Fringe treasures
Visits to Places Of Interest are usually severely circumscribed by notified tourist trails and reduced to a meek following of the almighty Tourist Brochure. The Powers- That -Be who publish brochures assume dictatorial right over our movement, badgering us to Go There ,See That . and we, a mass of nerves, dare not rebel against Brochurocracy lest we return home to face the damning accusation : You went all the way there and dint see This !!!!!! A person who goes to Agra for the first time and does not see the Taj Mahal is logged into family annals as a certified freak. There's one in our family who has since become a sort of reference point to quirkiness. So one goes to SRIRANGAPATNA and faithfully sees The Gumbaz , the Ranganatha Temple, The Lal Bagh & Summer Palace, The Sangam , the Jumma Masjid , The Dungeons and the stone that marks the place where Tipu Sultan's body was found. ( I remember, as youngsters, we also used to go up to a breach in the fort wall...