Mysore and Around Part 2 - Mysore Zoo

I was goaded by one of my friends that I should visit Mysore Zoo.. I am not disappointed to have headed to his advice. I got some good photographs of the beautiful big cat..I did shoot a few video clips as well that I recommend you not to miss..

Established in 1892 by the King of Mysore and is named after him as Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens.
They have a novel scheme for conservation of animals. One can sponsor an animal. Read this interesting article here. If you want to know more about the evolution of Zoo, check-out this interesting link. http://www.mysore.org.uk/tourist-attractions/mysore-zoo.html

 I chose the battery car...as I thought would have struggled taking the long walk at 3pm ,quite sunny..The charges for this cart is Rs 80/- per person. However, I took another walking session to cover some of the wild animals ... Tiger and Lion in particular ..!

My son was adequately protected against sun..

Kids enjoy these cars..

I have always felt like touching the black & white striped silken body of this gorgeous beast..! But this is how he refused me the permission..! He wants to be the one wagging the tail and not me..!

He too basks..

In case the following is not readable-Lone Gorilla in South Asia..!

I can't stand the sight of this guy (Sorry..!) , But I could not resist shooting this interesting photo opportunity he provided in the form of the following sequence of him speeding in from his den..! 

Just rushing out..

Can you see the puff of dust..He is spearing in..

While I feel repulsive about the big Rhino, I am always enchanted by this long fellow..rather tall fellow..!

Well it is time for the Royals of the Jungle..the Queen and the King.!  

Some interesting facts about the Tigers

• Tigers normally attack from behind. So, sometimes masks of human faces are worn on the back of the head. This effectively make both sides of the wearer appear to be the front, deterring attacks from tigers which normally attack from behind as said earlier.
• The demand for tiger bone in traditional Chinese medicine is also another cause for pushing its extinction
• A Tiger can eat as much as 46pounds of meat at one sitting. Several days may pass before they are hungry enough to hunt again. Aren't they better than the humans in this aspect?

I was second time lucky that day.. the big cat also gave me a sequence .!

He rushed from the lawn towards his den

Inspected something..

Turned back &

headed towards me..!

Why don't you come inside , if you dare..!

Dont miss the first video of the big cat in video section..

If the queen is beautiful and restless , the King is majestic and composed..!

He doesn't like shooting.. !

Disgusted at his inability to do anything  about my shooting..

He regains composure..! Let me better get away from this place..!

Well as said earlier,I had to take the walk finally to shoot these guys..as the battery car did not provide enough time for leisurely shooting.. I just needed some rest after the strenuous shooting session..! I am relaxing away from the beasts ..!

More PHOTOS

MUSICAL Slideshow 

Animals alone

VIDEOS

Close encounter of some kind.. ! (She will never be kind outside her cage ..!) 

thanks to my son who kept drawing her attention towards us...!

Full Set of Tiger Videos

(There are number of videos below. Please ignore the first video if you have watched the above)

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Just a detour from the tour..!

I am taking a slight detour for a day from the current Mysore tour with your permission..!

I have been fortunate enough to attend a Bharatha Natyam Aranga Pravesam ( Arangam means Stage and Pravesam means entry... in tamil).

Most of you know, it is normal practice to end the Bharatha Natyam classes with an Aranga Pravesam (aka Arangetram), it serves as the qualifying criteria for the disciple and makes her eligible to give stage performances thereafter.

I was requested by one of our friends from Sri Sathya Sai Samithi ,which I am a member of ( a social service setup that provides for  congregation too) to photograph this event of their daughter Pooja. They wanted these snaps to be posted on the internet so that their kith and kin abroad can view them as well..in addition to sharing them with their friends of dance school. I readily obliged. 

The dance performance also included that of Nikitha, a friend of Pooja who also goes to the same dance school and share the same teacher.

The event has been covered as two blog posts :

The first part  primarily containing photographs preceded by some write-up on Bharatha Natyam.

The second part contains a musical slideshow ( dance music) and some video clips.

Since the video clips were from the digicam and not from a video camera, the quality is somewhat poor.

I thought, this will be of interest for friends of other culture to get a glimpse of the Indian Classical dance. I am sure, there are other people who has liking for the classical dance.

Hope you like them..!

Disclaimer :

My knowledge on the dance is very very limited and can be termed as Nil. So, any mistake or insufficiency may please be ignored. The advantage of the art is that you don't have to be an exponent to enjoy them..!

Part 1:

http://pooja-arangetram.blogspot.com/2011/02/poojas-rangapravesam-part-1.html

Part 2:

Note: Dont miss the first video, you will like this slide show with associated dance music..!

http://pooja-arangetram.blogspot.com/2011/02/pooja-nikitha-rangapravesam-part-2.html

  

Mysore and around Part 1

Date Visited : 10-Feb to 13-Feb-2011


Well..! TGS you guessed it right..! From your comments "I hope it is not Mysore ...", I guess, you might be disappointed to know the place is Mysore and around. But I will try my best to alleviate your disappointment with some good pictures and coverage of places aside from Mysore..! I still will not be able to assure you that the list of places include one that you may not have visited...You hailing from Karnataka is not my fault......(lol)!


This is my third visit of Mysore...Second in recent times..my last visit being in 2008.  The places like Chamundi Hills, Brindavan Gardens,Balmuri falls,Srirangapatna,Rangan thittu bird Sanctuary,Nanjangud  are some of the places, I covered during my second visit in 2008 which was chronicled earlier here. My first visit was some 20 years back when I remember visiting the Palace and Zoo only.
In both visits, I have missed palace illumination. So, I made it a point not to miss it this time and I did accomplish this agenda successfully..! Some proof of this can be found below..! Cameras are not allowed inside the palace.. A pity indeed..!

Mysore details can be seen in Wikipedia and Wiki travel.
I stayed at Hotel Siddhartha (closer to the palace). They have a website at http://www.hotelsiddharta.com/
The rooms are good & clean.

Let's now see some of the photos of this grand palace..!

The Entrance

The view of the temple within from outside

Nice arch adds to the elegance

The temple within the palace complex

My son Krishna with palace in the background

As light kept fading, the diffused illumination makes this structure awesome..!

With all peripheral lighting switched on ...

I camped in Mysore for three days and visited a few places in and around it and will write about them in subsequent posts.

The whole set of Photos

I am not a video buff, But sometimes the ambiance of some places are worth recollecting through video.. So I keep shooting short clips...You may like some of the clips... So, if you have a few minutes and interest, please watch..there are some closeups of the palace..... 

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEOS

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