By PragyanSharma Polavarapu
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DIARY TEXT 2-3-2004-A TIGHT PROGRAM-A VISIT TO THE GRAND ROYAL PALACE IN MYSURU ON 2-3-2004
Because we had to follow a government approved tour program , we could not take rest even for a day at Bengaluru even though we visited our daughter after an year . We all decided that on our return from Mysore and Ooty we would stop for a day or two at Bangalore.So,on with our exciting trip.It was really very painful but we had to hurry within a few hours as per our fixed tour program . We had to start for Mysore by 11am bus. My younger daughter, ( a college student pursuing computer science) , was the happiest of us. She was very happy that her sister was coming with us to Mysore and Ooty. Our son-in-law had to be at his office by 10am to attend a important staff meeting . He started for his office and wished us a happy journey. My elder daughter was very happy to travel with us and be with us for three days.
We started by auto to the big and bustling Bengaluru bus stand and boarded an express bus for Mysuru. I made clear to all that we had absolutely no plan to stay at Ooty overnight because of extreme cold there . We would complete our trip in 8 to 10 hours( including the time for up and down journeys). We have to get satisfied with a limited visit . We will see the picturesque villages on the hill sides, watch the beautiful hill scenery and the endless greenery only during the two or three hour stay in Ooty town .We had to adjust our program as per our very limited time.
We would stay in a nice comfortable hotel in Mysore . We would start at 7am at Mysuru and return back by 6pm strictly before nightfall. I especially wanted to show the picturesque scenery of Ooty to my wife and daughters .I very much wanted that they should see the vast greenery and forest cover and the many villages appearing on the slanting hill sides.
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So we are now on first leg of our journey—reaching our base camp the beautiful city of Mysuru which is 140 kilometers south of Bengaluru. The bus took us at good speed and we reached Mysuru by 4pm. It was the capital of erstwhile Mysuru kingdom (present state of Karnataka) and is a cool beautiful clean city of about one million people . It is at a high altitude with pleasant crispy air and is famous for its majestic palaces and wide roads decorated with imposing life size marble statues of the Maharajas. The kings of the last dynasty ( the Wadiyars were very forward looking and converted Mysore into a modern city just like a European city with modern infrastructure and modern educational and technical institutions . The kings of Wadiyar dynasty ruled for about 500 years (up to merger into Republic of India) except for a reign of short period of 48 years in second half of 18th century by the Nawabs Hyder Ali and Tippu Sultan.
Mysuru was the celebrated capital of the state for 500 years until Bengaluru became capital from the period of Indian independence . My wife and second daughter did not visit these areas until now but my elder daughter had been staying in Bengaluru for about two years .Every village and town on the way were full of coconut trees and some had big coconut plantations. It was everywhere a world of countless coconut trees . The greenery everywhere was pleasing to the eye.
At the busy Mysore bus stand where we reached (at about 4pm) several cabmen and travel agents came to us to ask about our travel program . I went to a nearby office of a a senior agent of Karnataka government travel beaureu. He had a big and neat office with phones and office assistants and talked fluently in English showing me several tourist maps .I fixed with his help a hotel for Rs 600/- per day with room service, phone,TV .
I discussed with the agent a trip to Ooty next morning starting at least by 7am or 7-30 AM. It was a long journey requiring four and half hours for one way journey. We have to be back in our hotel by at least 6 pm. I told him that we had no plan of staying at Ooty. He agreed to our program and we fixed our travel in the 25 seater “Swaraj Mazda” minibus of the agent. I paid the fares in advance.
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The time was only around 4-15 pm in the afternoon. We had a plan to see the main Grand Palace of the Maharaja. The travel agent arranged for dropping us at our hotel in one of his taxi cars.The hotel room was a big neat room with four beds and lift facility. We immediately refreshed and ordered nice wada/upma and coffee into our room. In minutes we got down and started for the Grand Palace of the Maharaja which was just 2 kilometers away . We reached there by auto in ten minutes. We had also on our mind a visit to the most holy Chamundeswari temple on the Chamundeswari hill at 6pm that day itself . I told our people that we should finish our visit to the palace well before 6pm . The temple on the high hills was a most majestic temple of mother goddess Parvathi. I visited the temple three or four times during my earlier trips to Mysore for departmental training.
At the palace cameras were not allowed and so we deposited our camera in the prescribed section of the palace office . We were also to go barefoot . The palace complex was dazzling and majestic and of gigantic proportions.No other words to describe it. The gardens in front were vast with very big lawns and flower beds . But we had no time to wonder at the beauty of the vast gardens. We straight away entered the palace halls and first visited the outer halls. There were high cuboidal glass cases containing royal belongings like guns, royal coats etc and were under alert gaze of armed guards . We saw king’s thrones, costly furniture items all in high security rooms sealed in huge cubical cases of thick glass. We could only see the royal items through through the transparent glass .
The inner walls of the imposing halls were decorated with huge paintings of dimensions like 10 feet x 10 feet. The imposing paintings showed images of previous kings in old world British empire days . There were huge wall size paintings showing European soldiers on horse back with long guns and Indian soldiers in turbans and long coats carrying long dazzling swords and spears.
In one hall the pillars, made of solid iron and of round cross section were lean towards the top but were very strong and artistically made. They were painted in bright vertical color bands of light green, blue and gold . The solid iron pillars were decorated with many colorful designs of flowers and creepers.
The ceilings were fitted with costly thick wood panels in which wonderful flower and creeper designs were cut . The artistic wood panels on ceiling were absolutely wonderful and the bright polished varnished designs shone in the electric lights . There were sculptures of gods and goddesses in wood panels.The halls with the coloful lean iron pillars , artistically carved wooden ceilings and the heavy furniture items created a wonderful feeling in people who never saw such palaces.
Soon we entered the inner halls which were many times more dazzling. Here the colorfully painted pillars were very fat and had a circular cross section of about two or three feet. The pillars were fat in the middle and lean towards top. They were painted with color designs in wide lengthwise colored bands in thick blue, green, pink ,gold colors etc . The majestic high doors were made of costly heavy wood and were full of carvings of beautiful artistic designs . Here too the ceilings were fitted with heavy carved wood panels with intricate designs.
In cubical glass cases of the size of small rooms there were rare items of the Maharaja’s furniture---old costly chairs covered in silver sheets with artistic designs , ivory inlaid costly wooden tables with fat curved legs, costly bedsteads with foam beds, artistically made tea tables etc. We saw one throne studded with gems and another throne covered in gold sheet with multi colored metal peacock design. All were under the gaze of heavily armed guards.
There were royal weapons of war—swords, helmets, heavy boots, big long guns, heavy spears etc. There were costly silver dishes and silver plates and several gold tea cups etc used by the kings and their families . There were several other presentation items given to the king by other kings and nawabs and European monarchs. All the items were secured in glass cabinets .It was all like a fairy land.
We hurried and entered the dazzling Durbar Hall with fat pillars painted in wide coloured vertical bands. There were exquisitely beautiful flower designs. The ceiling too had very attractive designs cut in huge sized wooden panels. huge chandeliers hung down. It was a wonder world.
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We then walked to the wide and long balcony area where the king and queen would sit on golden thrones on festive occasions and would exchange greetings with the hundreds of people waiting down below on the lawns of the palace.The royal people ( princes and royal relations and nobles),ministers and army generals would be seated in the heavy chairs arranged in rows on the long staircase-like gallery in the balcony. Royal women in purdah from privileged royal families viewed from the small decorated royal cabins.
There were huge statues of two ferocious lions at each end of the gateway of the vast ground below where people would gather to see the royal people sitting in the high balcony. The Durbar Hall had a coloured cut glass ceiling with many attractive designs. It was all like a fairy land and so unbelievable .
We came down and entered the equally wonderful museum of royal belongings in other highly protected inner halls of the palace. The area appeared to lack good lighting. The exhibits kept in those halls also were very interesting. They were actual belongings of members of the old royal families who were kings, queens, princes etc , perhaps 100 or 200 years back. There were gold plates, silvrer cups ,silver tea pots ,ornamental glassware and costly porcelain ware .
The old furniture items like chairs, tables etc used by the royals and their children were carefully and neatly arranged. The dresses , ornamental royal turbans with precious stones , the boots and costly footware used by the royals( when they were alive and young a 100 or 150 years ago) were carefully secured.
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The Pooja Mantap where god’s holy metal idols are kept, Pooja Peethams (decorated with silver and gold flowers and precious stones and inlaid ivory designs) were all secured carefully in glass cases.
There were framed photographs of Rajas and Ranis in old fashioned traditional Hindu dresses . There were photographs of royals and their royal relations in western suites. There were the watches and wall clocks ,swords, guns, gramophones, radios, spectacles, costly pens etc used by the royals . All were most carefully secured in glass cases in high security halls closely guarded by armed gaurds.
We came out of the palace at about 5-30 pm . We got back our electronic camera from the locker room and took lots of photographs in the gardens of the palace. But the sentries would not permit us to stop for long time anywhere near to the palace . We visited also two magnificient temples within the palace compound. Seeing and praying in the temples to the beautiful gods gave us immense pleasure and peace of mind .
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