Mysore Palace by night
Mysore
( ;
to be renamed Mysuru) ( ) is the second largest
city in the state of Karnataka
, India
.
It is the
headquarters of the Mysore district
and the Mysore
division and lies about southwest of Bangalore
, the capital of Karnataka . The name
Mysore is an anglicised version of
Mahishūru,
which means the abode of
Mahisha.
Mahisha stands
for
Mahishasura, a demon from the
Hindu mythology. The city is spread
across an area of and is situated at the base of the
Chamundi Hills.
Mysore is one of
the most important tourist centers of the Karnataka state of India.
Mysore is also known as
Palace City of India.
The
Mysore
Palace
in the city is one of the most visited monuments in
India, even beating Taj
Mahal
of India.
Attractions
Brindavan Garden Fountains at
Night
- Mysore Palace : is a palace situated in the city.
It was the official residence of the former royal family of Mysore,
and also housed the durbar (royal offices).The term "Palace of
Mysore" specifically refers to one of these palaces, Amba
Vilas.
- Brindavan
Gardens is a show garden that has a beautiful
botanical park, full of exciting fountains, as well as boat rides
beneath the dam. Diwans of Mysore planned and built the gardens in
connection with the construction of the dam. Display items include
a musical fountain. Various biological research departments are
housed here. There is a guest house for tourists.It is
situated at Krishna Raja
Sagara
(KRS) dam.
Chamundi temple
- Jaganmohan
Palace : was built in the year 1861 by Krishnaraja
Wodeyar III in a predominantly Hindu style to serve as an alternate
palace for the royal family. This palace housed the royal family
when the older Mysore Palace was burnt down by a fire. The palace
has three floors and has stained glass shutters and ventilators. It
has housed the Sri Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery since the year
1915. The collections exhibited here include paintings from the
famed Travancore ruler, Raja Ravi
Varma, the Russian painter Svetoslav Roerich and many paintings
of the Mysore painting style.
- Chamundi Hills
is close to the palace city of Mysore. Its average elevation is
1,000 meters. A panoramic view of the city is seen from the top of
the hills. Among other landmarks, you can see the race course, the
Lalitha Mahal palace, Mysore Palace, Karanji and Kukkarahalli
lakes. At dusk, the view of the city is especially beautiful, and
on Sunday evenings and during the Dasara
festival, the illuminated Mysore Palace glitters like gold.
Jaganmohan Palace, Mysore
- St.
Philomena's Church : is a church built in the honour
of St. Philomena in the city of
Mysore. It
was constructed in 1956 using a Neo
Gothic style and its architecture was inspired by the Cologne
Cathedral
in Germany
. In
1926, Thamboo Chetty who was a secretary to the Maharaja of Mysore, Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar
obtained a relic of the saint from Peter
Pisani, Apostolic Delegate of
the East Indies. This relic was handed
over to Father Cochet who approached the king to assist him in
constructing a church in honour of St.
Philomena]. The Maharaja of Mysore laid the foundation stone of
the church on 28 October 1933. In his speech on the day of the
inauguration, the Maharaja is quoted to have said: The new church
will be strongly and securely built upon a double foundation —
Divine compassion and the eager gratitude of men.. The construction
of the church was completed under Bishop Rene Fuga's supervision.
The relic of Saint Philomena is preserved in a catacomb below the
main altar.
- Jayalakshmi Vilas
Mansion : This palace was built in the year 1905 by
Chamaraja Wodeyar for his eldest daughter Jayalakshmi Devi. This
mansion has three wings and contains a series of twin Corinthian
and Ionic columns, regal pediments and oval ventilators. The
mansion was originally built with a cost of Rs. 7 lakhs. This
mansion was acquired by the Mysore University to house its
post-graduate campus. It was renovated in the year 2002 from
funding provided by Infosys foundation. The main hall in this
mansion is the Kalyana Mantapa which has an eight-petal shaped dome
with stained glass windows with a gold-plated Kalasha(tower) at the
top. A new gallery called as Writer's Gallery has been created in
the Kalyana Mantapa hall that will exhibit personal items,
photographs, awards and writings of renowned writers of Kannada. A
special illumination system has also been added to this heritage
structure. This mansion is said to be the first university museum
complex in the country.
Rail Museum at Mysore.
- Lalitha Mahal: is
the second largest palace in Mysore. It is located near the
Chamundi Hills, east of the city.The architect of this palace was
Mr E W Fritchley. The palace was built by Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV in
the year 1921 for the exclusive stay of the Viceroy of India. The
palace is pure white in colour and is built in the style of Italian
palazzo with twin Ionic columns and domes. It also has a sprawling
terrace and landscaped gardens.
Elephant & calf in the Mysore
Zoo
- Rail
Museum: This museum is located near the Mysore Railway
station and is the second one of its kind established in India
after the one at Delhi
. This
museum exhibits ancient locomotives and carriages some of which are
still in working condition. Photographs and books related to
railway are also present.
- Mysore Zoo : one of
the oldest and most popular zoos in India. Located on the outskirts
of Mysore, the zoo is home to a wide range of wild species. The
official name for the zoo is Shri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens,
though it is known commonly by its shortened name. Mysore Zoo is
one of the city’s most popular attractions. It was established
under royal patronage in 1892, making it one of the oldest zoos in
the world.
Around Mysore
Open billed storks, Rangantittu
B.S.
- Srirangapatna
: (also spelt Srirangapatna; anglicized to
Seringapatam during the British Raj) is a town , situated a mere
13 km from Mysore city .The entire town is enclosed by the
river Kaveri to form an island .
The town
takes its name from the celebrated Ranganathaswamy temple which
dominates the town, making Srirangapattana one of the most
important Vaishnavite centers of
pilgrimage in south India.
Srirangapattana became the de facto capital of Mysore under
Hyder Ali and Tipu
Sultan. Other attractions include the Jumma Masjid (a Mosque)
and the Daria Daulat Gardens.
The Karighatta (Black Hill) and its
temple of Lord Srinivasa is situated a
few kilometres from the town. The deity is that of
Kari-giri-vasa (one who resides on the black hill).
The
famous Nimishambha temple is located in the near by district of Ganjam
. The
summer palace of Tipu Sultan is also a very interesting place.
- Ranganthittu
Bird Sanctuary
: is a small Bird Sanctuary ,being only
0.67 km². in area, and comprises six islets on the banks of
the Kaveri River. Ranganthittu is
located near the historic town of Srirangapatna. The islets came
into being when a dam across the Kaveri river was built in the
1700s. The ornithologist Dr. Salim Ali
observed that the isles formed an important nesting ground for
birds, and persuaded the Wodeyar kings of
Mysore to declare the area a wildlife sanctuary in 1940.The islands
are host to numerous small mammals, including Bonnet Macaque, colonies of Flying Fox and common small mammals like Common Palm Civet and Indian Gray Mongoose and the monitor
lizard.The Mugger Crocodile or Marsh Crocodile is a common
inhabitant of the riverine reed beds. Breeding water birds include
Painted Stork, Asian Openbill Stork, Common Spoonbill, Woolly-necked Stork, Black-headed Ibis, White Ibis, Lesser Whistling Duck, Indian Shag, Stork-billed Kingfisherand other
common birds like egrets, cormorants, Oriental
Darter, and herons. The Great Stone Plover, and River Tern
also nest here. The park is home to a large
flock of Streak-throated
Swallows.
- Shivanasamudra Falls
: is the second biggest waterfall in
India and the sixteenth largest in the world. It
is situated on the banks of the river Kaveri and is the location of
the first Hydro-electric Power station in Asia, which was set up in
the year 1902 . This is a segmented waterfall. Segmented waterfalls
occur where the water flow is broken into two or more channels
before dropping over a cliff, resulting in multiple side by side
waterfalls. It has an average width of 849 meters, a height of 90
m, and an average volume of 934 cubic meters / sec. Gaganachukki on
the left is a large horsetail waterfall and Barachukki (also
spelled Bharachukki) on the right is a jagged crashing
cascading waterfall. During the monsoon season this waterfall grows
enormous, perhaps a thousand feet in width. The right waterfall is
the Bharachukki. . Asia's first hydro-electric power stations,
still functional, is located at the waterfall. This station was
commissioned by the Diwan
of Mysore, Sir K. Seshadri
Iyer. The electricity produced here was initially
used in the Kolar Gold
Fields
. Thus, Kolar Gold Fields became the first town in Asia
to get hydro electricity.
- Talakad
: or Talakadu is a town on the left bank
of the Kaveri river at a spot where the river
makes a sharp bend. It is 45 km from Mysore .A historic
site, Talakad once had over 30 temples that today are buried in
sand. Now it is a scenic and spiritual pilgrimage center. Here the eastward flowing
Kaveri river changes course and seems magnificiently vast as here
the sand on its banks spreads over a wide area.
Temple Recovered from Sand Dunes at
Talakadu
At Talakad sand covers the temples. Stone pillars, square at the
base and made to fit into a wheel below the
abacus, lie scattered about. Among the
temples of Talakad, the Pathaleshwara, Maruleshwara, Arkeshwara,
Vaidyanathee-shwara and Mallikarjuna temples, the five
Lingams believed to represent the five faces of
Shiva, form the
Pancha pathi and have
become famous. In honour of these five
Shiva
temples, a fair is held once every 12 years called
Panchalinga Darshana, last held in
2006. The Panchalinga Darshana is held on a new moon day in the
month of Karthika when two stars conjoin, the stars of Khuha Yoga
and Vishaka.There is also a
Vishnu temple,
Keerthinarayana.
- Bylakuppe
: is the location of "Lugsum Samdupling"
(established in 1961) and "Dickyi Larsoe" (established in 1969),
two adjacent Tibetan refugee settlements, in the west of Mysore
district . It consists of a number of small
camps/agricultural settlements close to each other, and has a
number of monasteries, nunneries and temples in all the major
Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Most notable among them are the large
educational monastic institution Sera, the
smaller Tashilunpo monastery (both in the Gelukpa tradition) and
Namdroling monastery (in the
Nyingma tradition).Particularly well known
among the temples is the spectacular Golden Temple which is also a
major tourist spot in the area.
Gallery
Image:Lalitha mahal mysore ml wiki.JPG|
Lalitha Mahal, Mysore
Image:Myspalbang.jpg|Entrance to the
Ambavilas Palace, commonly known as Mysore PalaceImage:Mahisha.jpg|Statue of the demon
Mahishasura atop the
Chamundi
HillsImage:Karanji_lake_pic.jpg|Karanji lake in
MysoreImage:RanganathaTemple.jpg|
Ranganatha TempleImage:Paintedstork group
RBS.jpg|Painted stork colony, Rangantittu B.S.
Image:Temple
Sculpture Talakadu.jpg|Sculpture from Talakadu
Lord Shiva Temple.Image:Talakadu
Temple.jpg|Temple Recovered from Sand Dunes at Talakadu
See also
References
- An overview of the Regional Museum of
Natural History is provided by
- An overview of the Folk Lore Museum is provided by
- An overview of the Rail Museum is provided by
in Mysore and has exhibits related to biological
diversity, ecology and geology of Southern India.
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