After the temple visit, we went to the SDM institute to do yoga, eat breakfast, and listen to the Dean of the institute and the secretary of the education board speak. Although, I did not participate in yoga, I still found it very interesting to observe. Also, for those of you of are wondering why the group is doing Yoga for an International business class In India, it is because yoga was started in India. Not only is it great for relaxation purposes, but it also seemed like it fulfilled spiritual needs. Following breakfast, we listened to a brief presentation from the Dean of the Institute Ramesh and the secretary of the education board. Some key points that I would like to share with you are: -the marketability of someone getting a foreign degree from the United States and then going back to India has definitely decreased, -more and more Indians want to stay in India after graduating rather than moving elsewhere because of the growing Indian economy, and finally a challenge that India has been facing in recent years due to globalization is that capitalist views are entering Indian homes and this sometimes conflicts with Indian’s cultural views and practices. The point about Indians wanting to stay in India or if abroad wanting to return to India relates to what Varma states in Being Indian which is that “Indians who have lived abroad for generations will continue to consider India ‘home’; a desire to ultimately return to their ‘roots’ is a pervasive sentiment” (201-202). This is just showing how although some immigrants will never want to return to their home country because of a bad government or economic situation, it is a different story with Indians because of democracy and the opportunities that lie ahead. Below is a picture of people participating in Yoga at the Institute.
Next, we did not waste any time and went to Lakshimi Vilas Palace (Main Palace) in Mysore. It was absolutely beautiful. It lights up at night (I will talk about this more later), but looks just as beautiful during the day. According to our great tour guide, it is the 4th largest palace in the world (China has the largest one in the world for its emperor). As we entered the palace we had to remove our shoes and once again go barefoot. I am not going to go through everything I learned from the palace because I am sure you would be bored, but I will tell you some interesting information that I learned. One being that a lot of the material in the palace was imported from different countries (ex. Some artwork from Scandinavia and Italy, some lamps from Japan, some stain glass from France, etc.). I thought this was interesting because it was almost a predictor for the future of India which is now considered to be by many a melting pot of various cultures, business techniques, and knowledge. One piece of evidence of this is that many people around India (including Pavan K Varma in Being Indian) refer to India’s most popular language as Hinglish (a mix of Hindi and English). Also, the tour guide finally gave me an answer to the reason why so many of the paintings have people with multiple heads and hands. He said that the multiple heads represent more knowledge and the multiple hands represent more help and support. I thought this was very interesting. The palace was absolutely amazing from the detailed ceilings and doors to the Iron pillars. Also the use of ivory in the palace was very interesting. After the palace, we made a quick stop to St. Philomena’s church which was also beautiful. I really enjoyed this visit. Below are just a few pictures of this amazing palace and church (unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures of the inside at any locations).
Following the palace and the church visit we continued our Mysore tourist marathon by stopping for lunch and touring Tipu’s summer palace (Daria Daulut Bagh). Once again it was beautiful. We heard about the meanings behind the beautiful paintings. One painting that showed a battle between the Indians and the British was particularly interesting. It portrayed King Tipu Sultan as first a cow (a holy sacred figure in India as described in a previous blog) and then a pig (a huge insult in any culture, but especially in the Indian culture). Another interesting thing to note is that the palace had no kitchen or bedrooms and was only used for meetings and gatherings. Also, at this site I once again experienced how nice and friendly the Indians are to foreigners by having them shake my hand and constantly wave and smile at me. Attached below are some pictures.
We then continued our theme of summer by going to a bird sanctuary. Sorry for not using a new word, but it was once again beautiful. This was no ordinary bird sanctuary; it had bats, crocodiles, and even some monkeys. We went on a boat that literally got within inches of a crocodile, it was just amazing. Also, I have never seen so many bats in my life. One thing I noticed about all the destinations we saw today was that the majority of the Indians we saw were upper class. I could tell by the type of clothing they wore and just how they presented themselves. In addition, at each of these destinations I felt like the Indians we saw were more and more like Americans. The similarity between Americans and Indians can be supported by what Tom Freidman says in The World Is Flat “Columbus accidentally ran into America but thought he had discovered part of India. I actually found India and thought many of the people I met there were Americans” (5). I think “Globalization 3.0” is largely responsible for the similarities I have seen between Indians and Americans. Below are some pictures attached of this adventure.
Our final stops included a visit to the botanical gardens and a return visit to the Main palace in Mysore for the lighting. Unfortunately they charged you money to bring a camera into the botanical gardens, so I did not take any pictures. It was beautiful there with the many water fountains. It was a little reminiscent to the water show in front of the Bellagio in Las Vegas. It was really busy there. We stood for sunset which was a beautiful site to see. Once I get pictures, I will definitely share them with you. After the gardens, we went back to the Main palace and saw it lit up. It was such a fun site to be at. It was like a different palace from day to night. There was a band playing that fit the mood perfectly. The mood was excitement, admiration, and astonishment. I attached some pictures of this to give you a glimpse of just how wonderful this night was.
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