Mysore Impact

My mother studied in Mysore. I have been hearing about Mysore from her. However I did not get an opportunity to visit it until last Christmas. I visited Mysore in this Christmas vacation. Mysore, its history and culture has left a deep impact upon me.

I love animals. So I first visited the Mysore zoo. Its official name Sri Jayachamarajendra Zoo. It had exotic animals like giraffe, zebra, white tiger and tapir. The animals looked happy and cheerful. The chimpanzees were busy with their tricks, which made me laugh. Such was the impact of the Mysore zoo upon me.

Then I went to the Chamundi Hill. There the guide told me that the word Mysore is derived from the Kannada words Mahishasurana ooru which means Mahishasura’s village. Until I visited Mysore I did not know that the demon Mahishasura belonged to this place. Mysore added to my knowledge. Such was its impact.

Here stands tall the Goddess Chamundeshwari. She killed the demon Mahishasura. The way to Chamundi hill is full of curves and slopes. I enjoyed this ride. I love the hills. The Chamundi hill also offered the aerial view of the Mysore city.

On the last bend of the ghat leading to Chamundi hill stood the statue of Mahishasura. Even if he was a demon, we have placed his statue. This too had a great impact upon me. It taught me that Indian culture has always been tolerant towards everyone including the demons.

I climbed up the one thousand steps to reach the Chamundi temple. It was a good exercise and surely had a positive impact on my health. On the way up I came across a Shiva temple in the middle. The mandapam of the temple had a Nandi bull which was sixteen foot tall.

I also visited the Mysore palace. The grandeur of the palace left me in awe. Such was its impact upon me.

I came to know that the Mysore palace, as it stands today, was designed by a n English architect called Henry Irwin. The earlier palace was burnt into ashes. The guide told me that the old palace caught fire during the wedding of Princess Jayalakshamanni in February 1897. The fire consumed the entire palace and a new palace had to be built. Such was the impact of visiting this palace that it had history running in front of my eyes.

I visited the Darbar Hall. It has ornate and sculpted pillars. I was lucky to see the Gold Throne, with jewels decked upon it. The gold throne is in the Kalyana Mandapa and is put on display only on special occasions.

Mysore trip left a lasting impact upon me. It added to my knowledge and gave me a sneak peek of the royalty.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.