Mysore Palace
Tourism in India
Place : Mysore, Karnataka
Highlight : Illuminated palace (Sundays, National
holidays and on festivals from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.)
Best time to visit : September to October during
Dusshera
Timings : Open 6:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. & 3:30
p.m. - 6:30 p.m
Mysore Palace or the Maharajah's Palace located in the heart of
the city at Mirza Road, is the most attractive monument in Mysore.
One of the largest palaces in the country, also known as Amba Vilas,
was the residence of the Wodeyar Mahararaja's of the Mysore state.
The original palace built of wood, got burnt down in 1897 and was
rebuilt for the twenty fourth Wodeyar Raja in 1912. Designed in
Indo-Saracenic style by the well-known British architect, Henry
Irwin, the palace is a treasure house of exquisite carvings and
works of art from all over the world.The three storeyed building,
245 feet in length and 156 in breadth has a series of square towers
with arches covered by domes. There is wide open space in the front
and the open courtyard in the centre is covered by a gold-plated
dome about 145 feet from the ground.
The entry to the palace is through the 'Gombe Thotti' or the Doll's
Pavilion, a gallery of Indian and European sculpture and ceremonial
objects. Halfway along is the elephant gate, which is the main entrance
to the centre of the palace. The gate is decorated with floriated
designs, and bears the Mysore royal symbol of a double headed eagle.
Inside there is an enclosed courtyard. To the north of the gate
are dolls, dating from the earlier nineteenth and twentieth centuries,
a ceremonial wooden elephant howdah (carriage kept on top of the
elephants to carry royalty) decorated with 84 kilogram of 24 carat
gold and other souvenirs.To the south, the magnificent 'Kalyana
Mantapa' or the marriage pavilion has a centre octagonal gabled
ceiling, covered by multi coloured stained glass with peacock motifs
arranged in geometrical patterns and beautiful chandeliers from
Chechoslavakia. Tall, slender cast iron pillars wrought at Glasgow,
Scotland are arranged in groups of three at the corners of the central
octagon. The floor is laid with glittering glazed tiles imported
from England in artistic geometrical patterns and the walls which
lead to the Mandapa are lined with oil paintings depicting Dusshera
celebrations of the bygone royal era.
On the second floor, the 'Diwan-I-am' Durbar Hall 155 ft. long
and 42 ft. broad, has an ornate ceiling, a shining floor and many
sculpture pillars which are said to have been painted with gold.
The frescoes depicting eight manifestations of Goddess Shakthi (strength),
Scenes from the Epics; Ramayana and Mahabharata and an original
painting of the renowned painter Raja Ravi Verma are displayed here.
There is an open balcony supported by massive circular columns and
a fine view of the Chamundi hills from here.On the same floor to
the south is the smaller 'Ambavilas' or Diwan-e-khas ( hall for
private audience ) that has beautifully carved doors at the entrance
with inlay work. The central nave of this columnar hall has beautiful
stained glass ceiling, supported by metallic bow shaped beams and
bars. The ceiling and the walls have designs painted in blue, red
and gold colours.
There are twelve temples surrounding the palace within the compound.
Some of them are built in typical Dravidian style including the
Varashaswamy Temple with a gopuram that set the pattern for the
later Sri Chamundeswari Temple on Chamundi Hill. On special occasions,
religious ceremonies are still conducted in these temples.The palace
now under the supervision of the Department of Archaeology and Museums
of the Karnataka Government, has been converted into a museum. The
paintings and portraits, jewellery, royal costumes and other items
possessed by the Wodeyars are displayed on the ground floor and
a small collection of weapons on the upper floor. It is said that
the palace displays the largest collection of gold items quantity
wise. The 200kg gold royal throne of the Wodeyars with beautiful
artwork, is displayed during the Dussera festival. The palace is
spectacularly illuminated on Sunday nights, and during the festive
season of Dussera.There is a small private Museum at the back set
up by Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wodeyar, an ancestor of the Wodeyar
rulers as well as a member of the parliament who continues to reside
here.
How to get there
Air: The nearest Airport is the Bangalore airport.
Bangalore (130km) is connected to all the major cites of the country
by air.
Train: Trains 6210 Express, 6222 Kaveri Express
and the Shatabdi Express run between Mysore and Bangalore regularly.
Bangalore is also connected to Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Thiruvananthapuram,
Kochi, Hyderabad, Madras and Mangalore by Express trains.
Bus: There are regular bus services from Bangalore
to Mysore. Bangalore is well connected to Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad,
Kanyakumari, Mangalore and Madras by bus. There are direct bus services
from Mysore to Kerala and other major cities in the state.
North
India States
