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Mysore, Karnataka,
India
Before India's independence in 1947,
Mysore was a landlocked princely state of 30,000 sq. miles. The transfer of
additional territories to the state in 1953 and 1956 united the Kannada
speaking peoples, gave the state access to the sea, and greatly extended its
boundaries; it was named Karnataka ("Lofty Land" in Kannada) in 1973. Mysore
city center contains the Maharaja's Palace (1897) with its ivory and gold
throne, Curzon Park, the Silver Jubilee Clock Tower (1927), Gandhi Square, and
two statues of maharajas. West of the city center are the former British
residency (1805), the noted Oriental Library, university buildings, and public
offices. Jaganmohan Palace now hosts a museum. Pilgrims visit Chamundi Hill
(3,490 ft) with its monolith of Nandi, the sacred bull of Shiva. The area
around Mysore is drained by the Cauvery River and its tributaries.
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Holy cow (with
clock tower)
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New Statue
Circle (more)
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KR circle
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Jagmohan palace
& museum
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Gandhi Square
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Street sleeper
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Now playing (more)
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Mysore from
above
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Mysore Palace
When Vijayanagar empire fell in 1565, its domains were
usurped by one of their feudatories, the rajas of Mysore, and the Mughals. In the 17th century the wodeyars ("rulers") of Mysore,
profiting from the conflict between the Mughals and the Marathas in western
India, as well as from the confusion after the death (1707) of Aurangzeb,
expanded their rule. But wodeyar misrule at home and their interference in
wars of succession in the plains led to their ousting in 1761 by Haidar Ali,
a military adventurer. His invasions of Malabar and the
Karnataka plains extended Mysore's dominion but eventually led, after the
Mysore Wars, to the death of his son Tipu Sultan in 1799 at the hands of the
British, who sponsored the restoration of wodeyar rule. Mysore was governed
by a British commissioner from 1831 to 1881, when administration was once
again restored to the wodeyar. The last of the wodeyars became governor of
the state after the territorial reorganizations of 1953 and 1956 and the
formation of Karnataka in 1973.♣ |
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Palace of the
Wodeyars
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Indo-Saracenic
design (1,
2)
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Built between
1897-1912 CE
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South gate (North
gate)
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View
from western gate
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Sri Shveta
Varahaswami temple
▒
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Durbar hall
from far (1,
2)
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Western
boundary (more)
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| Chamundi Hill |
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Chamundeshwari
temple (1,
2)
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Chamundi hill
climb (more)
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Nandi statue (more)
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Damroos
anyone?
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Devaraja Fruit & Vegetable market |
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Market facade
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Heaps o' dyes
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Flowers by the
kilo
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Betel nuts
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Garland seller
(more)
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Paan leaves
seller
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Paan leaves
sellers
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Boy rolling an
incense stick
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Going bananas
(1, 2)
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Banana boy
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Flower seller
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Flower seller
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Fruit stall
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Fruit stall
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Fruit stall
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Fruit stall
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Incense stall
(more)
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Veggies stall
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Veggies stall
(more)
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Veggies stall
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Onion seller (more)
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Onion seller (more)
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Jaggery
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Smoking man
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Brindavan Gardens |
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