MYSURU ROAD TRIP – NOSTALGIA (30-Apr-2021)

Mysuru - City of Palaces, a road-trip on Bengaluru-Mysuru highway brings fond memories!

A perfect getaway anytime from the hubbub of high-decibel Bengaluru, the true motivation has been its pristine beauty, uncorrupted residents, a clean environment, delightful eateries, to name a few.  The true excuse though being a ‘thavaru mane (home-sweet-home)’ for my better half. Unfortunately, not anymore after the demise of both her parents; her mother passed away 6 months ago, a tragic statistic to the dreaded virus.

On the highway, road-dividers are new inventions now.  Then a challenge, being at one’s own risk to maneuver the oncoming traffic on two narrow lanes.  A mayhem of sorts that brought the traffic to a stand-still.  A familiar face in the other bus in the opposite direction, an extended breezy handshake were energy-filled sights.  Upon a quick exchange of pleasantries, passengers contributed – “right-right…a little to the left and holdane…very close!” with a bang on the rusted dusty body of the red-bus to caution the driver!

Few people owned cars then and a common practice was to load up both passengers and food - home-cooked and packed picnic food-baskets.  The picnic breaks by the roadside served two purposes: an opportunity for the family to enjoy nature’s serenity and unending vastness, and two a break-time….no not for the driver but for the car itself!  A common sight then was the bonnet held ajar with a makeshift stick with little smoke and water poured into the car’s radiator, albeit mobilized from road-side streams.

My mother’s maternal uncle owned a large Dodge van.  On one such trip, we kids were squished in the back and each handed one stapled bundle of lottery tickets; instructed to get each ticket separated from the bundle and fly them out of the window; an exercise to keep us kids occupied.  The road behind with strewn lottery-tickets was a sight to behold – we were in the dark that it equated a few felled trees!  The road-trips gave us kids the freedom to influence our uncles to venture out.  The stop-over in the sugarcane fields of Mandya and the good fortune of sinking our teeth into the juicy sugarcanes, and hot ‘Maddur Vadas’ with chutney at the famous Maddur Tiffanys are images fresh even today.

The colorful Channapatna toys were for the privileged few, worth even if it meant for window-shopping.  The chitranna-mosaranna (tamarind or lemon rice-curd rice) combination along the banks of Cauvery in the historic town of Srirangapatna deserve a special mention.  As kids we relished them in the shade of a large tree, an experience quite superior to today’s generation who enjoy the burger and pizza in the snazzy huts and corners!  The garnish was never in the seasonings but in the “thutthu (small round food portions placed in our palm to facilitate a quick swallow)” that our aunts and grannies so lovingly distributed onto our sweaty and dirtied hands.

We were warned of the lurking dangers of being waylaid by thugs after sunset on deserted dark roads.  A punctured wheel-tyre or search for fuel for the car or the need to answer nature’s call – abound with challenges.  With entry into the neighboring town of Kengeri, the presence of an engineering college campus got us all excited that we have arrived; grossly miss the presence now due to overgrown concrete jungle and the traffic woes.

The Bengaluru-Mysuru drive from the bygone days indeed has left a lasting impression!  A drive-in today’s plush cars fade in comparison to the adventures and excitement of the bygone days.  Pure nostalgia!