Mysore Market

These are some assorted images from the main market in Mysore. On the day I visited here, my camera had died, as the charger had stopped working and I hadn't had time to get a new one yet. This turned out to actually be to my advantage, because it gave me an excuse to ask for photos from my friend Kelvin, who went with me. Kelvin is a much better photographer than I am, has a much higher quality camera, and, unlike me, enjoys taking pictures. As a result, you can see that these photos are notably better than the ones I take, and I was able to just wander around without feeling compelled to document anything.

The market was mostly just where people buy vegetables and puja materials, but I thought it was great. People were extremely nice here, even though they could tell we were just tourists who didn't need any of the things they were selling. It was the first time I've gone to a market (or anywhere there's a store in India, I think) where noone tried to pressure me to buy something if I looked at it.

The kid who is in the first pictures actually bought me and Kelvin tea and invited us into his family's vegetable stall to ask us about other countries. Normally he would have been in school, but he was off for Eid vacation. He was twelve years old and knew English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, and some Telugu. (This isn't uncommon in India, but I'm impressed every time I hear it.) He told us that his favorite food is Maggi noodles, the Indian version of Ramen noodles, and a staple of impoverished peoples' diets in many areas as well as a kid favorite like Mac and Cheese is here. He wanted to hear us talk about sports, and unfortunately we were both at a loss. He was very disappointed to hear that noone in America follows cricket, the most popular sport in India. He also really enjoyed having his picture taken, which is what started the interaction.












This market is also interesting for historical reasons because it is virtually unchanged in form from how it would have been hundreds of years ago. Markets like these were located at the front of temple complexes like the one I posted pictures of previously so that people could buy their puja goods and daily groceries. Nowdays, the vacated mandapas where people would have sold puja goods originally have been reappropriated by people selling tourist souveniers in some areas.