A feast for the senses — An Elegant Sufficiency

I always regard time in India as a feast for all the senses. At time it can be overwhelming but this morning I think we were only just warming up; getting our eyes attuned to the national palette which I swear contains more colours than any other.

We have had a remarkable morning in Mysuru, visiting the Palace and then going on to a market. I’ll blog about the detail of those eventually. For now, just feast your eyes on some of this.

When dressing this morning, I pulled out a pair of black cropped trousers and a black and white stripy Breton T shirt. I wore black Birkis and carried a red bag. And then I stood with these ladies, who were dressed in the most amazing style imaginable. Rest assured that neither this photo nor any of those to follow have been adjusted - the colours are true to real life, I promise,

Once inside the Palace grounds, the groups of people coming in from other gates told a similar story. Yes, the sunshine helps, but oh my word, that pink! Those yellows and greens!

As our guide Nagendra drew our attention to the crest in the iron screen, my eye was drawn to the colour shining through the spaces. What a good job a camera doesn’t have a limited palette - I’d be running low on those hot pinks already and we had only just stepped inside.

Am I allowed to include gold in the palette? This is the Wedding Hall in the palace, by the way.

The Public Durbar or meeting hall was less ostentatious but equally colourful with the pink pillars and malachite green arches.

I was so taken with the pillars and the colours at eye level, I needed a nudge to look up. Yes, each section of the barrel vaulted ceiling was beautifully painted too.

It’s only to be expected that the Private Durbar would be more lavish! I have to admire the mind which chooses the turquoise blue-green for the pillars but who also puts a yellow glass ceiling in there too.

Up there with the Taj Mahal in terms of Indian tourist hot spots, it was a photo-rich morning. I’ll share a few more eventually, but for now, we were heading for the Devaraja market.

As soon as we hopped out of the car, the apparent theme of the day continued.

Why am I not as receptive to such colour anywhere else? Are other places really so dull?

The first sight in the market had me reaching for my camera - I mean, not just any old basket of flowers but an orange basket with red, pink, purple and yellow flowers in it! Not to mention the red one beside with with a blue plastic bag too.

For this wasn’t a food market, but one with two or three distinctive areas. Firstly, a shopper needs something to carry her purchases in, right?

My eye fell on one of the bags - a green one, natually - and Nagendra did the deal. Not only did he get a gret price, he insisted the chap fix metal studs to the base too. Later, when he spotted there were just four studs on the base, he returned the bag to have the chap fit another two in the centre, as agreed! (I realise I am a mere amateur when it comes to doing such transactions!)

And whilst studs were being fitted, Amy might just have spotted a few bangles she liked the look of. Once again, Nagendra did the deal (first question, what size bangle do you wear?)

Meanwhile, my eyes had fallen on the beautifully arranged Betel leaves on the stall opposite, proving that Nature can provide equally attractive colours to those of the plastic bits and pieces we were buying.

Really, we had no idea what was around the corner, or where Nagendra was taking us next.

First sight was of a man creating floral bunting (for want of a better description). He was threading marigold blossoms on thread and tieing them to a string hung between two stalls. Meticulously arranged in an even pattern the results were spectacular.

And then we looked along that row. Each one of the “shops” was filled with floweres and the men - all men - were busy creating floral chains and garlands, to be worn at weddings and to the temple. The air was filled with jasmine and rose scents and the sights were glorious.

I’m sure he didn’t wear his lilac shirt intentionally…

Most garlands were created by threading buds or blossoms onto a single string but others were more complex and the thread was wrapped around individual petals to created a more elaborate pattern. These were usually for weddings, said Nagendra, and could cost Rp4000 each. (A main course in a restaurant here runs about Rp400 max)

At the end of the row, a couple of men sat with sacks of the flowers, ready for threading. All had been grown locally, we were told, and were in plentiful supply all year round.

As was the product in the next row: bananas. Not just any bananas, however, these were a particular variety local to the area and known as the Mysuru banana. Small and really sweet, we were grateful to Nagendra for a sample!