Mysore report - Chamundi Hill

Mysore has always been a favored holiday destination for us. During my childhood

we spent almost all our summer holidays at my uncle’s place in Saraswatipuram.

I have fond memories of holidays in Mysore and in particular the summer holidays

of 1965 when I learnt to cycle. 

A bicycle, in 1965, was a prized possession. People who owned bicycles were

protective of their possessions and it wasn’t easy for a young learner to get hold

of one. The ‘cycle shops’ which gave bicycles on hourly rent and which could be

found almost on every street also refused to give the cycle on rent to learners.

The trick was to take a person who knew cycling, rent a cycle and surreptitiously

use it to learn. But the rental of 25 paisa per hour was not easy to come by. 

I was yearning to learn cycling and was excited to see a bicycle in front of my

uncle’s house in Mysore. But I was not sure if I would get to lay my hands on it.

When I found that it belonged to a cousine of mine, wasn’t locked and that the

owner was not around, I was almost sure that I would realise my dream. And I

was right. By the end of our summer holidays both the bicycle and my body were

much dented but I had learnt to cycle ! Learning to cycle is a thrilling and momentous

time in a young boy’s life. And it certainly made that holiday special ! 

My visits to Mysore reduced considerably after I got out of high school and there

were large gaps between visits during the next twenty years or so. Then my

father in law shifted to Mysore and trips to the city became frequent once again.

My children loved the Zoo and we also visited the Chamundi hills and other places

almost every time. But curiously, we had never attempted to climb the Chamundi

hill by foot either during my younger years or anytime later. This fact occurred to me

suddenly during my trip to Mysore last week and I decided to try that and put my

knees to test the very next morning. 

Google guided me to the ‘Chamundi hills steps parking place’ and I was there by

six in the morning. I started climbing immediately but that being a Friday, the steps

were already getting crowded by hundreds of the faithful who were there with a

plate containing ‘haldi and Kumkum’ powder in hand. They were praying and

smearing every step with the ingredients from their plate as they climbed. There

are about one thousand steps. I was impressed and touched by their faith. It is

something beyond comprehension. 

I kept a good pace. Though I had to stop to regain my breath now and then,

I climbed about seven hundred steps in fifteen minutes and then I got bored with

the climbing process. There was a continuous stream of people going up and down.

The steps were not of equal height and some were missing altogether. Hence,

I had to literally watch my steps and there was no chance of looking around.

And even if I had, there weren’t any great sights to look at because the sides of

the steps were covered by shrubbery and overgrowth raising up to 6-8 feet in

height and I couldn’t see anything beyond them. 

By then I had reached the place where the steps cross the motorable road going

up the hill and I decided to leave the steps and walk the remaining distance to

the top. Within a minute I had reached the spot known as the ‘Nandi’ - Statue of

the big bull - from where there was another road going downhill. I was wondering

whether to go up or down when a gentleman who was there with a group enquired

“ಏನ್ ಸಾರ್ ಕನ್ ಫ್ಯೂಸ್ ಆಗ್ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದೀರಾ. ಎಲ್ಲಿಗ್ ಹೋಗ್ಬೇಕು ?” (You look confused sir, where

do you intend going?). I told him that I had no goal and was looking for a road or

track which was not crowded and that I intended to just amble along, looking around.

He pointed to the road going down and said - “ಹಂಗಾ, ಈ ರಸ್ತೆಮೇಲೆ ಹೋಗ್ಬಿಡಿ”. 

meaning that I should take the road going downhill. That road, he said, led towards

the base of the hill and touched the main road from another direction. I thanked

him and took the road. 

Before I had walked about a hundred yards, I knew that I did the right thing. There

wasn’t another soul on the road, it was completely shaded as it was on the slope

facing west and there was a wonderful cool breeze. And since it only had a very

short protective wall and no other hindrance to my view, the wonderful vista of the

Mysore city and the surroundings was in front of me. I walked along enjoying the

seclusion and the sights and in about half an hour had reached the main road

going towards Mysore. I turned back. 

Walking uphill was equally pleasant and I was humming tunes of the songs of my

liking as I walked. Then it occurred to me that it was a good opportunity for me to

sing ! I love some of the kannada poems and devotional songs, and have a few

of them in memory. Sometimes just out of a whim, I start singing. As the singing

continues, the volume rises without my knowledge and then I hear something like

“I have heard enough of you, please allow me to cook in peace”  or “appa, please

remember that there are other members of your family here in residence.”  or some

such equally caustic statement. I agree that it is not easy to tolerate the onslaught

on the ears but my family members could have been a bit more generous. Anyway

that puts an end to my singing. 

On this road there was no one to object to my singing. No one within earshot.

Chamundeshwari and Nandi were about two kilometers away. There were

peacocks nearby. I could hear them. But they themselves were shouting their

heads off and hence had no moral right to object to my singing. So I sat on a

stone by the side of the road and let my voice out without guilt !

Another kilometer and I had reached the junction from where I had started.

I climbed down the steps, got onto my scooter and returned home in time for

a good breakfast. I felt that it was a nice experience and therefore I wrote it out

to  post it on my blog www.dentaldiaries.blogspot.com  which is there only for

the purpose of storing my thoughts, for whatever they are worth. 

Brown Backed Tree Snake

 The snake.

 

It was a pleasant morning. And it was a very good morning because as soon as I came out of my home, I got a nice lizard for breakfast. Not a good morning for the lizard but I can’t help it. Good or bad, it was its last morning for sure. Well I was just strolling around after my breakfast and the ground started getting warm. So I raised myself up, felt the places around me and found something cool. I climbed onto the cool surface. I moved along a bit and was getting to enjoy the nice surroundings when I suddenly saw something large coming down on my head. I swiftly moved away, and tried to jump onto the large thing which was about to crush me. As soon as I jumped on it, it started shaking violently and so, I got off and ran for my life. As I was running away I saw something familiar. It was a creeper. I got onto the creeper, climbed high and relaxed a bit. And I stayed still. 

 

Me

 

As I was walking towards the clinic door in the morning I saw our helper rushing out of the enclosure where we keep our outdoor equipment and when she saw me, she started shouting “snake, snake, it came on my leg” she was shaking and she pointed towards the protective metal grill around the enclosure. The grill is covered entirely by the creeper of ‘Aparajita’ or the ‘Butterfly Pea flower’. I could not see anything. But the helper kept shouting “there, there, there” and was pointing a bit higher. I tried to focus my sight there. Unfortunately I was not successful in focusing as I wasn’t wearing my glasses. I did not see anything other than the pea flower creeper. Then I asked our helper to stop shouting and dancing and to stay still. Half a minute later a part of the creeper raised its head !  

 

Since I had seen one such snake on our compound wall before, I recognised it as a tree snake, non venomous, but I wasn’t sure. Luckily the snake remained stationary and I took a picture and sent it to an animal rescue group volunteer whose number I have stored. I asked him if he could recognise the snake. Then I asked our helper to remain calm, remain away from the snake and keep watching the snake. After that I went to fetch the stick which I have kept for use in such situations. 

 

Snake 

 

I was breathing easy when I saw a human coming towards me with a stick in hand. I am wary of these humans. And even more wary of humans having sticks in hand. They are troublesome and usually are up to something evil. So, I moved higher. The man started beating the creeper plant. I told you he was evil. If I were close by he would have beaten me. So, I got away from the creeper, found something smooth and nice to move upon and started moving swiftly on it. 

 

Me 

 

The animal rescue volunteer called me and said that it is a ‘brown backed tree snake’, non venomous and harmless. So, I just wanted to shoo it away and I shook the creeper with my stick. But instead of going away from the wall, the snake moved towards the wall and climbed on to the electric wire casing which was running along the wall. It was very fast and before I could do anything else, it found a hole next to the switch box and disappeared into the hole. Now, I was in a fix. Right opposite the switch box, on the other side of the wall, is the indoor unit of the AC and a little away from there is the fuse box. Because of the concealed electrical wiring all are inter connected.  And all of them open into our operatory. 

 

I did not know what to do. I stood staring at the hole hoping that the snake would get bored inside, comeout and go on its way. It did put its head out once to look around but  got back into the hole. I could not leave it there. What if it got into the fuse box or the AC unit ? So, I called and requested the animal rescue volunteer to come and help me out and he asked me to call an AC technician and an electrician - in case the AC and the fuse box had to be opened. I was making frantic calls to the AC technicians and electricians who were known to me while keeping one unfocused eye on the hole in the wall and all the while there was pandemonium around me with our helpers, my daughter in law - who is also my colleague and extremely scared of anything creeping, the labourers working in the construction site opposite our house - and one or two patients, all in different stages of excitement/hysteria. I ignored everything else and concentrated on the phone calls and the hole in which the snake had got in. 

 

Snake 

 

At last I was in a place which felt almost like my home. It was dark, cool and away from human interference. My breakfast had got digested long back because of the hectic activity of the morning and I was again feeling a bit hungry. I even found a lizard egg which had been placed there by the god almighty to help creatures like me. I had my snack, was feeling better, went deeper into the home, relaxed and dozed. 

 

Me

 

The animal rescuer, AC technician and the electrician arrived in the next fifteen minutes. They ascertained that the snake could not have gone into the AC unit and said that it must be inside the switch box. They decided to open the switch box. But the snake rescuer was afraid of the electric shock and the electrician was afraid of the snake. So they stood discussing between themselves about the future course of action. The AC technician who was relieved because he did not have to do anything stood there giving them useful suggestions and tips. Then I switched off all the mains and offered to open the switch box myself. Now, the electrician felt ashamed and decided to open the switch box himself. He selected the longest screwdriver he had in his possession and started opening the lid. 

 

Snake 

 

I was getting more and more comfortable when I experienced some vibration. Not the positive and negative vibrations which meditating humans experience. Real vibration which we snakes experience when some activity is going on near us.  Since I am short of hearing I could not hear anything. I felt more vibrations and suddenly the roof of my house flew away and bright light flowed in. Luckily there was a lot of space for me to get deeper into the home and I did the only thing that I could do. I went further away from the light and sat there contemplating my future course of action. 

 

Me 

 

The electrician opened the switch box. It was empty !!  First all three of them thought that I had been imagining things. When I asserted that the snake was really there and showed them pictures, they started poking into the interiors of the box with pieces of electric wire, bits of flexible pipe, screw driver and what not. Then it was noticed that the switch box also had openings which lead to the concealed electrical pipings in the wall and the snake had a walkway of nearly ten feet to amuse itself with. There was no way of getting it out without breaking the wall. 

 

This activity had started around ten in the morning and now it was nearly one. The patients who had forgotten their tooth for some time, remembered it again, took a later appointment and went away after coming to know that we were not on a snake chase but were on a wild goose chase. The AC technician remembered another AC unit which had been kept open and he excused himself. The electrician asked me to call him later to close the box and he went away to continue on the errand which he was attending to when he got my call. The snake catcher, a young man, waited a bit longer, said that there is no way that the snake is going to surrender and advised me not to bother about it because it was harmless and that it would go on its way once the pandemonium around it is over. He was a bit disappointed because he had brought his girlfriend with him and there was no chance for him to exhibit his skills in front of her.  He asked me to call if I found the snake inside the house and he went away. I asked my helpers to shut the windows and doors on that side of the building, found that I was feeling hungry and came home for lunch. 

 

Snake

 

Suddenly everything is calm and cool. And I am quite comfortable here. I will stay here a bit longer and then decide what to do. If there are lizard eggs here, a lizard may also be  nearby !  I will try my luck and see if god decides to provide me an easy lunch. I will rest for the time being. Thanks for bearing with me and being with me so long. Have a nice day !

 

Salt and salt riNa

Posted above is the picture of a grocery shop near our house in Bengaluru.

Shop is closed. Picture was taken early in the morning. I am intrigued by

the fact that the shop owner has not bothered to shift some of the sacks

inside, before closing the shop at night. On close inspection I found that

they contained packets of salt. And that's why the owner never bothered

to shift them inside !  This is all that I had to say. But I have said much

more and made a story out of it. If you are interested in the story, please

continue reading. If not, you may shift your attention to other people

clogging your screen and calling for your attention !  

During my childhood in Bangalore, we had a very cordial relationship with

almost all our neighbours. We are especially indebted to one particular family,

the Reddys, for their affection towards us and also for various favours we

received from them. We used their phone, their water, their car and other

facilities as if they were our own. During my half-hearted and short lived

dental practice at our out house in Bangalore, my waiting room furniture

was from their house.  In my tight budget I did not have enough funds to

buy them. I was about six years old when they built their house opposite

ours and started staying there. I left Bangalore when I was twenty six. It

has been forty years since I shifted from Bangalore. But the good relations

with the Reddy’s family has remained. They continue to live in the same place. 

There were no grocery shops near our house and it was quite common for

members of both families to cross the street with a box or bowl in hand to

borrow some Sugar, dal, oil or flour when there was an urgency. This give

and take extended to cooked food too when some relative arrived without

notice at lunch time !

On one such give and take occasion their boy came to our house with a small

bowl in hand and he placed a 25 paise coin in my hand before asking for some

salt. (This was before the onset of packed/ iodised salt. Coarse salt used to be

brought in a hand cart and sold on the street. The vendor used to come about

once a week calling out ‘uppooo, uppu’ - uppu is salt in kannada - we bought

salt from him and stored it) I did not understand why he was giving me money

but my mother took it smilingly and she handed over some salt to the boy.

Later she explained to me that while we can request for a loan of any item that

we may need, one should never take a loan of salt. Salt should always be paid for !

I don't know how to explain the meaning of the kannada/sanskrit word ‘riNa’. You

may simply call it a debt, but it is something more than that. I may say that it is

owing someone something and the compulsion to return/repay the same. This

something could be cash, kind, goodwill, gesture or favour. There are many

types of ‘riNas’ - Anna riNa, Dhana riNa, Pitru riNa, Guru riNa, Deva riNa, so

on and so forth and there are various ways to repay/clear the riNas. Our

philosophy believes in cycles of birth and death till one attains salvation or

‘Moksha’ - and I think (apart from other requirements) one will not be eligible

for ‘moksha’ unless all the ‘riNas’ are cleared. You keep being born again and

again till it is done. “Punarapi jananam, punarapi maraNam, Punarapi janani

jathare shayanam” - be born again, die again and lay in the mother’s stomach

yet again. While the concerned authorities may waive off some ‘riNa’ if they so

wish, the ‘rina of salt’ is never waived and one has to clear it by taking another

birth or many more births if necessary ! Well, that is the belief. 

That is the reason why people are always very wary of getting into the ‘salt rina’.

I was under the impression that during these modern days, we have gotten over

the unfounded beliefs but the sentiment seems to be very deep and prevailing. 

That's why the grocer near my house never bothers to shift his sacks of salt inside

when he closes shop every night. He keeps piles of sacks containing rice, dal

and salt as well as boxes containing bottles of oil on the sides of his front steps

during the day.  And, while he shifts all other items inside when he closes at night,

he never bothers to shift the sacks containing packets of salt because he is sure

that no one will take a packet of salt without payment !! 

I had attached an extra length of plastic drainage pipe to the drainage outlet we

have at the bottom of our compound wall and it was stolen two days after I

fixed it. It cost three hundred rupees. But nobody touches packets of salt

costing more than five thousand rupees, lying outside the shop day and night,

and the salt remains safe!

My story is almost over except for a short ‘upakathe’ - a side story on salt. 

A group of thieves decided to burgle a nobleman’s house and wanted to get the

inside information about the layout of the house etc. They joined the crowd of

hundreds of strangers who thronged the nobleman’s house every afternoon for

free lunch. Someone connected to the household got the information about the

group of burglars operating in the vicinity and their modus operandi. But it was

a tough task to identify the burglars amongst hundreds of strangers. The cook

got a bright idea. He purposefully avoided putting salt to the dishes and served

some salt to every guest separately. People serving the dishes were asked to

keep an eye on those who did not touch the salt. Everyone added the separately

served salt to the dishes but the burglars stuck to the adage -“ಉಪ್ಪು ತಿಂದಮನೆಗೆ

ಎರಡು ಬಗೆಯಬೇಡ”  “don’t harm those whose salt you have consumed” and they

ate what was served without mixing salt to it. They were noted, watched

carefully and were caught when they attempted the burglary. I had heard this

story a long long time back.

With this I end my salt story. Sorry for testing your patience.  Have a good day. 

My toe and the girl without legs.

For the last few months I have been feeling a mild pain at the joint of my second

toe with my foot. Left leg. I feel it only when I walk fast or walk for a long distance.

I am used to walking 7- 8 kms every day and sometimes I cross 10 kms. Now,

this pain is annoying. I enjoy my morning walk and am worried that I may have

to reduce my walking. This situation is bothering me a bit. I am considering

seeing an orthopaedician. 

I was in the market this morning. My wife was looking for an exact match for

her saree (It seems like god is yet to create that. He created the saree and

forgot about the matching blouse piece) and I was standing outside the shop

observing the happenings around me. In between the ever hasty and rash two

wheelers, three wheelers and cars, I saw an unusual three wheeler being ridden

by a girl. It was a tricycle. It had a basket in the front and one at the back and

two slots on the handle in which were inserted two crutches. The girl, a teenager,

was pedaling it confidently without bothering about the zooming motor vehicles

around her. 

The girl came close to where I was standing, stopped in front of a hand cart, selected

some vegetables while sitting on her tricycle, put the vegetables in the basket in front

of her and paid for them. Next, she stopped in front of the bakery close by and shouted

out her order. The bakery owner wrapped her order and requested a customer who

was in front of the counter to hand it over to the girl. The parcel was placed in the

basket behind her seat and cash was collected from the girl. The girl then rode

ahead a little more, parked her tricycle next to the footpath, took out the crutches

and hopped into the shopping center nearby. In no time she came back with a bag

hanging on her hand, placed it in the basket, got onto her bike, placed the crutches

back in their slot and rode away. 

I was impressed with the confidence and the seeming ease with which she attended

to her chores. At no time there was any indication of her being handicapped and

different from others. There never was any indication of her being at the mercy of

someone even when she was being helped by others. She took things in her stride

and it looked as if she never felt that she was different from others. I was about to go

near her and say a word of appreciation but I held myself back. By doing that, I would

be pointing out that she was different. Within my heart I wished her well, expressed

my appreciation in front of my wife and we continued with our shopping. 

Now, the pain in my toe seems trivial and inconsequential. It isn’t bothering me much !