My Place - Mysore!

The name 'Mysore' comes from the legend of a demon named 'Mahishasura', (which is what you see in the icon ) (See Photo below).Mysore is a very cool place with pleasent temperatures all year around. It is also a historic city and a tourist place. To the left is the famous Mysore palace fully lit up and in all its grandeur at night. Mysore saw it peak golden age during the reign of Sri KrishnaRaja Wodeyar. During his era, Mysore became a centre for Cultural activities. Sir M Vishweshwariah was one of the most renowed engineers during his tenure. He is the architect of The world famous Brindavan Gardens. Also the key attraction of Mysore is the festival Dussehra which is a 10 day festival which ends with a Grand procession called Jamboo Savari (elephant ride in the local language !). People flock from all over tthe world to view this spectacular event. Nowadays, there is a special train called Shatabdi Express (Centenary express) which connects Chennai (Madras), bangalore and Mysore.

Unlike the lighting of other structures, the Mysore palace has its lighting in a different way. The palace is outlined with huge arrays of lighting instead of light being projected on the structure! This is clearly visible in the second image. This special lighting is what attracts thousands of visitors from all over. (Boy! I still remember roller-skating at the palace during new-year eves when i was a kid)
Mysore has every thing geographically ! A river Cauvery flows by Mysore, across which the Krishna Raja Sagar Dam (KRS for short)  is built. The famous Brindavan Gardens is also situated next ot the same Krishna Raja Sagar dam. The dam is named after the then Maharaja who was instrumental in its construction Krishna Rajendra Wodeyar. The Bandipur forests are very near to Mysore and a natural bird-sanctuary is at Ranganathittu(Photo on left) about 10 kilometers from Mysore city.
 
 
 A hill called Chamundi hills atop which a temple is located for the godess Chamundi.On the way to the hill top, a statue of 'Nandi' the bull (photo to the left) is situated. This is the biggest stone statue of its kind and is carved out of a single monolithic rock ! To the right  is the statue of Mahishasura the demon (photo to the right), whom godess Chamundi killed according to the legend.This statue is located at the top of the Chamundi hills and the name for 'Mysore' comes from his name.
 
 
Durbar Hall of Palace		 The photo on the left  shows the beautiful interiors of the palace. This particular photo is of the Durbar Hall.  There are many more wonders and works of art inside the palace all depecting the grandeur of the bygone era. There are many more palaces in and around Mysore. Prominet among them are the Rajendra Vilas Palace atop Chamundi hills and the Lalitha Mahal (below) Palace which is now a five star hotel. 
 
 
Continued ...Mysore Part II
 
      e-mail me: nagendra@home.com
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