On this International Women’s Day, Star of Mysore remembers India’s first female ambassador C.B. Muthamma by reproducing an article titled ‘A Toast to Diplomats’ written by columnist Girija Madhavan, wife of former ambassador A. Madhavan (late), in SOM dated July 26, 2022. —Ed By Girija Madhavan Looking back on my thirty-five years as an Indian…
By Girija Madhavan A recent video on my WhatsApp sent my mind scrambling down the staircase of memory. It showed a picture of the Yadavagiri residential area of Mysore, when it was still designated as an ‘Extension’; a word that was compulsory on postal addresses in the late 1940s. The video also mentioned that there…
By Girija Madhavan Before I left San Francisco last year to return to Mysuru, I went for a walk on a promontory in the bay of San Francisco to the jetty that protects the Small Boat harbour in the Marina District. It was a lovely day, pelicans and other water birds were on the wing…
By Girija Madhavan I recently visited San Francisco after a gap of seventeen years, having settled meanwhile into retirement in Mysuru, enduring the pandemic and personal loss. I was mesmerised again by the beauty of craggy hill sides sloping down to the Bay, the majestic redwoods, the vivid red towers of the Golden Gate Bridge…
Girija Madhavan, wife of former Ambassador late A. Madhavan and a resident of Yadavagiri in Mysuru, who occasionally writes articles to Star of Mysore (SOM), is currently in San Francisco, USA, with her son and family. After visiting Sonoma, where the vineyards are full of grapes soon to be pressed into wine, Girija, herself an…
By Girija Madhavan Childhood memories come in a burnished patina, retaining old flavours and excitement. My memories of Mysore city, the arterial Sayyaji Rao Road and Devaraja Market, date back to 1942 when I was four years old. They have remained familiar landmarks through the years, into the middle and now, old age. Sadly the…
By Girija Madhavan Breaking Bread together” is a phrase that from ancient times has been a symbol of amity and fellowship. In 1959, when I became an Indian Foreign Service wife at the age of twenty-one, I realised that hospitality, both proffered and enjoyed, would be a large part of my diplomatic life. Being sentimental,…
When a Brilliant Mathematician wed a Graceful Mysorean at a grand hotel in a stylish manner By Girija Madhavan While dining at the Hotel Metropole in Mysore recently, I watched as a festive table was being prepared for a party; bringing back a sheaf of memories of a wedding lunch there in 1952. At 14…
By Girija Madhavan A visit to the newly-widened Irwin Road in Mysore city, brought back in contrast, memories of the same road in 1965. Old landmarks, the Mosque, Temple, Post Office, Bank and Police Station are still there; but the old chaotic bustle has given way to modern sophistication. The road is named after Henry…
By Girija Madhavan Mysore has always been home to the arts; classical music, dance, painting, sculpture and more. Music was a prized accomplishment for girls in Karnataka. Lessons were started for quite young children. When at seventeen, I fell under the spell of music in 1955, it was considered a late start. But to my…
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