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India
India offers the visitor immense diversity, with 28 ethnically diverse states each with its own music, dance, architecture, and food. Home to over a billion people, India is the second most populous country in the world, its largest democracy, and the founding country of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.
South India in particular is known for its coconut groves, rice paddies, flowers, exceptional vegetarian cuisine, masala chai, yoga, and larger-than-life Bollywood movie posters, not to mention its relaxed nature and inquisitive people.
Social and Development Issues
Over the past 15 years, India has dramatically relaxed controls over foreign investment and the result has been immense economic growth. India currently has the twelfth largest economy in the world and is second only to China in annual growth.
In spite of this growth and the implied prosperity, India remains a place of widespread poverty. It is home to high levels of illiteracy, malnutrition and environmental exploitation.
One quarter of the country’s population earns less than 15-20 rupees per day (US$.40-.50). In Mysore, 19% of the population live below the poverty line and nearly 10% live in slums.
Mysore
Mysore’s population of approximately 950,000 is situated 130 miles southwest of the IT hub Bangalore at the foot of the Chamundi Hills. The main language is Kannada though English is widely used in business and administration.
Prior to India’s independence from the British, Mysore was the capital of the Kingdom of Mysore and ruled by the Wodeyar dynasty. The Wodeyars were aficionados of culture, the arts, and yoga, leaving the city with gardens, palaces, a top-rate University and a legacy of culture that still remains.
“Ashtanga City” is also renowned for Ashtanga yoga, a system combining postures and breathing, and thereby attracts yoga teachers and practitioners from all over the world. Not surprisingly tourism is a major industry in Mysore as are various artisan crafts like silk weaving, incense making, rose and sandal wood-carving, among others.
Weather
Mysore’s altitude results in a healthy climate almost year-round. The summer runs from March to June followed by the monsoon season, July to November, when it rains in short bursts, and the winter, December to February, when temperatures are cooler and there is very little rainfall.
