The second trip to Mysore came about unexpectedly in the middle of the week during our second week in Bangalore. According to the program coordinators it was really important that we register with the local police within fourteen days of arrival to Bangalore. Eva and I immediately rushed to collect all the necessary documents to present in the police station. We were told by the SVYM program coordinators that processing our documents in Mysore would expedite the process. Since we had been here for more than ten days and we were closing to hitting the fourteen-day mark we had to travel to Mysore. Thanks to the resources of SVYM we were provided with a driver that would take us to Mysore for the day.
Upon our arrival to Mysore we visited the Mysore Institute of Indian Studies, another project launched by SVYM. We met with Dr. Balu’s sister-in-law who helped us through the process. By the middle of the day, we had registered with the police. We were told that a couple of years ago, a student had not registered with the police and upon his departure he was forbidden to leave the country. Days later, after the paperwork was cleared he was finally able to leave. Needless the say, a blog from a detention center would not be a pleasant experience!
Later in the afternoon Eva and I visited Brindavan Gardens. Since the Cornell graduate students were also lodging in the same hotel where we were having lunch they joined us. It was a lovely place, with many fountains and a lively crowd.
-Medalis
