The Palace is situated in the middle of the city and is a reminder of the grandeur of a bygone era. This profusely decorated and gilded palace is illuminated every Sundays and on holidays. As a kid, my evening walks were mostly to the Palace. Our house was a meager 10 min walk from Palace. This day, I happened to drive on a rainy evening.
This snap which is a capture of 'life' and 'Palace' on a rainy evening, has been digitally edited into an 'Oil Painting'.
This is a better view.
Hey, the below image was captured, balancing the Steering in left and DigiCam in my right hand. The moon at the back ground, was observed later.
About :
The present structure is a little over a century old. History tells that, during the wedding of Jayalakshammanni, the eldest daughter of Chamaraja Wodeyar, in February 1897,a fire destroyed the entire front wing of the previous wooden Palace. The construction of the present structure was completed in 1912 and ended at a whooping expense of Rs. 42 Lakhs! Its known that, during this period, the royal family temporarily lived in the Jaganmohan Palace, which now houses an art gallery.
The Amba Vilasa Palace - The Mysore Palace as it is known, is an excellent combination of Dravidian, Indo-Sarcenic, Oriental and Roman styles of architecture. The Maharaja's Palace is a beautiful three storied stone building of fine Grey granite and rich pink marble dome. Overlooking this structure is a five-storied 145 foot tower whose domes are gilded in gold. The palace is encircled by a garden.
The interior of the Palace is equally worth a visit. Its adored with visually delightful pavilions and halls, Kalyana Mantap, Amba Vilasa - the private durbar hall with ornate ceiling, Gombe Thotti, the portrait gallery, the royal armory - all built around an open courtyard. The walls are adored with paintings and murals of the Dasara procession of the period of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV.
Collections of costumes and jewellery, delicately carved doors of mahogany and solid silver, graceful chandeliers, decorative stained glass ceilings, ornamental fresco, huge cast-iron pillars, decorated dooms, paintings of Raja Ravi Varma, Murals in panels, friezes and niches add to the grandeur of the palace. The palace has now been converted into a museum, which treasures the souvenirs, paintings, jewellery and royal costumes.
However, the old portion of the palace was retained and can be seen even now behind the front portion of the new structure, and houses the present museum.
There are twelve temples inside the Palace complex dating from the fourteenth to the twentieth centuries and have varying architectural styles.
The below 2 snaps has a story attached.
In short : They are 2 years old; Thatz when I didn't own a Digicam; Photography is strictly prohibited inside the Palace; You even have a detector and scanner; A colleague wanted me to play host; The Digicam was luckily missed at the checking counter; All my warning and explanation didn't stop the guest from breaking the law; The camera was confiscated by the Policemen-in-disguise; It was a life time worst situation, since, they questioned the host too; Guest had to pay a fine of Rs 500; And they weren't adamant about deleting the pics, if the money is paid!
Moral of the story : Don't play host to unknown creatures.
Update : My post on Mysore Dasara is here.
