Trip to Mysore

We were supposed to start sharp at 5:00 am for Mysore. (waking up in the morning is an art... I am yet to learn). So, finally started around 6:05 am.

By 6:30 we hit the Mysore road and then gradually came up to our cruising speed. Felt good to ride in the morning air with a cool nip in it. While on the road we also got to play some dodge-ball !!! Right infront of us was an engineering college bus. Apparently the occupants of the bus had just finished breakfast and decided that the road was a big dustbin. They started throwing empty packets and bottles out of the bus straight onto the traffic behind them (in this case, me and Shobhit being the nearest ones !!!) So, at nearly speeds of 90+ we were dodging the packets !!! Managed to overtake this one, only to be faced with another bus with the same antics repeated. Talk about synchronization !!! Stopped at Mc'D near Maddur for breakfast at around 7:40 am. Left around 8:20.

Our Bikes at Mc'D

Our first stop was Srirangapatna. We went staright to Daria Daulat Bagh and were the first ones there, even before the gate had opened. It opened after sometime and we went in. By the time we had our riding gears off, lots of buses and cars had arrived and we went in with a group (some excited, some chattering, some plain bored and few with the "What am I doing here? look" )

Some Wikipedia Gyan :

Daria Daulat Bagh : Built in 1784, this Summer Palace was one of Tipu's favourite retreats. It stands on a raised platform at a height of 1.5 metres. The Bagh is situated on the banks of Cauvery river has treasured the paintings, engraving, arms that depict the Valant victories and Struggles of Tipu Sultan. The structure made of teak, this Indo-Saracenic structure has ornate and beautiful frescoes. The corridors showcase murals which describe Tipu’s ordeals in the battlefield against the British.

Our opinion: Shoddy maintenance has let the place down. Most of the murals are damaged and the place seems to be going down...

Daria Daulat Bagh

Summer Palace

Then we visited Sangam (rivers meet). Going to Sangam requires one to pay a small toll fee. Then retraced our path back to Gumbaz.

Some more Wikipedia Gyan :

Mausoleum of Tippu Sultan, and his father Hyder Ali and mother Fathima Begam. Built by Tippu Sultan between 1782-84, the Gumbaz, an imposing structure in the midst of the Lalbagh garden, stands on a high and wide platform with an open verandah of polished pillars all round.

The importance of Gumbaz lies in its well-shaped large dome, ivory inlaid doors, carved stone windows of fine workmanship and inscriptions. Tipu's favourite Tiger stripes cover the walls.Inside are the tombs of Haidar in the center, his wife and his son Tippu on either side. In the verandah and on the platform are the other tombs of Haidar’s family members.

Strictly my opinion : If you are not immensely interested in tombs and badly maintained museums and paying meaningless tolls , you may skip Srirangapatna.

Gumbaz


Our next stop was Mysore. We decided to straight away visit Chamundi hills and Nandi temple. The ride up was was really good with nice, gentle, rolling curves.

Some more Gyan :

The Chamundi Hills is about 3km from the city. It is at a height of 1065 meters above sea leave and about 800 feet above Mysore city. On the top of the hill is the Chamundeshwari temple that dates back to the 11th century. Goddess Chamundeshwari is an incarnation of Goddess Parvathi who took this form to destroy the demon king Mahishasura.

Nandi

Mysore city from the Hills

Then we came down to the Mysore Palace. One look at the palace and the architectural beauty takes your breath away. Once inside the palace premises, we were greeted with well laid out gardens and a huge cemented courtyard, guarded on the four corners by fierce leopards (forever immortalised in bronze !!!)

We entered the palace and were surprised by the coolness of the air inside. Such a huge place and the architecture such that it always remains cool and lighted up. We saw the royal marraige hall (Kalyana Mantapa). It is a grand octagonal-shaped pavilion with a multi-hued stained glass ceiling with peacock motifs arranged in geometrical patterns.The floor of the Mantapa continues the peacock theme with a peacock mosaic. Moving on, we saw entered Diwan e Khas. This was used by the king for private audience and is one of the most spectacular rooms. Entry to this opulent hall is through an elegantly carved rosewood doorway inlaid with ivory that opens into a shrine to Ganesha. The central nave of the hall has ornately gilded columns, stained glass ceilings, decorative steel grills, and chandeliers with fine floral motifs, mirrored in the pietra dura mosaic floor embellished with semi-precious stones. Next, we went on the Public Durbar Hall and after that some photography sessions on the courtyard. The ceiling if the hall is adorned with the Zodiac signs, constellations and gods n goddesses. Simply beautiful !!!

The Mysore Palace

One of the leopards

The Public Durbar

Final Wikipedia Gyan :

The Kingdom of Mysore was ruled by the Wodeyar dynasty from 1399 until the independence of India in 1947.The Wodeyar kings built a palace in Mysore in the 14th century, But the Raja Wodeyar shifted his Capital to the island fort town of Sriranagapatna in 1610 and Mysore lost its importance as a seat of power. But this palace was partially damaged by a lightning strike in 1638. It was repaired and expanded by Ranadhira Kanteerava Narasa Raja Wodeyar. With the usurpation of the Kingdom by the Hyder in 1762 Mysore Palace further lost its importance. But Hyder son , Tipu Sultan demolished the entire fort town including the Palace in 1787 and used the fort material to build a new town near by known as Nazarabad (now part of the mysore City). Fourth Mysore war in 1799 brought an end to the reign of Tipu sultan and then Governor General of India, Lord Mornington ( later Marquis Wellesley and elder brother of Arthur Wellesley - who rose to become Duke of Wellington and is famously known as Iron Duke) decided to restore part of the conquest to the ancient Hindu Royal family and shifted the capital of the newly defined territory of Mysore Kingdom to Mysore. Thus the scion of the Wodeyar, then five year old, Krishna Raja Wodeyar III was crowned as the new King in 1799 in a make shift premises within the destroyed fort. In due course the Nazrabad fort was dismantled an the materiel made its way back in building the Mysore fort once again. A new palace was built in its place by 1803. This palace was destroyed in a fire in 1897 during the wedding of Princess Jayalakshmanni.

The regent of Mysore, Maharani Vani Vilas Sannidhna, commissioned a British architect, Henry Irwin, to build yet another palace in its place. The construction was completed in year 1912. But slowly the beautification of the fort was also taken up and the inhabitants of the fort were slowly shifted out to newer Extension built outside. The present Public Durbar Hall wing was also added much later around 1940.

Started back for Bangalore around 4:30 pm. Reached the outskirts of Bangalore by 6:00 pm. Though after entering the city, we took the same time to reach our house !!!