amazing feeling to get down at the railway station and see the yellow board ‘MYSORE’ with the marvellous Chamundi hills at the background. Even with my eyes closed, I can recognize Mysore and its warmth. The air here is distinct and definitely has something peculiar and ‘namma’ feeling in it! Home-made food welcomes me. Next morning it’s the traditional morning trek to Chamundi hills with friends and the customary breakfast at GTR. Try telling a Bangalorean about this, and pat will come the reply, ‘‘Chamundi betta? We also have Nandi betta’’!! Huh?? Come on!!!! What & where is the comparison!?! And that is when I realise that the beauty of Mysooru can’t be explained. For it is not a place that can be described, it is a feeling that can only be experienced. Everything in Mysore has more to offer than what meets the eye. Even the routine Mysore palace which leaves every tourist spell bound is spectacular and even more beautiful than what the regular eye can decipher. From the ‘quaint sun ray’ view of the palace at 5.30 a.m on way to 2nd puc tuitions to the ‘mid-night’ view enroute to Chamundi betta for those memorable drives… I have seen most of the ‘views’ and believe me, the manifestations are magical!
Well, as less eager as I was to come home, I would be even less eager to get back to Bangalore. Very reluctantly I reach the railway station by 4 on a Monday morning. But by the minute I reach the station, am all rejuvenated! I love the railway station, especially at that time when everyone is sleeping warmly in their beds. It gives me a feeling of getting into an adventure. I love the silence, the train’s whistle breaking the silence, the darkness, the cold, and the wait… the place where many journeys begin and where many end. I reach Majestic by 7 and college by 9, and then the grind begins, until next Saturday, when again it’s a journey back home…
The best part of my PG life, however, seems to be my countless train journeys. The rush to board the 3’o clock Tippu express, which gets me home in 2 and a half hours flat; the serenity of the Mandya-Mysore stretch, the lush green paddy and sugarcane fields, with the occasional spotless white cranes, the wide expanse of our lifeline Cauvery and her tributaries beneath me, the village rustic with his herd of sheep, the rare peacock, the slight drizzle, all, as seen and felt through my foot board seat…Spectacular!!
All said and done, I am just waiting for my course to get completed and get back home, to get back to Mysore.. Well, the countdown has already begun.. 298 days to go!!! Mysore, am waiting to grow amidst you once again!!!
