Mysore
 Mysore has a way with travellers – mostly because it’s just naturally charismatic. But it’s also easy to get around, the climate is good, and it promotes its intriguing heritage rather than pushing it aside. The city is famous for its silk, sandalwood and incense production, its traditional painting, its Ashtanga yoga gurus – and, of course, the maharaja’s palace. Until Independence, Mysore was the seat of the maharajas for the princely state of Mysore, which covered about
one-third of present-day Karnataka.
Mysore was named after the mythical Mahisuru, where the goddess Chamundi slew the demon Mahishasura. The Mysore dynasty was founded in 1399, but up until the mid-16th century its rulers, the Wodeyars, were in the service of the Vijayanagar emperor. With the fall of the empire in 1565, the Mysore rulers were among the first to declare their independence.
Apart from a brief period in the late 18th century when Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan usurped the throne, the Wodeyars continued to rule until Independence in 1947. In 1956 when the new state was formed, the former maharaja was elected governor.
Other Useful Information
Around Mysore
Somnathpur
The Keshava Temple (Indian/foreigner Rs 5/US$2; opens 9am-5.30pm) stands at the edge of the tranquil village of Somnathpur, approximately 33km east of Mysore. Built in 1268 in the heyday of the Hoysala kings, it’s an astonishingly beautiful building. It’s also complete, unlike the larger Hoysala temples at Belur and Halebid. For a rundown on Hoysala
architecture.
Srirangapatnam
On the Bangalore road 16km from Mysore stand the ruins of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan’s capital, from where they ruled much of southern India during the 18th century. In 1799 the British conquered them with the help of disgruntled local leaders. Tipu’s defeat marked the real kick-off for British territorial expansion in southern India.
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary
This sanctuary (Indian/foreigner Rs 10/60, camera/video Rs 20/100; opens 8.30am-6pm) is on one of three islands in the Cauvery River, 3km upstream from Srirangapatnam. It’s a good shady place to watch stork, ibis, egret, spoonbill and cormorant.
Brindavan Gardens
These ornamentalgardens (adult/child Rs 10/5, camera Rs 25; opens 10am-10pm), laid out below the immense waters of Krishnaraja Sagar, are a popular picnic spot, and crowds flock here each night to see the illuminated fountains – alight from 7pm to 8pm (till 9pm Sundays) to the accompaniment of film tunes.
Sights
Maharaja's Palace
The fantastic profile of this walled Indo-Saracenic palace (admission Rs 20, camera Rs 5; opens 10am-5.30pm), the seat of the maharajas of Mysore, graces the city's skyline. An earlier palace burnt down in 1897 and the present one, designed by English architect Henry Irwin, was completed in
1912.
Chamundi Hill
Overlooking Mysore from the 1062m summit of Chamundi Hill, the Sri Chamundeswari Temple (opens 7.30am-2pm, 3.30-6pm, 7.30-9pm), dominated by a towering seven-storey 40m-high gopuram (gateway tower), makes a fine half-day excursion.
Near the car park, the Godly Museum (admission free; opens 7.30am-6pm) is worth a stop for a glimpse of what awaits this 'vicious world'. The statue in the car park is of the demon Mahishasura, who was one of the goddess Chamundi's victims. The goddess was the family deity of the maharajas.
Devaraja Fruit & Vegetable Market
The Devaraja Market, stretching along the western side of Sayyaji Rao Road, south of Dhanvanthri
Road, is one of the most colourful in India and provides riveting subject material for photographers.
Jaganmohan Palace & Art Gallery
The Jaganmohan Palace, just west of Mysore Palace, houses the Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery (Jaganmohan Palace
Road; adult/child Rs 15/8; opens 8.30am-5pm), which has a collection of kitsch objects and memorabilia from the Wodeyars, including
weird and wonderful musical machines, rare instruments, Japanese art and paintings by Raja Ravi Varma. Built in 1861, the palace served as a royal auditorium.
Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya
Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (National Museum of Mankind; (Wellington House, Irwin
Road; admission free; opens 10am-5.30pm Tue-Sat), an organisation headquartered in Bhopal, strives to preserve and promote traditional Indian arts and culture.
Folklore Museum
This small museum (Manasa Gangotri, Jayalakshmipuram; admission free; opens 10am-1.30pm & 2.15-5.30pm Mon-Sat, closed alternate Sat) is in the Mysore University Campus, west of the city centre. It has some pieces with panache, including carved wooden figures from Karnatakan villages, decorative masks and ceremonial headdresses, and some spectacular thogalu bombeeata (leather shadow puppets).
Mysore Zoo
Mysore's zoo (Indiranagar; adult/child Rs 20/10, camera Rs 10; opens 8.30am-5.30pm Wed-Mon) is one of the best kept in India. It's set in parched but prettygardens
on the eastern edge of the city centre. Still, the animals live in depressing cages or - the luckier ones - in a grassy open-air enclosure. The
white tigers and Bengal tigers get to take turns stretching in an enclosure. A range of primates, elephants, bears,
birds and rhinos also live here.
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