It began with a request from an old online acquaintance, Paul Nixon, for a tour of Srirangapatna & Mysuru. Paul is an expert on British Military history and owns Historic Records Limited, a digitization & transcription services company that works in the heritage sector. Hence doing a heritage tour for someone who is an expert in the area is quite challenging. However the thought of sharing histories with a fellow enthusiast was also very tempting.
The tour started with a quick breakfast at Kamat Lokaruchi & a closer look at the cocoon rearing in Ramanagara city & the villages surrounding it. The state government set up a cocoon auction market here in the 80s & it attracts around 50 tonnes of cocoons per day. These are mainly reared by farmers from across the state. The colourful & famous Mysore Silk sarees are produced from these simple cocoons. The friendly farmers give much information about cocoon rearing, the prices, the two main types of cocoons, the places they come from etc. While bringing the cocoon to the market is a man’s job, the rearing of silkworms to form cocoons is usually done at home by the ladies of the household.
At the Ramanagara Cocoon Auction Market
(PC: Author)
Paul was very enthusiastic about Srirangapatna and the 1799 war that led to the death of Tipu Sultan, better known as the Tiger of Mysore.
To the uninitiated, roughly our state, Karnataka, in South India was ruled by the Mysuru royal dynasty, the Wodeyars, from around the 1600s(though their lineage as chieftains goes back to the 1200s). By early 1700s, the power had shifted to the army commanders & by mid 1700s virtually ruled by a Muslim – Nawab Haider Ali & later his son, Tipu Sultan. Theirs was a turbulent time in South India as the English & French traders had territorial ambitions in India. The famous Anglo Mysore wars saw shifting fortunes between Mysuru & the English. In the fourth & final war, the lady luck finally rested with the English with the death of Tipu Sultan.
The capital of the sultan & the earlier Wodeyars was Srirangapatna, a city half an hour before Mysuru. Today, It’s a small town with an ancient temple that gives its name to it. But take a closer look and you’ll spot massive fortifications of the city, the river Kaveri that surrounds it giving an additional defence. This island city with its wide moats, massive fortified walls, huge gateway, the armouries and the temples all take one back in time to at least two hundred years if not more.
Water Gate in Srirangapatna
Daria Daulat Entrance
Daria Daulat Gardens
(PC: Paul Nixon)
Fun fact: The Srirangapatna war was one of the very few battles that Shivaji, the famous Maratha warrior, lost in his Southern expedition in the 1600s.
Here are some photographs and videos of the tour of Srirangapatna.
The massive fort gates to Srirangapatna city
(PC: Paul Nixon)
Sri Ranganatha temple
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A Cannon from 1700s
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Col Bailie’s Memorial built by his nephew
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An obelisk in Srirangapatna
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While Paul was impressed with the still standing structures and the heritage of the city, he did opine that it could be better maintained with just cleaning up the litter that we saw everywhere, particularly near the watergate and the Bailie memorial. It doesn’t take much for the local authorities to get a few people to just pick up the plastic covers and bottles and clean up, he said and I agree.
Half an hour from here, today is the city of Mysuru. I’ve lived my childhood in Mysuru & visited the city many times. To me, it’s first a home & then a heritage city to visit.
The impressive Amba Vilas (better known as Mysore Palace) stands at its center. It’s the other way round, actually. The city expanded from the center to radially outside (the earliest city was within the fort walls that were shifted as the Palace was reconstructed). The huge Palace has been repaired and reconstructed many times. What stands today was painstakingly built in the 1900s when the earlier of the Palace had a fire mishap and burnt down. The new Palace with many courtyards, durbar halls and lovely domes surrounded by ancient temples and a massive outer courtyard is beautiful and is the second most visited monument after the Taj in India.
Amba Vilas – Mysuru Palace
(PC: Author)
But what I like the most is not just the built structures but the arts & crafts it’s well known for. So I took Paul to see the famous Mysuru wooden inlay work – Parquetry. It is a centuries’ old craft to embed or inlay different coloured wood on a main dark wood (usually rosewood) to form a picture. Actively promoted by the Wodeyars, it is known, today, as Mysuru Inlay work.
Growing up, I’ve seen inlay work of simple rural scenes in every middle class family’s home. An ideal example of locals supporting the local artists. Today, it is quite famous with Royal to Devotional themes. Here are some photos of the craft.
An example of Mysuru Wooden Inlay work
(PC: Author)
The process of Inlay work
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A sample inlay design
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We did perform a customary visit to the Chamundi hills. On a lighter note, we did check out some quirky museums at the foothills, like the Celebrity Wax museum & a Horror tunnel, on the way down. I also spotted a seashell museum. With all the heritage & culture, these places provide a lighter note & a bit of fun.
Selfie with Paul
(PC: Author)
Contact us for details & booking of this tour.
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