Mysore & Motherhood
After returning home from Mysore this winter, I couldn’t help but think about jotting some of the ideas, tools and hacks I had that made the trip as much fun as it was. Lots of people have written about mysore and practicing yoga there, but this is simply specifically about being a parent in Mysore, southern India.
This trip- my fourth, was a totally different experience as I was going as a mother, of a 14 month old blue eyed- blonde haired little charmer called Oliver. I had been in India on 4 other extended trips, so knew the city of Mysore pretty well, including having several close friends there at the same time as me studying this year at KPJAYI.
Month to month, our children are so different, so these are some of the fun things that worked for us, during those months of his life. No expectations that it will work for everyone. I was largely on my own with Oliver- my husband their for 11 days of the 10 weeks. Oliver learnt how to walk those 2 months.
FOOD
Take food from home:
I had a 1/4 of my suitcase filled with food that I knew no matter what Oliver would eat if we were struggling. (e.g. Weetabix cereal, I could mix with bottled water and powdered milk).
Healthy snacks- healthier rice cakes, kids specific snacks and dried goods, as it’s tricky to get snack based food that doesn’t have a bunch of added sugar and salt in it in India. You know that your cooking facilities will only be a gas stove, so tricky to make some of your normal homemade snacks that you normally would so pack some of them instead.
Cooking:
I always cook most of my meals at home, regardless being in Mysore or at home, so made sure I had a good apartment with a well equipped kitchen (double gas burner and a blender. Was quite the luxury!)
Fruit and vegetables are so readily available and so affordable in Mysore you’ll have no problem feeding yourself and your little ones.
I brought a few bits from home to get me going for the first week- little bit of oil/ spices until I knew I could get to a bigger supermarket with my boy in tow.
Water:
I was lucky to have a built in water purification system in my flat this year, however in previous solo trips I’ve just got 20l jugs of water from various places around town that sell them. I think (didn’t explore this as didn’t need to this year) you sometimes have to be careful with mineral water and very young kids (higher levels of minerals and calcium etc… which their bodies can’t process).
I used this purified water to wash all our fruit and veg thoroughly before we ate any. (Bonus of having a purifier rather than using the big jugs- you could of course boil large pans of water for washing etc).
On the water note- I bought a big tub that Oliver could basically lie in from Loyal World upstairs. Cost around 300rps. Tried my best to stop him drinking the bathwater but a fair bit still went in- but he never got one stomach bug.
Eating out:
Same same as home. You know going out for a long leisurely breakfast for 4 hours with your friends isn’t going to happen (or sorry, not going to be as leisurely). It’s: A. not fair (for the toddler to be expected to sit quietly and patiently for hours) B. you’ll spend 80% of your time keeping them entertained, 10% of them time eating and 10% of the time talking to your friends that you were meeting up with.
I should say though, Oliver- and all other kids are lapped up by 90% of friendly locals. Often I finished meals while Oliver was in the arms of a new best friend, inspecting the scooters out front or looking at the kitchen. I am SO grateful how friendly and supportive everyone was.
I did a lot more “takeaway” than I have done in previous years, taking it to friends houses or our home. Taking lots of my own tupperware/ tiffin boxes for the “parcels” rather than using lots of plastic wrapping. My local idli man was happy to put chai into my thermos and my local dosa place made amazing soft set dosa that both Oliver and I loved and ate nearly daily.
We spent more time in the “western style cafes” than I ever have done in previous years as Oliver could roam more easily (on the floor crawling), but here’s a few perspectives from a parent’s eyes:
Chakra House ended up being one of the easiest of the lot, as it’s 90% one room so you can let your little one roam and keep an eye on them easily. Staff there are great with kids too.
Anokhi’s is good too- but get there early, or when it’s quiet. Lots of colouring pencils and books for kids. (Watch out for the steps at the front patio area- Oliver stumbled into a step and cut his eyebrow open badly. First trip to the hospital (Columbia Asia). Plastic surgeon did 12 stitches and all was well again- just one traumatised mother. On the flip side, Anokhi’s were amazing, had a perfect sterile first aid kit.)
Santosha good (oh the thali is so good!), but lots of small room and hard to keep eyes on your roaming toddler. If it’s quiet enough, you can ask to just close the door of one of the small rooms that you are sitting in so your little ones can roam in that single room without stress. Lots of guitars and toys, pencil and books to keep them entertained.
Frosting- this was a new place for me, amazing salads and breads close to our house. They have highchairs. Nice garden out the front to roam around too while waiting for food.
Green hotel and Oyster Bay- similar to frosting above, the gardens are a great asset to this place with your small humans too (no highchairs though).
Kushi and Anu’s- only went once with Oliver briefly so don’t have much to review on but largely were great due to being one big space/ great food too.
I didn’t go to Depth and Green, 6th Main, Tina’s, Green Leaf, Dhatu this season. For various reasons, often to do with the layout/ whether it would work for Oliver.
Sandyha’s house was brilliant too- we went at least once a week. Lots of cats and kitchen items to play with and Sandyha and her staff were super lovely with kids.
GETTING AROUND
I took a lightweight pram with me that we used locally, but I didn’t bother to use it for longer adventures as I used a rear sling 90% of the time (Ergobaby sling), good in rickshaws too. (My pram had a crappy sunshade hood that didn’t stay up for more than 2 seconds so pissed me off/ didn’t protect Oliver from midday rays). Lots of other parents used their prams much more. Some parents had their kids on their scooters. Totally personal and up to you that one. I had a scooter that I used to buzz quickly to early morning practice and back home to my babysitter each day. I used the ergo sling on my back 99% of the time when we used Rickshaws as it stopped Oliver climbing or falling around the back of a high speed moving rickshaw.
Rickshaws- I had a few trusted drivers on Whatsapp that I would use regularly. Saved me the hassle of having to barter with a driver with a kid in the sling. Yes, I probably paid a tiny tiny bit more, but they would come right to my front gate and wait for me while I ran errands too. And they loved Oliver, often letting him try out the controls once we had parked up. *Shree was my main man- I can share his details with you if message me.
Uber (or Ola rides) is helpful and affordable too. I often used Uber just to check out the prices so I knew if I was being ripped off by a rickshaw driver that I had hailed.
Buses- we had a few trips into the city which we often went by bus. Many the smaller (less steps) air conditioned and fun adventure. Always went by sling for downtown adventures, my friends took prams both are good! People help you getting your pram on and off the buses.
PLAY
Over the years there has been more and more parents and kids in Mysore, this year there was a great gang of yogis with kids from 4 months and up. You all help each other out and build ties very quickly.
Everyday was an adventure those 2 months. Even a simple trips to the shops, meant cows, chais, exploring, climbing and colour but here below are some more “conventional” ideas.
Swimming pools
Silent Shores won out for us. Pre or post kids, it’s always been my preferred choice even though it’s more expensive and further out of town. But the gentle gradient means that your kids can play around in shallow water, the changing facilities are good and there is a play area for children too closer to the entrance. The whole complex is pretty kid friendly.
Regalis/ Southern Star- nice as garden area too, but the pool is deep and cold.
Golden Landmark- has a little kids pool section that’s OK, otherwise the rest of the pool is super deep. Otherwise it’s a bit run down, no sun loungers/ places to put your stuff. But closer to Gokulam and cheaper than others too.
Parks and play centres
This year we came across a specialised soft play centre called “Fun terrain” at the top of Kalidasa Rd. Slides, ball pits, toy cars and trampolines. Super clean and not too expensive by the hour.
Cheluvamba Park – is a lovely park with lots of kids play climbing frames, swings and a BIG slide last time I was there. Always had lots of fun playing with other local kids there too. Nice big bit to walk around too. A little outside of the main Gokulam area- nearer “ice cream corner”- Valmiki Road.
Kukkarahalli Lake – lovely setting and great kids playpark.
Gokulam Park – small but more local to many of people’s house.
There’s a newer building near the KPJ main shala called Trattoria, which has an arts centre, from what they said, good for kids 3-4 and up. Lots of dance classes and painting, pottery too.
Zoo- the zoo is brilliant! Even at 15 months old he enjoyed it. Had a rickshaw driver take us, wait and take us back as is on the opposite side of town.
HYGIENE
Same as home, just a few more baby wipes and hand sanitisers bottles than I would use normally back home. Oliver was learning how to walk those months we were there, so I tried to stop everything going in his mouth- but as you can imagine some still went in.
We had amazing cleaning ladies that came everyday- sometimes for 10 mins, sometimes for 2 hours, they were already arranged with the apartment I organised through SaYoga. They loved Oliver and he loved sweeping and doing the dishes with them. Definitely recommended if you are a single parent out their to get a little help around your home!
Vaccinations: Lots of different ideas on this one. We just made sure that both Oliver and I were up to date on our general vaccinations for living in the UK (polio, tetanus etc…) but didn’t get any extras, especially as Oliver was so young. When we had to go to hospital for his stitches we didn’t have to have any top-ups and boosters which was helpful.
Probiotics: In the few weeks before we left to India and during our trip, we actively increased out probiotics intake both in food and supplements (bio-Kult are great brand as don’t need chilled). I definitely think this contributed to neither of getting ill once the whole trip.
CHILDCARE
I used the amazing nanny called Ratna this year- well know in the yogi circles of Mysore. She’s been caring for kids for 10+ years and knows how to settle a little baby very well! She looked after Oliver at 4.30am while he was sleeping/ I was at practice. There are a couple of nannies that you can contact via the facebook ashtanga community page.
My neighbour Laura had her kids in the Montessori nursery near Valmiki Rd. They seemed to really enjoy it and the head-teacher Hemma is super lovely and open to having kids for just a few months. Mostly from 2 years old and up. Another mum I met had her slightly older kid at a Montessori school up near Doctor’s corner that she spoke highly of too.
PRACTICE
I was practicing with Paramaguru Sharath Jois at KPJAYI. He was very accommodating to me and my son Oliver. He gives his parents something called “parent priority” where we could skip the queue at the shala, and for regular mysore practice I had “no time” so could be flexible. Many of us went at 5am, as babies still sleeping/ or maybe one parent practicing first then the other after. There was a few times where I had to practice later, as my childminder was unwell and friends would look after my son and he was happy for me to just show up at 8am and still skip the queue. He is a family man. He understands.
I should mention Usha (all round amazing manager/ organiser of all things at KPJ) and Prakash (security guard) were also very friendly with Oliver, often looking after him for a few minutes while I listened to conference or dashed to the bathroom after chanting etc..
OTHER BITS
Nappies- We took 10 cloth nappies with us, as what we largely use a home, and the rubbish disposal is a large problem in India so I wanted to minimise how much we added to that. Also sunshine = quick drying. We bought some disposable nappies (Pampers or other brands) easily from Loyal World and bigger supermarkets. I should warn you though, they were nearly twice the price than what I would pay at home.
Formula milk- If you need it, you can get it at bigger supermarkets. We brought some from home and also during our time, incase we were caught short without fresh milk one evening. Helpful because you know you can be super sterile with this too.
Bottles and sippy cups- we took one bottle out with us, as at that point my boy liked having his nighttime feed in it (we had just stopped breastfeeding). Sippy cups/ cups we took a few too. Saw them for sale upstairs in Loyal world. Would boil them for 20 mins in a big pot of water every day to sterilise them.
Suncream- we took lots of factor 50 with us, but you can buy it too. Pharmacies or bigger supermarkets.
Mosquitos- bought some repellent there, Oliver hardly got bitten, I did more. Can easily by this at pharmacies. Just to be cautious in sun down and sun rise and cover up with clothing too.
Cots- one of the reasons why Oliver probably didn’t have any problems with mosquitos is we had a great travel cot that zipped him fully in a net and packed down like a tent into our suitcase. It was a Littlelife Arc travel cot we got it from our amazing friend Nadine. Many other friends had there little ones sleeping in bed with them- with a few pillows on their side to stop them rolling out. Everyone has different ways of doing that one, Oliver never slept in bed with us due to his eczema.
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Apologies this hasn’t been the most eloquent of blogs, but hope that some of the information here has been helpful for a couple of people. We had a total blast in India. It was such an adventure and look forward to returning. I hope you have a great trip too!
