The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
Sometime in the 14th century, two princes,
travelling across a strange land, took refuge in a temple, where they were
warmly received by the priest and offered food and shelter. The next morning, as
they collected water from a nearby well, they heard of the troubles of the
small kingdom from the women doing their chores. The king was dead, and the
queen and princess were helpless against the cruel neighbouring ruler. Hearing this
tale of woe, the princes decided that the best way to thank the people for
their hospitality was by ridding them of the tyrant. Mobilising a small army
from among the locals, the two went to war to aid the queen and princess and
triumphed. The princess eventually married the older prince, and together they
sowed the seeds for a reign which would transform the small town into a
beautiful city which would, in time, come to be known for its monuments,
especially its palace.
Yes, this is the story of Mysore, the city as we know it
today. The two princes were Yadus, descendants of the Yadavas of Gujarat, far
from their home. They took the title of ‘Yaduraya’ when they sat on the Mysore
throne, a title which soon transformed to ‘Wodeyar’ in the local language. It was
this dynasty which made Mysore the city as we know it today, with its beautiful
palaces, gardens, lakes and, of course, the zoo!
Mysore is a city of palaces. But there is just one which is
called the Mysore Palace. This is the Amba Vilas palace, the main residence of
the Wodeyars. First built somewhere in the late 14th century, the
palace was rebuilt time and again, till a fire gutted it in 1897. The then
queen, Maharani Vani Vilas, commissioned the British architect, Sir Henry Irwin
to build another in its place. Work on the new palace was completed in 1912,
though further extensions were carried out in 1940.
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| The palace as seen from Chamundi Hills |
The palace is indeed beautiful and I think I could roam
inside for a long time, appreciating the beautiful works of art, and the
talented hands that made them. Unfortunately, photography is prohibited, so I cannot
share any of the beautiful works with you. Instead of describing the palace in
words, I would suggest you go ahead and try the virtual tour on the official
website of the palace. Here is the link:
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| Side view of the palace. you can see the British influence... |
Information:
Lots of information is available about the palace, so here
are just a few things I would suggest you know before you go.
- Photography is strictly prohibited inside the palace. Cameras have to be left in lockers at the gate. During holidays, there can be quite a rush, so if possible, do not bring cameras to the palace.
- Footwear has to be removed before entering the palace. So be prepared. Wear easily removable footwear. It can get really crowded here too.
- There are audio guides available at the palace entrance. These aren’t too expensive, and on request, they do hand you an extra set of ear phones so you can share the guide with a child. Please do use this facility as it is really useful. There is lots of information in the guides you can easily miss, so they are worth the cost. Besides, if the palace is really crowded when you go (as it was in May, when we visited), the audio guide helps isolate you from the crowd. It seems to shut out at least part of all the noise, so you can concentrate better.
- Take your time and see the palace peacefully. Do not rush through. Each painting on the wall has something special, and you will only notice it if you spend time on it, and observe, not just see. This is especially true of the main Durbar hall, as well as the paintings on some of the walls.
- Please do not underestimate children and think they cannot enjoy a museum. I was surprised by the number of details Samhith noticed (and I missed) in some of the paintings. Armed with the audio guide, and told not to rush, it was a delight to see him discover some small detail which made the palace interesting to him.
- The palace complex has another, smaller museum – the old residence of the family. This is smaller, and is less well maintained, but nevertheless has an interesting collection. Plus, you can really see the original structure here, and it was a good experience for us. If possible, do go and see this too.
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| Side view of the old residence. This is also a museum now |
- Keep aside lots of time for the palace. A quick walk through shows you nothing! We spent almost half the day there!
- The palace is lit up every day. Yes, EVERY DAY.
- On weekdays, (working days : Monday to Saturday), there is a sound and light show from 7 to 7:45 PM. The show is in Kannada, but the lighting is worth a watch, even if you don’t understand a word of the narrative! If you can, read up on the history of the palace and you will be able to follow it. After the show, the main palace is lit up for 5 minutes.
- On Sundays and Government holidays, the whole palace complex is lit up from 7 to 7:45 PM. Entry is free. This is a beautiful sight, so if you are around on a weekend, don’t miss this!
- There are electric cars in the complex which take you for a ride around the complex (for a charge of course). It shows you part of the complex you wouldn’t otherwise see, so it is a good idea to go for this round, especially if you have kids. If you can, walk around. It is beautiful!
- And finally, the palace isn’t just about heritage. It’s about nature too. We saw plenty of birds while walking over the ground, including a Grey Hornbill. So keep your eyes open! You never know what you might see!
- Last but not the least, relax. Just sit there on the grounds, and take a break. Watch the sun set over the palace. There might be enough drama in the skies to keep you hooked!
amazing. This is one of my favorite places visited till now and the description actualy took me into the depths of the palace.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! Please leave your name the next time so i can know who you are.
DeleteThe Place Is Looking Fabulous. Specially In The Night.
ReplyDeleteyes, it does look fab at night. thanks!
DeleteAnother great wonder in south India
ReplyDeleteRegards
Absolutely!
DeleteLovely pictures Anu..
ReplyDeleteThanks Chitra!
DeleteExcellent elaborate post on the palace.
ReplyDeletehttp://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2013/09/the-landscape.html
Thanks Niranjan! have loads to catch up on ur blog. will go through soon :D
DeleteBeautiful Pictures and a wonderful post Anu. I visited the palace as a kid, so do not really remember much but wasn't there a row of palanquins or something kept somewhere? The audio guide seems interesting, would definitely want to visit again, now that you have triggered the interest. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Atula. There were indeed a number of palanquins in the palace, esp in the older one, the residence museum, and if i hadnt taken the audio guide i doubt i would have enjoyed my visit as much! so do go again, take kiddo along, and let me know what u both think!
DeleteHi! Read your blog after a very long time! It made me see the Mysore Palace in a new light. Had been to the place a few years ago and all I remember of it is rushing around. I remember enjoying the remains of the old Palace which was built largely of wood.
ReplyDeleteIts so good to see u here after such a long time, usha! how have u been????
Deleteabout the palace, yes, it deserves a more leisurely look. and we enjoyed the old, wooden palace too. call me sometime. would love to talk.
Anuradha- Excellent write-up. Thank you so much for making time to pen this article to this detail. Great work! Mysore is indeed unique, I only with politics stops and government does some justice to it.
ReplyDeleteThe palace pretty much sums up the entire visit to Mysore. The sheer grandeur of it. Having read the post earlier, I picked up the audio guides. It was an absolute delight. Secondly, the thing that really made my visit successful was the coronation ceremony of Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs, the new king of Mysore who was formally named Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wodeyar. I had goosebumps literally. It looks wonderful when lit up.
ReplyDeleteThanks Akshay. It s so good to hear you enjoyed the visit. and picked up the audio guides too... and wow! you saw the coronation! that must have been something! but the crowd would have been massive, no?
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