Dining Out

If you’re not the cooking sort, or too tired after a long day at the shala, here are a few places where you can find lunch and dinner. Most places mentioned (except for Green Hotel) cater for yoga students, so you can be assured of healthy, balanced, sattvic food, cooked with love, with prices starting from Rs80.

Shaila’s – 1015/A 9^th Cross, 3^rd Stage, near Doctor’s Corner. Call in advance to let her know you’re coming. Mobile : +9886653001.

Shaila’s place is nearest to the Yoga India shala. Also known for her fabulous cooking classes, this amazing cook whips up buffet lunches from Monday to Saturday. The buffet serves 2 different salads, 1 or 2 cooked vegetable dishes, dhal, rice (plain or mango rice when mangoes are in season) and chappatis. You can also order banana or sweet lassi, lime mint juice, or her delicious Indian sweets (or desserts) to end a lovely meal.

Serves : Vegetarian

Gokul Chats – Contour Road, at KRS Road.

Serves : Vegetarian

Rishi’s - #188 9^th Cross. Also an internet café.

Delicious buffet lunches including 2 salads, 2 cooked vegetable dishes, rice or rotis and lime juice, from Rs80.

Serves : Vegetarian

Anu’s Rooftop Café - # 367 2^nd Main, 3^rd Stage. Also an internet café. Tel : +821 4288120.

Anu’s serves incredible lunch and dinner buffet served at 1 pm and 5 pm respectively, every day except Thursdays. The buffet usually includes a soup, 2 or 3 salads, 2 cooked vegetable dishes, dhal, rice, chappatis and an Indian dessert. In addition to the buffet, you can order grape juice,

ginger tea and the very popular, vegan chocolate banana cake! Anu also teaches cooking classes, which can include printed recipes with advance notice.

Serves : Vegetarian

Sri Chakra House – 104 7^th Cross. Typical menu items include omelettes, tofu scrambled with spinach, tomato and potatoes, fried rice, noodles and weekly specials.

Serves : Vegetarian

Tina’s Café

Although a bit far to walk from the Yoga India shala, Tina serves very affordable lunches (although you might find the menu somewhat less creative if you eat there more than 3 times a week). During high season, she also serves breakfast or brunch at her own home. Ask Tina or her dad Mr Kushal who are often seen at the café.

Serves : Vegetarian

Nalpak – I don’t’ have the address for Nalpak, but it’s about a 20 minutes walk from the Coconut Stand on 9^th Cross. Nalpak has great idlis (rice cakes) and affordable thalis (full meal served in a tray filled with rice, dhal, cappatis, vegetables, curd and a sweet/dessert). Expect a large crowd on weekends when families dine out.

Serves : Vegetarian

Green Leaf Restaurant - Kalidasa Road, Vani Vilas Puram, Mysore 570 002
Often visited by students residing in nearby Gokulam, the Green Leaf has a large menu with lots of choices.

Green Hotel - Restaurant & Bakery - Chittaranjan Palace, 2270 Vinoba Road
Jayalakshmipuram. Tel : (+91) 821 425 5000, 5001 or 5002.

Green Hotel has a lovely outdoor restaurant, overlooking their beautiful grounds. The food is prepared from locally produced ingredients, where appropriate, and their portions are very generous! Expect to pay USD5-8 for a full meal.

Serves : Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian

Green Hotel also has a bakery, where delicious cakes and fresh breads are baked daily. Check out their lemon drizzle cake (my personal favourite) and their wholemeal loaves.

Cooking your own meals

Eat well, live comfortably and rest well. 3 key ingredients for the well-being of a student of Yoga India.

If you’re planning to cook some, or most of the time, here are a couple of places where you can find fresh vegetables and fruits :

1) Gokul Fruits & Vegetables : shop along 9^th Cross, near Doctor’s Corner (this would be your best option since you won’t have time to wander into town during the weekdays due to your tight Teacher Training schedule)

2) Devaraj Market in town

3) Loyal World Supermarket, on Temple Road (near Kalidasa Road)

4) Organic Market (or Green Market) behind Bopy Pub in Jayalaxmipuram, approximately 2km from The Green Hotel : you’ll be able to find homemade wholemeal breads, cheese, homegrown herbs and veggies. Available only on Sundays, from 10am to noon as produce are in limited quantities. Be there by 9.30am.

Renting A Room

Finding a room to rent during your yoga course in Gokulam is not difficult. Most, if not all households in Gokulam speak English.

There are a few ways to go about looking for a room in Gokulam :

1. Ask your yoga master Bharath Shetty (Yoga India) when you meet him for your course registration

2. Ask Tina (Tina’s café) when you go to the café for a meal
3. Ask Needs Travel (Murthy at +91-9880265622) for recommendations
4. Call Shaila at +91-9886653001 – she has a room for rent, but I think she prefers only female tenants

5. Call Mr Ventakesh at +91-9448492414 - he has 4 rooms at his place for rent.

6. Walk around Gokulam, and look for houses with extended premises (either a separate wing, or rooftop

rooms) : these homes usually rent out rooms to yoga students. All you have to do is simply knock and ask!

The key to living comfortably in Gokulam is simply by asking around. Many of the foreigners are repeat yoga practitioners to Gokulam and know all the ins and outs of the area: the best restaurants, home-stays and home-cooking, tailors, internet cafes, supermarkets, etc.

Renting a room in a house (“paying guest” is the Indian term) will cost about Rs3500 and up, depending on your requirements (usage of kitchen, internet, cleaning services etc).

Depending on where you stay, and your requirements, the rent can vary a lot. However, as the course at Yoga India starts at a really early hour of 5.30am, you’d want to live within a 5 minute walk from the shala.

I stayed in a 1-room ‘apartment’ which was adjacent to the landlord’s home. The apartment was fully furnished, and had a huge living room, fridge, kitchen with cooking utensils and water heater. The rent was Rs7000 – a bit steep, but as I was sharing with a housemate, we split the rent (although one of us had to sleep in the hall, on a mattress).

Sometimes your landlord will package in home-cooked meal(s) as part of the rental. This might be a good idea, as after a long tiring day at the shala, you might not be fussed to cook your own meals.

Whatever your budget and requirements are, choose wisely - it's important to get plenty of rest and peace of mind, especially if you're doing your Teacher Training.

When you first arrive in Mysore

Living in Gokulam is not too difficult for foreigners. This upper class suburb of Mysore has modern homes, good roads, and is easily navigated by foot, and scooters, bicycles, and motorbikes can be easily rented.

To get to Gokulam from Mysore city, hail an auto rickshaw (also known as ‘tuk-tuk’). The Yoga India shala is about 5 km from downtown Mysore. Insist that your rickshaw driver uses the meter to get you to your destination, and then give him a small tip when you arrive.

When I first arrive in Mysore, (which is in the dead of the night, thanks to Malaysian Airlines' flight into Bangalore), I always check into the Green Hotel (www.greenhotelindia.com) for a couple of nights’ stay. The hotel was a former summer palace for the Woodeyar princesses back in its days of glory, and all profits from this hotel goes towards supporting charitable and environmental projects in India.

The charming Traveller’s Room, facing the gorgeous garden, costs Rs2250 plus tax (single occupancy) a night, with complimentary breakfast, and the quiet, eco-friendly surroundings will provide you with a peace of mind, while looking for accommodation in Gokulam before embarking on your yoga studies.

The food at the Green Hotel is fantastic. They’ve also just opened a bakery there, and their Lemon Drizzle Cake is to die for!

The Green Hotel

Chittaranjan Palace
2270 Vinoba Road
Jayalakshmipuram
Mysore
570 012 Karnataka
Tel : (+91) 821 425 5000
: (+91) 821 425 5001
: (+91) 821 425 5002
Fax: (+91) 821 251 6139
Email : thegreenhotel@airtelmail.in

Getting to Mysore

By air

The nearest international airport is Bangalore. All domestic airlines operate to and from the new Bangalore International Airport. You might need to transit if you’re coming from a country that does not have international flights to Bangalore.

By rail

You’ve never seen the ‘real’ India, if you haven’t traveled on a train in India J

There are many train services operating between Bangalore and Mysore. The Shatabdi Express connects Mysore to Chennai.

Express Trains Passing through Mysore Junction
Train No.	Train Name	Train Category	At Mysore
			ETA	ETD
2008	Mysore Chennai	Shatabdi Express	--	14.20
6832	Mysore Thanjavur	Mail / Express	---	15.45
6221	Mysore Chennai	Mail / Express	---	18.00
6831	Thanjavur Mysore	Mail / Express	09.30	---
6222	Chennai Mysore	Express	10.00	---
2007	Chennai Mysore	Shatabdi Express	13.00	---

Train tickets are very affordable, but do be careful of your belongings, as in all crowded areas.

Delays in estimated times of arrival and departure are quite common in India, so please bear in mind when making your travel arrangements.

By road

State Highways connect Mysore to the National Highways and to all parts of the country. Bus services by Karnataka Road Transport Corporation and transport corporations of the neighboring states as well as private tour operators, make it
easy to reach the city without any difficulty.

Car rentals from Bangalore airport to Mysore will cost you a whopping Rs3000 (approximately USD62). If you’re hiring it from a hotel, it will cost you around Rs2400 (non a/c).

As flights from Malaysia usually arrive in Bangalore around midnight, I usually hire a private car from Needs Tours & Travels in Mysore. Murthy will dispatch a car to pick me up, no matter what time of the day. He’s reliable, his drivers chew betel to keep themselves awake while on the road, and it only costs Rs2000 (non a/c).

Needs Tours & Travels (near the AYRI shala of the late Shri Pattabhi Jois)

#251 2^nd Main, Gokulam 3^rd Stage

Mysore 570 002

Mobile ph : +91-9880265622 (Krishna Murthy)

Needs also assists in money changing, courier, and motorbike/scooter and house rentals in Gokulam. Definitely the ‘go to’ place for newcomers in Gokulam.

The journey to Mysore by road takes approximately 3.5 hours. Highway tolls are to be paid by you.

General Information about Mysore

Population	Approximately 22,81,653
Languages	Kannada, English, Tamil, Hindi
Best Time to Visit	October to March
Temperature Summer	Max 34° C Min 21°C
Temperature Winter	Max 30°C Min 12°C
Rainfall	80 cms. Average yearly
Clothing Summer	Cottons
Clothing Winter	Light Woollens
STD Code	0821
ISD Code	+ 91

Source : www.mysore.net

Mysore and Me

There’s an old saying, “when a student is ready, the Teacher will appear”. Such is true when my quest in searching for a ‘purer state of yoga’ brought me to Mysore, first in 2008.

Having reached a certain practice plateau in my 4 plus years of yoga, I journeyed to Mysore, in hope of taking my practice to a higher level and returning home to share it with like-minded, passionate yoga practitioners.

Meeting my Yoga Master, Bharath Shetty, for the first time and stepping foot in the Yoga India shala in Gokulam, something inside of me immediately ‘clicked’… and I had this feeling that I had ‘come home’. Something about the Yoga India methodology and philosophy resonated with me, and I was drawn to wanting to learn everything I can from Bharath. I then signed up for the 200-hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training Course with Yoga India. And for 6 intense weeks, immersion in the course not only renewed and strengthened my practice to greater heights, it also transformed me mentally and spiritually.

This blog is a personal collection of bits and pieces of useful information for first timers planning to live in Gokulam during Teacher’s Training, or simply wanting to do a ‘yoga pilgrimage’ in the area.

If you have more information or updates to share, please drop me a note.

Enjoy your time in Gokulam, Mysore...may your yoga journey be a beautiful one.

Love, Light & Peace

(Special thanks to Raymond Lim for the photos).