Comments on: Driving in Mysore-Mysuru: Then & Now

By: Uma Venkatesh

Uma Venkatesh — Sun, 05 Nov 2017 15:39:31 +0000

During 60’s in Mysore, in the Saraswathipuram I main road, as a primary school going child, only car ever I saw was Famous Kannada film producer Director Shankar Singh and Prathima Devi’s Black Hillman parked in front of their house. I used to go to Sharada Shishuvihara around that corner of I main Road. It is a great and very vivid memory of very few cars running on broad, beautiful and clean roads of Mysore city. It was a peaceful time. Champak, Jasmine and Parijataha Trees in the front gardens of most houses. Their fragrance in the evenings is another great memory I have from my school days. It remained that way even during early 80’s. But during 90’s everything changed. IT sector manapoly and population explosion changed our city and lives of millions for good and off course for worse! Only my memories can bring those pictures and some articles like this keep the picture of that Mysore alive. Great article.

By: Thethreewisemen

Thethreewisemen — Sat, 04 Nov 2017 12:00:33 +0000

Morris Minor was an English car, shipped to India after several owners in England used the car for thousands of miles!! That is the truth!!

By: Suresh

Suresh — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 13:47:58 +0000

In the early 1960s, while Bangalore had several auto rickshaws, Mysore had only 3 autos plying on the road and I still remember the registration no. of one them , MYA 253.
Otherwise, Mysore had horse ridden tongas or Jatakaas as they are popularly called.
My father had a rickety old Moris Minor car, and he would often park the car at the top of sloping road, to enable us push the car for it had starting problem and would be on the move ,courtesy push-start.
The car also had an opening aperture in lower posrtion of bonnet for crank starting, a steel rod with a handle to give a brisk rotation for the engine to start when car battery failed for self-start.

By: Thethreewisemen

Thethreewisemen — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 09:44:50 +0000

Mysuru then and now? Them we could enjoy walking any time of the day, during lunch hour for example, and the exercise did us a world of good. There were proper footpaths, road vehicle count was minimal and the if one wanted pure air , one cold take a walk just outside the extensions. Plenty of water coming out of taps,
Now, not sure about today, but when we visited some 20 years ago, my relatives were suffering from acute water shortage, vegetable bill was rocketing into hundreds of rupees, worried about their kids coming home safe from schools, not meeting marauding cars trying to run them over as footpaths and roads joined seamlessly together.
We did not think then that beautiful Mysuru will go the same way as Bengaluru, but we were very wrong then. Mysoru inhabitants will regret the way the direction that the city has taken. At a time when pedestrians are increasingly get their freedom to walk and bicycles are finding their way into Western cities, Mysuru has firmly grasped the car culture.

By: Nagabhushan Varadaraj

Nagabhushan Varadaraj — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 14:31:11 +0000

Yadavagiri Ectension & Vivekanada Road then was like an Mud Road with few houses as allotted by the City improvement Board.?
To some Doctors & Engineers of the Ranked Officials ,Administaatrs of the then Government !! Starting with Dr.H.V.Ramaswamy the personal doctor of His Highness the Maharaja of Mysore & the Game officer D.N Neelakanta Rao also to the Royal family were living among others ?
ONLY EIGHT HOUSE EXISTED THEN? The rest of the area were Dry land cultivated.? Traffic was almost nil.!!
Sri M.Venkatesh of highly qualified : cultured of high Rank ,Status soft Spoken beyond discriptions of hmanity & Authority of the Railways were the proud Residents with his family ? The only family who were of Highly Educated in those early years a task of up hill!! Arduous agony to come up with the Best Education of World Standard Education was Hard..!! I highly Admire Mrs. Girija Madhavan as the foremost resident with utmost Education Culture, most sports & activity world Renown second to None!! Pride of humanity of our Country!! we see very hand full of such greats among !! Jai Karnataka.!! Jai Hind.

By: Dr.A.V.Balakrishna

Dr.A.V.Balakrishna — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 11:17:28 +0000

Beautifully captured moments of Mysore soil extended to world wide destinations and back. I could imagine and visualize besides feel each road explained and remember the good old cars that roamed at the princely city of Mysore. I had witnessed the same while in China exactly the way explained. I spent most years in Mysore being a local Mysorean and days are not same anymore when I visited the city few weeks back. There was Standard Super10,Morris Minor and Morris Major which resembled counterparts of VW Beetle. The city was cool and vibrant then to see few vehicles roaming only from elites. I could add the joy of walking at “Thandi Sadak” only for humans which is now a part of Zoo! We have devolved not evolved. Time matter and memories last but its people who matter then and now. No wonder what is to be seen next?

By: theskywalker

theskywalker — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 10:17:00 +0000

In those days, there was no necessity to own a car and learn driving. We could walk end to end or at the worst take the bicycle. No traffic and no pollution. Chest infections unlike now were unheard of. This author should have written about how wonderful the walking was in those days within the very compact Mysore boundaries.

By: Naveen

Naveen — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 02:54:57 +0000

Very well written, The sight of old Mysore flew in my mind while I read the article.
Well I had almost forgotten the elephant statue in front of cheluvamba park road, which my mother showed it to me whenever we passed tha road.

Thank you for bringing back wonderful memories of old Mysore.