India 3

Bangalore

We went to the state capital of Karnataka, Bangalore. It took us three hours from Mysore to Bangalore. One of the fun places that we went to was a mall. It was fun because we went to an arcade. In the arcade, I played air hockey, a motorcycle racing game, and a car racing game. Another fun place that we went to was

a restaurant. I had masala dosa and orange juice. Then we went to see Vidhan Soudha, the state capitol building. They put up a gate so we couldn't see clearly so we got out of the car and looked at it. Vidhan Soudha is where laws are made for the state.

Finally

Now we are staying home so we can pack to go back to United States.

 My final thoughts about India are:

 - my expectation was that I could not understand anything. But I was wrong.  I could understand a few things.

 - I would like to visit India again.
 - I had a lot of fun.

I am coming back to the USA on December 3rd and I am coming to school on Tuesday.

India 2

   Traveling back to Mysore

 To get back to Mysore we went on a train. We went on bunker berths(bunker beds.) Our train left at 12:30   am. The train ride was over-night. I slept in the middle bunker bed. I had a lot of fun sleeping on a train. In the morning we were close to Mysore. My grandparents picked us up at the train station. I had a lot of fun going  on a train.

 In and Around  Mysore

We went on a tour of places in and around Mysore. First we went to a temple on a hill called Chamundi Hill.  

The temple is dedicated to the goddess Chamundi. The story of Chamundi was that there was a demon by the name of Mahishasura. The gods could not defeat him, so they took a woman and gave her special powers. She beat the demon and is worshiped since. Chamundi has many different names - Chamundi, Chamundeshwari, Durga, and Shyla. Originally Mysore was called Mahishasura ooru(town of Mahishasura) but when the British came they made it to Mysore. 

On Chamundi Hill there is a sculpture of a bull called Nandi. There are seven such sculptures in India. This is the third largest one. It is 24 feet long and 15 feet high. It was made from one stone.    

We went to the bank of the river Cauvery(Kaveri.) Cauvery is the source of water for a lot of people. On the road, I saw lush green paddy fields and coconut trees. 

The waters of Cauvery is also used to generate hydro-electricity. Hydro-electricity is generating electricity from water. I saw the falls at Shiva Samudra. There was not a lot of water there because there was no rain this year.

After that we went to Brindavan Gardens. First we went to an aquarium. We got to see a tiger shark.Then we went to see some fountains. We toured and played in the gardens till 6:00 pm. At 6:00 colorful lights came on. Then we went to see a musical fountain or dancing fountain. The gardens was started in 1927 and finished in 1932. It is a terraced garden and it is in the backyard of a dam.

After that we went back home. I had a wonderful time taking a tour of places in and around Mysore .

Food

Grayson wanted to know about food so I am writing this paragraph.

Masala dosa

Masala dosa is a special food in South India. It is served for breakfast,snacks,or dinner. It is a crispy pancake served with curry and chutney   

Pani Puri

Pani Puri are small, puffed, fried tortillas (known as puris) served with a side dish, made from boiled potatoes, and a sauce, made from tamarind and mint. The way to eat it is, first you make a hole in the puri, then you fill the puri with the potato filling and the tamarind sauce, then you put the whole thing in your mouth and eat it.

Samosa 

Samosa is my favorite Indian food.  It is made from a pastry sheet with a potato filling, which is then fried in oil. It is served as a snack

For everyday meals, people in India eat rice and sauce or wheat tortillas (known as chapati) with a vegetable curry.

P.S    I shall be posting my last blog this weekend.

India

                                                         
On the car ride to Dulles Airport I read the Hunger Games. At the airport I put my luggage in the Security Check, I walked through the Security Check and went on the airplane. In the airplane I watched movies and slept Then we went to the Frankfurt Airport. After that we went on the plane to Bangalore Air port. Bangalore is in the southern part of India.

 I found India different than America in five ways:
- There are automobiles called Auto Rickshaw.
- Kids can ride on Motorcycles.
- You don't have to wear a seat belt
- The Southern part of India is warm.
- We use big rocks to wash our clothes


                                                           Mysore
Mysore is 100 miles from Bangalore. I visited the zoo there. I saw tigers, elephants, birds, snakes, rhinos, and lions. Most of the animals were sleeping because it was hot. I saw some new animals that I have never seen before.
- I saw a King Cobra-it was 15 feet long and black in color with its hood open.
- I saw three Anacondas - they were about 10 feet long and black in color. The zoo got five but two of them died because the weather was too hot
- I saw a Chameleon - it was green in color

I went to the palace. I felt very excited. I got to see what the princes and princess played with when they were kids. I also got to see what musical instruments they had. They had saxophones and veenas. A veena is an Indian string instrument. To play it you need to set it on your lap and you pull the strings, like a guitar. The palace was rebuilt in 1912 because the old palace was burned down. An extension was built in 1940. In 1969 the government took over the palace and opened it to the public. The architect was Henry Iruin.

I went to the Golden Temple established by the Dalai Lama. The Golden Temple is a Tibetan monastery but we were not it Tibet it was in a place called Bylakuppe in Karnataka. It was set up to support the Tibetan community that was displaced from Tibet. When we entered the Temple we saw large statues of Buddha. After visiting the temple we went to a park where I went on a toy train. I have never ridden a toy train. I was very happy to ride a toy train. During the car ride back to Mysore, I saw a lot of coffee plantations.

I got to celebrate Diwali. I burst the spinning wheel. A spinning wheel is a sparkling top. I also got to light a sparkler. I had a wonderful day. We light candles because it drives the evil spirits away and brings the good spirits. We celebrate Diwali because it is when Lord Rama came back to Ayodhya after spending fourteen years in a forest as promised to his father. Diwali is two weeks long.

                               
                                                                     Chitradurga

I travelled to Chitradurga.  Chitradurga is 225 miles from Mysore. There I visited a fort. It was built in the 1700's. Unlike other forts in India this one had a natural bolder boundaries. There is a legend that lives till today about a women named Obavva. She was the wife of a soldier. One day when her husband was eating and she was taking his place she heard whispers. She got a pestle and as the enemy soldiers popped out of a hole she would hit them and pull out the bodies. When her husband came back he saw a bloodied pestle in her hand and a pool of bodies. Although the fort eventually fell to the enemies, she was hailed as a hero.