My Visual Travel Experience: Mysore

One thinks of Mysore, and one thinks of grandeur, the annual Dussehra festivities and a beautiful, historical town close to Bangalore. Yes, Mysore is all those things, and more! Mysore has also been ranked no.1 in the list of India's cleanest towns, a concept that has come into the limelight following the launch of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cleanliness drive through the Swachh Bharat Andolan.

My relationship with Mysore goes back many years. I visited the town as a 10 year old child in 1983 with my parents and sisters. I got to visit Mysore several times between 1996 and 1999 during my sales days with Britannia. Most recently, my wife and I visited Mysore for a couple of days in 2012, a few months after our wedding.

Peeping into the town's history a little, Mysore, now called Mysuru, is a city in the state of Karnataka. It has a population of over 880,000. It lies about 150 km southwest of Bangalore. For most of the time between 1399 and 1956, Mysore was the capital city of the Kingdom of Mysore. It was ruled by the Wodeyar dynasty through most of this period.

After 1610, the Wodeyars ruled from Srirangapatna, a town very close to Mysore. There was a lot of expansion in the kingdom’s territory in the 17th century under Narasararaja Wodeyar I. Towards the end of the 18th century, Haider Ali and his son Tipu Sultan took the state to new levels of power. Tipu Sultan destroyed parts of Mysore to try and remove the legacy of the Wodeyars. Under his reign, Mysore came into conflict with the British, the Marathas and the Nizam of Golconda. Tipu Sultan was killed by the British in the Battle of Srirangapatna in 1799. The capital then moved back to Mysore from Srirangapatna, and the Wodeyars were reinstated into power by the British.

In 1831, the British moved the capital to Bangalore, but in 1881, it again became the capital of Mysore state. India got its independence from Britain in 1947, and Mysore remained in Mysore State, which was formed in 1956 with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, the last king of Mysore, was allowed to retain his title and he was made Governor of the state. He died in 1974. In 1973, Mysore State was renamed Karnataka.

Mysore Palace was constructed in 1912 as the official residence of the Wodeyar rulers of Mysore. The old palace, a wooden structure, burned down in 1896 during the Dussehra celebrations. Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV then commissioned the construction of the new palace, built in Indo Saracenic architectural style.

Mysore Palace

Sculpture of a Lioness, Mysore Palace

Sri Bhuvaneshwara Temple, Mysore Palace

Lalitha Mahal  is a palace built in 1921. It was commissioned by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. The white coloured, domed building was built for the use of the Viceroy of India, and later for the European guests of the Maharaja. In 1974, the palace was converted into a heritage hotel. 

Lalitha Mahal

Interior of Dome, Lalitha Mahal

Dining Hall, Lalitha Mahal

Elephant Sculpture in the Lobby, Lalitha Mahal

Chamundeshwari Temple lies on Chamundi Hills. The old temple was renovated extensively by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar III in 1827.

Chamundeshwari Temple,
Chamundi Hills

The Maheshasura Statue lies on Chamundi Hills just outside Chamundeshwari Temple.

Maheshasura Statue,
Chamundi Hills

The Nandi Statue lies en route to Chamundeshwari Temple. The famous bull statue of the vehicle of Lord Shiva is almost 5 meters tall and 8 meters long.

Nandi Statue, Chamundi Hills

St Philomena’s Cathedral was built in 1936 in Neo Gothic style. It was inspired by Cologne Cathedral. The cathedral’s towers are 53 meters in height.

St Philomena's Cathedral

Brindavan Gardens were completed in 1932 and lie just outside Mysore. They are spread over 60 acres, and lie on the side of the Krishnarajasagar Dam. The gardens have a musical fountain, sculptures of animals made from shrubs, trees and flowering plants.

Brindavan Gardens

Radha Krishna Statue,
Brindavan Gardens

Krishnarajasagar Dam,
Brindavan Gardens

Tipu Sultan’s Mausoleum lies in the town of Srirangapatna, barely 15 km from Mysore. The structure was built in 1784 by Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore, as a mausoleum for his parents. In 1899, after Tipu Sultan was killed in the Battle of Srirangapatna, the British allowed his body to be buried here. The mausoleum was built in Persian style.

Tipu Sultan's Mausoleum

Interior of Dome, Tipu Sultan's Mausoleum

Tomb of Tipu Sultan,
Tipu Sultan's Mausoleum

Tomb of Tipu Sultan's Father Haider Ali,
Tipu Sultan's Mausoleum

Tomb of Tipu Sultan's Mother,
Tipu Sultan's Mausoleum

Palace of Tipu Sultan, or the Daria Daulat, lies in  Srirangapatna. The teakwood palace was built in 1784 and lies in the middle of a large garden. 

Palace of Tipu Sultan

Mysore is a town I have happily visited again and again. Its proximity to Bangalore has made it relatively easy to do so. Very few towns in India - barring perhaps Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Baroda and Hyderabad - have the kind of regal splendor that Mysore boasts of, and while visiting it, one almost feels like one has gone back in time to the days of the Maharajas!