On my second weekend in India we took a trip to Mysore, courtesy of GapGuru. The weekend consisted of both practical training and visiting various attractions.

We first stopped off in a small rural village. It was nice to get away from the city scene in Bangalore and to come to a small, quiet peaceful place, whereby the locals were most pleasant and the children were delighted we came to visit them.  

We visited a family who were Lacequerware product manufacturers. This is an art practiced by many people in the rural areas of Southern Karnataka. The families make colour toys and wooden utensils made from ‘Holi’ wood, which originates from this region. The family demonstrated and taught us how to make a ‘spinning top toy’. It was a great experience and really interesting to see a product being made and coloured from scratch. However, it was saddening to realise that these people were being paid very little for all the work they do. They welcomed us into their home and their village; the warmness of the community is something that will remain in my thoughts.  

We then drove into the centre of Mysore. This was the Dasara festival, thus it was a good time to be in the centre of it all. We had a guided tour of Mysore palace which was absolutely fantastic. Both the interior and exterior consisted of fine architecture and fine art. We returned to the palace at night when it was illuminated, that was truly breathtaking. There was a procession with elephants and people dressed in their Indian best. Music, song and dance gave me a true insight into one of the many festivals I will witness here.

The following day we had Handloom weaving training, this was much more difficult, but still enjoyable. We saw how sarees were made by ancient looking machines. The family then welcomed us into their home and provided us with lunch! Their home made me realise the basic conditions people are living in.