A good break......

I finally got a break from all the stupid assignments I have been doing for over a month now...and so did all my friends here in Mysore..we finished up the pending work the previous day and wanted a day for ourselves...just to be ourselves..
We started planning...with Bandipur being the top of the list, followed by Ranganthitu bird sanctuary, Tippu's Summer palace n Brindhavan Gardens....


Achut,Srikanth,Easwar,Uppili and myself planned to leave the campus by 9:00 in the morning but managed to drop out of the campus only by 11:00...all set, we realized that Bandipur was already out of the list as it would take 3 hrs just to reach...so the next on the list was the Bird Sanctuary and boarded the bus to Ranganthitu...

The bus pulled off at a spot not very close to the sanctuary and we had to take a 15 minute walk to the entrance. The rich green fields on one side, clear waters on the other and the fresh air around us....was a welcoming experience....myself n Achut were already looking for spots to explore our photographic instincts.....

When we reached, it was really sad to know that boating was closed due to floods which hit a few parts of Karnataka last month...and much of the natural habitat was destroyed...we had no choice...fingers crossed we hoped to see at least one bird ...the place looked rather deserted, except for a few crows and walkways leading nowhere....we just had a light snack n were out of the place soon..
The walk back to the pickup point was all fun...All of us finally got to be ourselves...we were taking snaps for almost every 5 seconds....

The next pitstop was at Tippu's Summer palace in Srirangapatna.....the ride back in time was memorable...when I walked thru those abandoned fort walls...I felt a deep sense of emptiness in me...I would have loved to see how life was in those days ! ! if only that could be possible....

I fail to understand why places of such historical importance have been maintained badly...The palace is in bad shape n the paint on the ceilings are beginning to peel off...
The summer palace would have been a lovely place to be...during Tippu's time...It is totally made of teak wood and the paintings are a blend of Persian and Indian style of art. The paintings said a lot about their lifestyle n the wars they fought ! ! ....


There is one thing that I really feel sad about. The fact that all the artifacts and
the most expensive jewels of Tippu Sultan are now in different museums across Europe and none in India is unfair…..it somehow just doesn’t seem right. We sat down in the gardens, which once upon a time was a playground for the children of Tippu Sultan….I looked at the Empty Palace and could see the dream of a brave Sultan left unfulfilled…..well….History always amazes me….and that’s the reason we call it history…..

We were soon on our way back to Infy, happy having spent the entire day having fun and were waiting to get back to our rooms and have a good night’s sleep…..the next day, life was gonna get back to what it was the day earlier...we had to get back to our training rooms…