It's made with fresh goat's milk!

We only had class for about an hour before the site visit to the Indian court house, which was nice because we had pretty much the entire afternoon free for adventures in Mysore.

We had a really great lecture from an Indian Lawyer who was very frank about the levels of corruption and the legal system in the country. He said it takes 25 years to go through the whole process to take your case to the highest courts. So I’m guess most people just say “fuck it” and don’t sue. However, this is also a hurdle for international companies who want to know that if they are wronged they can be made whole again or at least apply a multi-million dollar bandage. Not so in India, you’d better be damn sure your partner isn’t going to screw you over or your grandchildren may be in court in their forties.

The local courts are all in the native languages, but the records are kept in English. When proceedings go to higher courts they are in English because that is the common language across India.

In addition, because there are so many extreme religious sects with different religious laws those are taken into account in the Country Laws (or codes). So, what I got from the lecture is that Indian Law does not contradict or supersede religious laws. Which is interesting. I wish they would do that in the States so I don’t have the different religions imposing on my liberties. If they don’t want to do something, fine, but don’t impress your beliefs on me. I’m liberal, can you tell?

We went on a visit to the court houses in Mysore, which was quite a contrast to American courthouses. Here, there are broken windows, pealing paint, worn carpets, and broken chairs. I never would have considered the US's courts to be "opulent" but compared to these courts, they definitely are.

Our group was able to sit in on two court proceedings. The second one was much more interesting because the judge stopped half way through a deposition to tell us what was going on. However, in the first court room the stenographer was using a typewriter! Also, the court documents were all paper and kept in a cabinet (not a file cabinet, just a cabinet) which leads me to suspect papers must get misplaced a lot. Apparently the Mysore courts haven’t been “flattened” yet…

As I said, we had pretty much the entire afternoon to ourselves so a group of us decided to go exploring in the city center. And we found the open air market! It’s pretty much the Bazaar of Mysore and it was incredible. One minute we were walking down a pretty chill street (as quiet as you can get in India…) and the next minute we see a passage way in between some buildings and we go to check it out.

Suddenly we were encompassed in the chaos of the Indian market. There were fresh vegetables which looked so good under plastic tarps and everyone calling for us to look and buy something. As we ventured further through the labyrinth of stalls they became more substantial and we found bangle stands, rows and rows of paint powder being sold by young boys, the most aromatic flowers being strung together, hand made incense and intoxicating fragrance oils.

I bought some oils and incense from a little boy at a stall who was the BEST sales person I have ever encountered. He was charismatic, excited, and so knowledgeable of his product. He could’ve pretty much sold me anything, but I restrained myself.

We got out of the market and continued exploring. Our strategy was really just aimlessly walking around and stopping where opportunities arose.

Stumbling out we found Naiem, who told us there was a handi-craft market not to far where we could see incense and sandalwood products being made so we followed our new friend through the winding streets.

On our way we found a group of young boys playing cricket in a lawn. Gene, who had just watched part of a cricket game that morning went and picked up the bat and played some cricket with them. I must say, he wasn’t TOO bad for being a first time-er. But we were quickly ushered out when Nancy saw that the building they were playing in front of was a TB quarantine facility. It looked pretty vacant so I wasn’t worried, besides, I had all my vaccinations for these very experiences. (right?)

Finally we arrived in the handi crafts market, which didn’t look like it was a market at all. However, Naiem took us into a shop where he knew the owner. We were taken through the tiny shop, to the back room, and then further. I can’t say I wasn’t nervous, but we had some pretty rough and tumble guys with us so I wasn’t too worried. There, in the back, on the cement floor was a woman rolling incense. And a former body builder, who is now a doctor told us about his essential natural oils which are used for natural remedies. He then brought us piping hot chai... not wanting to be rude I took a cup and as we were drinking it told us it was made with fresh goat's milk! Yum...