Mysore The City of Palaces
Mysore is one place that you should visit if you happen to be in Bangalore. You can either drive down or take a bus from Majestic. It was, I guess, 6 years back when I first visited the place, taking that 3 hour bus drive from Mysore (it is a 140 Km stretch). A perfect weekend getaway.
As the name suggests it is a land of Palaces and the Mysore palace is a sight to watch.
Mysore palace is the most magnificient of all the palaces.
Designed by the English Architect, Henry Irwin, the Mysore Palace dominates the skyline of Mysore. A three storied structure in the Indo-Saracenic style built between 1897-1912, the palace has beautifully designed square towers at cardinal points, covered with domes. The architecture is a mix of Dravidian, Oriental and Roman. The Durbar Hall with its ornate ceiling and sculpted pillars and the Kalyanamantapa (Marriage Pavilion) with its glazed tiled flooring and stained glass, domed ceiling are worth noting. Intricately carved doors, the golden howdah ,paintings as well as the fabulous, jewel encrusted golden throne, the Gombe Thotti or the Doll’s Pavilion are amongst the palace’s other treasures. It was the doors that amazed me, and this palace was not even very old..
There are seven canons in front of the Gombe Thotti. These canons are used during the Dussehra. The Golden Throne is also displayed during the Dussehra, and 97000 bulb are used to light the palace during the festival. Plan your next holiday around the Dussehra.. (Dussehra is a very popular Hindu festival, which marks the defeat of Ravana by Lord Rama.) Dussehra usually falls during October/November.
The palace has chamber called Diwan-e-Khas used by the emperor for private audience and another chamber called the Diwan-e-Aam for public audience. Walking through the Palace is walking through a museum, and there were some palaces which said “Entry not allowed” and I felt so curious, I felt like breaking in.. Too bad, I couldn’t take any pictures since cameras weren’t allowed.
Chamundi Hills: The Chamundi hill is one must visit if you go to Mysore. We went to the Chamundeshwari temple on top of the hill.. My friends went in to pray, but I just stayed outside watching the temple which is dated back to the 11th century. The statue of Nandi marks the entry to the hills. Legend says that this colossal Nandi was a gift of Dodda Deva Raja. Over 25 ft long and 4.8 mt high (16ft high), adorned with ropes, chains, bells and jewels of stone, the bull with half shut eyes, which seem, in yogic fashion. And there is a larger than life statue (or perhaps it was smaller) of a Demon, the Mahishasura that was destroyed by Goddess Chamundi.
The hill is 3,489ft. above the sea levels and is 12 km from Mysore city. An energetic visitor will be well repaid by climbing up the 1000 steps, fashioned about 300 years ago. We went by car along the road.
On our way upto the temple, we could also see the The Lalitha Palace Hotel, a heritage hotel near the Chamundi Hills of Mysore. I think some Bollywood movies were shot here, I don’t remember which. The temple was a beauty like all other things in Mysore.
We then went to the St Philomena Church, where the movie Amar Akbar Anthony was shot. It felt really good, since it is one of my favorite movies, and It seemed like Amitabh Bachchan would walk out of the Church, singing.
This Roman Catholic Church was built in AD 1840 and was known as St. Joseph Chaver. The twin towers of the church stand majestically at 175 feet, the design is gothic and it is said to resemble the St. Patrick’s cathedral at New York and a church at Cologne. They had a dungeon like basement which was quite a scary thing.. The church is located about I km from Mysore Palace on the Bangalore highway. The then king of Mysore Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV laid the foundation for construction of the church in 1933.
We also visited the Brindavan garden and the dancing gardens. The dancing fountains in Las Vegas wouldn’t have been more beautiful. I also grew up watching Hindi Movies where my favorite stars danced in the Brindavan gardens and it was quite a nostalgia.
The Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir across the legendary Cauvery River is round 18km north-west of Mysore. The Brindavan Gardens are located just a level below the dam.
Often described as the best example of illuminated terrace gardens in the country, the idea was brainchild of Sir M.Visveshwaraiah and Sir Mirza M ismail, former Devans of Mysore.