Varsha woke up early. She was very excited. She was going on a school trip to Mysore that day! When Varsha reached school, there was a big bus waiting. The teachers and children got in, and the bus left the school at 7 o’clock.
7
The children sang songs on the way, and played games. The rice and sugarcane fields on both sides of the road were green and beautiful. Â After some time, they stopped the bus and ate idlis that the teachers had packed. Â
9
As they crossed the Kaveri river, their teacher said, “This is Srirangapatna. Mysore is just a few kilometers away.” As the bus drove into Mysore, Varsha looked out of the window and liked the broad, clean roads and old buildings. Their first stop was the Mysore palace. There was a big arched entrance, which led to the palace grounds where they saw the elephants that take part in the Dasara procession! The palace was beautiful, grey in colour with red domes.
11
This is also called Amba Vilas palace,” said the teacher. “The Wodeyars, rulers of Mysore, lived here.” “How old is it?” asked Varsha. “More than a 100 years old!” said the teacher. “It looks grand at night when the palace is lit by thousands of lights!”
13
The inside of the palace was lovely. The rooms were large. There were big pillars and colourful patterned floors. The walls of the rooms were full of paintings. Even the high ceilings were made of coloured glass.
15
There were big, glass lights called chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The doors to each room were carved, and were so huge that she was sure three men were needed to open and close them! She even saw the big golden throne on which the kings sat!
17
Just then, she saw that a few boys had crept up to one of the walls, and were trying to write something on it with a pocket knife. Varsha was shocked. How could they spoil something so beautiful and precious? Though she felt scared, she called out to the boys. “Don’t do that. It’s wrong!” she said. The boys quietly went away.
19
Behind her, she heard someone say “That was very brave of you!” Varsha turned around to look - it was Trisha, who had also come to see the palace! Varsha was very excited “You are my favourite actor!” she said. “You are beautiful and dress so well! I wish I could also be like you.” Trisha said, “It doesn’t really matter how you look or what you wear. Keep smiling your lovely smile, and be kind and helpful. That’s what is important!” Varsha said goodbye to Trisha, and they left. She could not stop thinking about Trisha and the palace even when they went to a restaurant to eat tasty Pongal and Mysore Pak.
21
After lunch, they went to Chamundi hills. Varsha saw the huge statue of Nandi, and went to the Chamundi temple. She also saw a big statue of Mahishasura, the rakshasa who was killed by Chamundi. The teacher said, “Mysore got its name from this rakshasa. Mahisha-ooru.” Such a beautiful city named after a demon! Varsha laughed.
23
It was now evening. As they climbed the bus to go back to Bangalore, Varsha thought, “Next time, I will come here with my whole family!
25
Glossary Excited Broad Arched Procession Domes Grand Pillars Patterned Carved Precious
Happy Wide Curved shape A group of people moving forward A rounded roof form Imposing Round structures that support a building Design Drawn on with a knife Expensive, rare
Shruthi Rao Writer Shruthi Rao loves stories, books and food. She has an MTech degree, writes articles for newspapers, but what she likes best is to write stories for children and adults. Many of her stories have been published, and have won awards. She has a daughter who loves stories more than Shruthi does!
Manoj Nath Illustrator I’m a graphic designer by profession. I love to sing Kishore Kumar’s songs. When bored, I play my mouth organ to the tunes of R.D. Burman. Being a Bengali, sweets are my addiction, Roshogolla being an obvious favourite. I love pinch-hitting in gully cricket and prefer casuals as a dress code.