The Mysore City

The city of Mysore cannot be ignored in any discussion about Bangalore.Mysore and its environs have been a hot bed of history for several centuries. Bangalore can be said to be a derivative city of Mysore as Bangalore emerged from Mysore in many ways.

The center of action of the bygone era focuses on the egg shaped island of Srirangapattana around fourteen kilometers from Mysore. The cauvery splits at a point up-stream into two rivulets and merges again six kilometers down –stream forming the island of Sriranga pattana. By the very nature of the place it must have held strategic importance as it gives natural insulation against enemies and could have been a prime point in the running of administration. The importance of this place must have further accentuated by the Ranganatha temple within the fort and the river Cauvery being seen as sacred by many communities.

mysore palace

The Vijayanagar empire ruled over the entire of Southern India for several centuries and had a viceroy stationed at Srirangapattana. I think the Vijayanagar kings must have had some role in building the fort at this place and the construction of the Ranganatha temple. By the first half of the 17th century the Vijayanagar empire began to totter and finally loose control of its dominions and about the same time the Wodeyars attack the Viceroy of the Vijayanagar empire stationed at Srirangapattana and become the rulers. This must be not later than 1650 and many of the Nayaks or chieftains of the Vijayanagar empire began to assert themselves and take privy control of the kingdoms over which they were caretakers.

There was relative peace at Srirangapattana for about a century thereafter and the newly formed fiefdom shared many characteristics of the Vijayanagar Kingdom from which it emerged. Dasara celebrations were held year after year at the place where the Daria Daulat palace stands today and the kingdom must have been wealthy by many standards.The problem faced by the Wodeyars were attacks by other sinister forces around and largely the Marattas. Marattas always demamded a huge tribute from the vanquished and the Wodeyars also were in such situations trying to mobilize large sums to satiate the invaders bringing people like Hyder Ali a noted warrior of the Wodeyars into prominence.In events resembling a modern day coup aided by fortuitous circumstances Hyder Ali imprisons the Wodeyars and becomes de-facto ruler of Sri-Rangapattana. Hyder Ali must have imprisoned the Wodeyars in iron cages as had been his practice. Again the Marratas in various forms and shapes deter the designs of growth of Hyder Ali . Hyder attacked Malabar to largely loot the wealthy kingdoms as he had to pay a large tribute to the Marattas losing to them in Shimoga. Hyder Ali gets into conflict with the British as he controlled the key sea ports in Malabar and they were possibly taxed boiling over into a full fledged conflict over time. This era ends in 1799 with the British taking control of srirangapattana and restoring the Wodeyars back into the saddle of power under the overall supervision of a Regent. General Arthur Wellesley decides to make Daria Daulat palace as his home where he stayed for a couple of years. For the Wodeyars Srirangapattana had changed irreversibly and the place had brought misery to them and for few other reasons decide to relocate to Mysore which is around eight miles from Srirangapattana. Malaria was rampant in Srirangapattana because of the mosquitoes in the cauvery basins and the place was deserted for all practical purposes by the British later . Thus is born MYSORE as is known to the modern man and a city that began to steadily rise in importance there after owing to the synergy between the British and the Wodeyars. Much of prosperity in this belt can be traced to this synergy and thus emergred an important corridor in southern India in the fiorm of Madras-Bangalore-Mysore-Ootacamund also called Ooty and also note that barring Ooty which is difficult to access due to its rocky terrains the other three cities are complementary to each other and became a hub of activity both administrative and technical. Mysore actually means Mahishasurana Ooru largely referring to the large statue of Mahishasura upon the Chamundi hill. It must be noted that on being handed back the Kingdom by the British to the Wodeyars which must to have come to pass by the involvement of Gen Arthur Wellesley the Wodeyar queen made a thankful statement in “ As long as the Sun and the Moon exist we would be indebted to you…….” reflecting largely the difficult circumstances the Wodeyars had been for few decades.

Mysore is a mother city for Bangalore. After independence the erection of the Vidhana Soudha and its splendour surpassed any structure in the city of Mysore thereby increasing the technical importance of Bangalore and putting Mysore in the Shade. But the city of Bangalore will share aplenty the largely derived heritage of Mysore and its tryst with history during various periods. Also note that Mysore city is called Birmingham of India.

I have had a special fascination for Mysore. It was a natural destination for an excursion for any student studying in Bangalore. I have visited the palace many times and fondly remember trying to touch the golden throne of the king as a school student only to be reprimanded by the palace security staff and let off as being a small boy incapable of malice. Mysore is a transit point for anyone trying to reach Calicut where I studied for some time and I have enjoyed the nocturnal view of the Mysore palace in the still backdrop of a motionless night. I used to wake up suddenly fro my sleep in the bus when I faintly heard the word Mysore only to have a glance of the palace only to fade back top sleep immediately thereafter.

A guide to any one trying to visit Mysore both for education and entertainment. There are scores of people who visit this city from around the world. There are bacially four places which many visit in Mysore over a 12 hour interval. They are the Mysore Zoo; The Mysore Palace;The Chamundi Hill and The Krishna Rajendra Sagar(KRS) also called the Brindavan Gardens.

Saying you start at 10:00 Am the Zoo would be the right place to visit and it takes around two hours to see the zoo. Break for a good lunch that preferably should be pre-ordained and should take an hour and a half. Reach the palace aroung 2:00 post noon and the palace can be seen in an hour. For the more devout visit the temple near the palace. Exit the palace premises around 3:30 for a drive uphill to the Chamundi hill which must take half an hour. Spend an hour at this place and also visit the temple upon the hill. On descending the hill there are few points which give an amazing view of Mysore city and stop over for a few minutes at these place to take a full view which is truly arresting. Assuning you exit the foot of the hills at 6:00 PM it is a hour and a half drive to KRS. Spend an hour at this place or more. At 9:00 turn your steps back to your place of stay in Mysore and the entire venture should take about 12 hours and a truly worthy one that will longlast in anyone's memory for years to come.