No King died in this palace

This is rated as one of the finest palaces in the world and lakhs of tourists come every day to look at the resplendent royal home. The palace has become so famous that it has been giving the Taj Mahal of Agra a run for its money as the most visited monument in India.

Before Independence, the palace was not only the centre of attraction but also the chief employer of the erstwhile princely Kingdom. Though it was designed by a British architect, it is essentially an Indian creation, combining many styles.

Strangely, this is not the first palace but one of the many that stood there. The palace that stands today was rebuilt starting from 1897 after a major fire destroyed most of the structure during a wedding ceremony.

This is the majestic and awe-inspiring Palace of Mysore, also mistakenly and more popularly called as the Amba Vilas Palace, of Mysore. This is the official residence of the Wodeyars - the royal family of Mysore, which ruled the princely state of Mysore from 1399.

However, what sets this royal palace aside from others of its ilk is that it has never seen the death of a Raja on its premises for over a hundred years. All the Kings and princes who have sat on the ornate and magnificent Chinnada Simhasana or Golden Throne have never died on the palace premises after the structure was rebuilt.

The last King to die in Mysore was Mummadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar and this was sometime in 1868. Then, the palace was a wooden structure and it had been built in 1799-1800 after the British had killed Tipu Sultan in the fourth and final Anglo-Mysore battle.

The British had restored the Wodeyars to the Mysore throne and Mummadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar was crowned King in a makeshift tent in today’s Nazarbad area of Mysore. As Tipu had completely razed the erstwhile royal residence and forcibly transported the royal family of Wodeyars from Mysore to Srirangapatna where he kept them under strict watch, a new palace had to be built.

The palace, built of wood, came up exactly at the very place, where the Main palace stands today. History records that the first palace was built by the Wodeyars here sometime in the 14^th century. However, this structure did not survive for long and it was demolished and reconstructed. The palace seems to have been constructed multiple times.  

The current palace was commissioned by then regent of Mysore, Maharani Vani Vilas Sannidhna, in 1897 and it was completed in 1912 and expanded later around 1940. British architect, Henry Irwin, designed the Indo-Saracenic three-storied structure .  

Today, the palace sees more than 2.7 million visitors every year. Strangely, after Mummadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar (1794-1868) died (March 27, 1868) in the old wooden palace, no other reigning monarch has died here. He had ruled the Mysore kingdom from June 30, 1799.

After Mummadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar, his grandson, Chamarajendra Wodeyar, the tenth, was enthroned in 1868.  Born in 1863, the young king was just 31 years of age when he passed way in distant Calcutta.

Chama Raja Wadiyar X was also known as Chama Rajendra Wadiyar X ruled from 1881 and 1894. He was born at the old palace or wooden palace in Mysore on February 22, 1863, as the third son of Sardar Chikka Krishnaraj Urs of the Bettada-Kote branch of the ruling clan. His father had died a week before his borth and his mother, Rajkumari Sri Puta Ammani Avaru, was the eldest daughter of Krishna Raja Wodeyar, the third, the then Maharaja of Mysore.

Krishnaraja Wodeyar adopted as heir his grandson, Chamaraja, on June 18, 1865. This adoption was recognised by the British Government of India on April 16, 1867. Since Mysore was under the direct administration of the British from 1831, Chamaraja was handed over the Kingdom only in 1881.

Chamaraja Wodeyar died of diphtheria in  Calcutta on December 28, 1894. His last rites were performed at Calcutta itself and even today there us a small memorial where his last rites were performed.

Chamaraja was succeeded by his 10-year-old son, Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV. Since he was young, his mother, Maharani Kempa Nanjammani Vani Vilasa Sannidhana Avaru, served as regent of Mysore, for some tine.

Krishna Raja Wodeyar IV, also known as  Nalwadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar, was the Maharaja from 1902 until his death in 1940. He died in Bangalore palace.

His successor, Jaya Chamarajendra Wodeyar Bahadur,(1919 – 1974) was the 25th and the last Maharaja of Mysore and he reigned from 1940 to 1950. Jayachamarajendra too died at the Bangalore palace in 1974.

Jayachamarajendra’s son was Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar. He was only a Yuvaraja and he was the last scion of the Wodeyars. He too died at the Bangalore palace just a few days ago.

Thus, we see that apart from Vani Vilasa Sannidhana, who was the Regent of Mysore (1894-1902) and who died in the Mysore palace, none of the rulers have breathed their last on the premises.

The last reigning monarch to die at the palace was Mummadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar and this was in 1868. Since then, the rulers-Chamaraja, Nalwadi Krishna Raja, Jayachamarajendra and Srikanta Datta-have all died outside the palace.

All these rulers with the exception of Chamaraja have died at the Bangalore palace which was built in 1862. This palace was bought or purchased by Chamaraja Wodeyar  in 1873 from Rev. Garrett, the first Principal of Central High School of Bangalore.   

What would you call this. Coincidence or a mere play of history. Whatever it is, this is as mysterious as the royal curse. Incidentally, both the palaces-the Mysore and Bangalore palaces, are under litigation and both act as the residence of the Wodeyars. A section of both the palaces have been turned into private museums by Srikantadatta Wodeyar. He lived, just like his father and grandfather, in both the palaces. 

The Vajra Musti Kalaga

There have been several queries on Vajra Musti Kalaga. Several people have either written or called to find out how the sport is played and whether they can learn it.

Well, here are some details and we hope it will be of some help.

The Vajra Musti Kalaga is a sport played in Mysore only during Dassara and that too only within the confines of the Mysore Palace.

The name of the sport has its origin in Sanskrit. The Vajra Musti refers to a knuckleduster-like weapon. It also means the weapon which is employed in this unique forms of wrestling. The weapon is called by many names such as ayudha, bhukhandi or Indra-mukti which means Indira’s fist.

The Vajramusti is usually made of ivory or buffalo horn. Its appearance is that of a knuckleduster, slightly pointed at the sides and with small spikes at the knuckles. The variation used for warfare had long blades protruding from each end, and an elaborate bladed knuckle.

The Vajramusti is a fierce mode of  wrestling where the combatants wear the Ayudha or Vajramusti on their right hand. This weapon has several small holes along its length, so it can be tied onto the hand with a thread. This is to ensure that it cannot be  dislodged during the fight.

A weapon similar to the Vajramushti was also used by ancient Greek and Roman boxers and Pancrationists. They called it the Cestus and this was a ring, usually made of bronze, worn around the knuckles.

The first mention of vajra musti is in Manasollasa, a reference work, of the Chalukya Emperor Someswara III (1124–1138). However, history tells us that Vajra Musti was practiced even during the times of Mauryas.

The first English account of Vajra Musti is given by James Scurry (1766–1822), a British soldier and memoirist. He was captured by Hyder Ali and imprisoned in Srirangapatna for ten years from 1780.

After his release in 1790, he reached an English camp. He then prepared a narrative of his captivity in 1794, but it was published in 1824, after his death.

This work is called “The captivity, sufferings, and escape of James Scurry”. In one of the chapters, he describes the Vajra Musti thus: “The Jetti’s would be sent for, who always approached with their masters at their head, and, after prostration, and making their grand salams, touching the ground each time, they would be paired, one school against another. They had on their right hands the wood-guamootie -vajra-musti- of four steel talons, which were fixed to each back joint of their fingers, and had a terrific appearance when their fists were closed. Their heads were close shaved, their bodies oiled, and they wore only a pair of short drawers. On being matched, and the signal given from Tippu, they begin the combat, always by throwing the flowers, which they wear round their necks, in each other’s faces; watching an opportunity for striking with the right hand, on which they wore this mischievous weapon which never failed lacerating the flesh, and drawing blood most copiously. Some pairs would close instantly, and no matter which was under, for the gripe was the whole; they were in general taught to suit their holds to their opponent’s body, with every part of which, as far as concerned them, they were well acquainted. If one got a hold against which his antagonist could not guard, he would be the conqueror; they would frequently break each other’s legs and arms”.

After Tipu died in 1799, the Wodeyar Kings of Mysore continued patronising it. Over decades, it slowly lost out to other sports and was restricted to the royalty. It then became an integral part of the Dasara and came to be reduced as a ritual.

The Kalaga now precedes the Jumbo Savari on Vijaya Dashami and it is personally inaugurated by the Maharajas of Mysore. After the last Maharaja, Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, died, it was his son, Srikantadatta Narasimnharaja Wodeyar who inaugurated this ancient sport in the palace courtyard.    

The sport commences on Vijaya Dashami and it takes place at the Savari Thotti, the courtyard in the Mysore palace. The Jumboo Savari procession commences immediately after this ritual.

This year, that is 2013, the Vajra Musti Kalaga began with Yuvaraja, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar, performing pooje between 9.15 a.m., and 9.25 a.m., in the auspicious Vrischika lagna.

The palace priests, Narasimha Sharma and Manjunath Sharma, chanted the slokas after which the Kalaga or fight between Jetties commenced at 9.50 am.

This year, for jetties participated in the contest. Narayana Jetty from Bangalore, Vijaykumar Jetty from Mysore, Anil Jetty from Channapatna and Shamanth Kumar Jetty from Chamarajanagar.

The contest is stooped even as the first blood spills. Narayana Jetty

drew the first blood by pinning down Mysore’s Vijay Kumar Jetty.  Srikantadatta Wodeyar then pierced a pumpkin with a dagger,

signaling the commencement of Vijaya Yatre or victory parade.

Senior jetties Srinivas Jetty and Tiger Balaji were the referees of the the bout.

By the way, R Vijaykumar Jetti is an autorickshaw driver from Mysore. You can ask his address at the Mysore Palace office or any autorickshaw driver hailing from Mysore.

Last year, Manjunath Jetty, a KSRTC driver, had represented Mysore and had won the bout. The KSRTC officials will have details about him, if not the conductors and drivers. 

Even today, members of the Jetty or Jetti community are found in large numbers in Mysore, Chamarajanagara, Channapatna and Bangalore. They originally hailed from Delmal in Gujarat but migrated to Vijayanagar first and Mysore next when they saw that the Mysore Kingdoms –of Hyder, Tipu and Wodeyars-patronised wrestling.

History tells us that the first migration of the Jettys from Gujarat was in the 11th century when the Hoysalas ruled Mysore.

If you want more details abpout jettys and their art, you can contact M.R. Madhava, son of M.R. Sudarshan of the Jetty family, who lives in Mysore.

The family of  Madhava is synonymous with the vajra mushti kalaga. They trace their fighting skills to the times of Tipu Sultan. When Kari Jatappa, great great grandfather of Madhava, was a Raja Vastadi or royal courtier. Another well-known Vajra musti exponent in this family is Rama Jattappa who was patronised by  Mummudi Krishnaraja Wodeyar.

Rama Jatappa was considered to be invincible and people treated him with a lot of respect. They would say “Aakashakke eeni ella, Rama Jatappange kustili sati ella” (Just as there is no ladder to the sky, there is no equal to Rama Jatappa). Another wrestler in the family was M.R. Jatappa who supplied agarbattis to the palace durbar. It was famous all over India. His son was M.R.  Sudarshan, who was conferred the title Mr. Body Builder Mysore and with Mr. Olympics in Madras.

Tiger Balaji, the referee is one of the five sons of  M R. Sudarsha. The other brothers of Tiger Balaji are Ramji, Basavanna, Arvind and Madhav. All five were experts in wrestling and M.R. Madhava specialised in Varja Musti.

Now coming to the contact details, in case anyone is interested in getting more details about the sport or the participants, please check with the Mysore Palace Board. This board is in charge of the Mysore Palace and is involved in its day to day running. If you fail to get information here, you can contact the office of  the late Srikantadatta Wodeyar and we are sure they will be happy to help you out.  

There are many akhadas or wrestling houses in Bangalore and Mysore and they will be able to give you more details. If you still fail to gather information, check out with the Karnataka Wrestling Federation. They should be having some information. If all this fails, head straight to Mysore, talk to the auto drivers and ask them to take you to the house of  Madhava or any other Jetty.

Walking on a white path

Close to two and half million tourists visited  the main palace in Mysore and all of hem had to remove their footware if they wanted to enter the palace.

The main palace is the most visited building in the world after Madam Tussads in London. But unlike Madam Tussads, all visitors here have to compulsorily remove their footware if they want to have a glimpse of the interiors of  what tourists say is the world’s best palace.    

However, the walk from the ticket counter to the palace interiors and from there to the Maharaja’s private museum will be a rather “hot” one during summer. The sand and concrete pathway to the palace gets so hot during March, April, May and June that tourists, particularly foreigners, find it difficult to tread across the hot sands.

The summer experience of  bare foot walking was all the more painful this year when Mysore experienced a torrid climate and temperatures soared, making people fret and fume.

Many visitors and others, particularly foreigners and they number more than 10,000, complained to the Mysore Palace Board about the boiling sand they would have to walk on to reach the palace. Women, elderly and children found it difficult to walk barefoot. Seeing their discomfiture, the board decided to take a leaf from the Dharmastala temple management which had paved the footpaths leading to the Manjanutha temple with heat resistant slabs.

These newly designed walkways gave pilgrims at Dharmastala a little relief from the sweltering summer. The Mysore Palace Board decided to go in for such a walkway so as to make walking a  walking a pleasure for tourists, even as they enjoyed the sight of the palace.

It, therefore, built a 150-feet heat-resistant walkway on a trial basis, which it plans to extend to other areas in a phased manner. The walkway is about two feet wide and it has been painted white. The white paint will absorb the heat and thus ensure that the soles do not get scorched by the heat of the sand.   

The white paint does not allow the heat to settle and disperses it. The paint diffuses the ultra violet rays and, therefore, the temperature remains much less than the temperature on the concrete.

The Board has spent Rs. 42 per square feet to develop the 150-feet walkway. It now plans to extend the white pathway to other paths that tourists take within the palace compound.

In vase you visit the palace, walk on the white path and ten on the concrete so that you can literally fell the difference.

How we wish that the Government takes notice and ensures that similar heat resistant walkways are introduced at major tourist attractions and in places where the Sun seems to shine the brightest such as Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal, Banashankari, Mahakuta, Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur, Hampi, Bijapur, Lakkundi, Lakshmeshwar and many other town and villages. As it is these places record high temperatures during summer and walking on the road or even footpath barefoot is a nightmare, more so if it is a place of  religion.  

The men who built the palace

It is one of the most visited monuments in India and it rivals the Taj Mahal of Agra in recording the number of footfalls. It was built during the last years of the nineteenth century and it took fourteen years to complete.

Though it overshot the budget, the entire cost of the construction of this magnificent structure was a little more than Rs. 41 lakhs. It overshot the budget by a few lakhs but today, the structure inspires awe and disbelief.

One of the world’s largest palaces, it was built in Indo-Saracenic style and combines the best of Hindu, Islamic, British, Rajasthan styles. If the cupolas remind you of the palaces of Rajasthan, the tall tower on which is crowned by a bulbous structure gives it a distinct Gothic or Church style.

Some of the towers give us a feel of the Chattaris of Rajasthan as does the protruding balconies in the south and north side of the palace. 

The tall and massive columns remind one of  Greek structures and the paintings are typical Mysorean in style and substance. The woodwork adds to the design and enhances the beauty of the palace.       

The Gajalakshmi atop the five-storied main arch is typical Hindu.  The square shaped towers on either side of the palace gives the palace a distinct English or Gothic feel, which is typical of many European castles. The seven arched façade resembles a Hindu structure and the huge arches lend a distinct local touch and it is this that resembles the older wooden palace, that burnt down, closely.

The tinted glasses inside and the huge chandeliars brings to our memory some of the best Venetian and French structures. The carved wooden doors remind us of huge temple doors and the curving staircases blend seamlessly with the interiors.

Each part of the palace has its own story to tell and though the palace is of  rather recent origin, it has a tale of its own. This is the Main palace of Mysore, which is often erroneously known as Amba Vilas Palace.

This palace was built on the foundations of the old wooden palace which burnt down during a wedding ceremony of  Princess Jayalakshmamma in 1897. A new palace-the fourth to come up-was commissioned just a few months after the fire mishap and it was completed by 1912.

Coming back to Amba Vilas, it is one of the many sections of the palace that are open to the public. It was generally used by the Wodeyar Kings for private audience and it is often called as one of the most spectacular rooms.

Though the palace was designed by Sir Henry Irwin, who also designed the Viceregal lodge in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, it was  

B.P. Raghavalu Naidu, Executive Engineer, Palace Division, Mysore State, who was placed in charge of construction.

Irwin had just then retired as Consulting Architect of the Government of Madras and he received the contract as his plans were approved.

Mr. Naidu first studied the designs supplied to him and then he toured Calcutta, Delhi and Agra and incorporated the designs of many buildings located in those cities. .

Incidentally, he is also credited with designing and constructing the new bazaar building and Jaganmohan Palace. He ensured that the  work commenced in October 1897 and the palace was completed in 1912 at a cost of Rs. 41,47, 913.

Maharani Vani Vilas, the Regent, commissioned the new palace and she was undeterred when the old structure burnt down.  

He was asked by the Wodeyar family and Sir Irwin to use locally available construction material to the extent it was feasible. This was also the first palace in India that adopting fire safety norms. It also was the first building of such a size to get lifts. Check out the Durbar Lift.

The palace literally rose from the ashes not once but twice. Tipu is believed to have let the old palace decay after he forcibly shifted the Wodeyar family from Mysore to Srirangapatna. When he died on May 4, 1799 and the British handed back the Kingdom to the Wodeyars, there was no big building in Mysore. The new king- Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar- had to, therefore, be enthroned from a temporary structure constructed in Nazarbad.  

The British too noted the lack of a palace for the new king and the then Duke of Wellington noted that “there was no stately structure or house at all in the city suitable for the enthronement of the young raja”, and therefore the coronation took  place in a shamiana in Nazarbad.

The next reference by the British to the Mysore Palace is by Col. Wellesley who says that the “Raja's family has moved into old Mysore where their ancient palace has been rebuilt in the same form in which it was earlier.”

The only photograph of this wooden palace is by John Birdwood, s a lancer in the Mysore Army, who later went on to become the Commander in chief of the British India Army. He presented this  photograph to the royal family in 1929 when he visited Mysore.

Coming back to the palace, Sir Irwin  built it around an open courtyard with a majestic gate on the east. The actual construction was executed by Mysore engineers and the entire building was supervised by Mysore masons.

Very few know that credit must go to Narayanaswamy, who was working as the civil engineer at the Mysore Palace then, for designing the marvellous durbar hall and also the imposing Jayamarthanda Gate.

Though a large number of masons and other workmen were brought in from across India, native workmen too showed their expertise. They used mostly stone and iron materials and this was done to prevent another fire tragedy.
Most of the stones used during the construction were mainly from quarries in the then Mysore state. The quarries at Turuvekere furnished a unique kind of trap which allowed for the intricate and elaborate carvings.

Initially, masons from Trichy, Madras and other districts from South India were at first able to work only with pointed chisels. They found it difficult to work with masons from Kolhapur, Jaipur and other places in Northern India who preferred to work with sharp-edged tools.

When masons from Agra and other places went back after a quarrel, Mysore masons decided to go ahead with the work and today we can see that they really performed an admirable job that has stood the test of time.

One of the best descriptions of the work going on during the construction of the palace is by a Scottish traveler, William G Burn, in 1905.

Another notable feature of the palace is the 96,000 bulbs that light up the structure in the evenings. The lit up palace is nothing short of a dream. Check it out. 

All for a howdah

A few days ago, the Karnataka High Court did not interfere with the issue of one of the elephants during Dasara carrying the Ambari or Golden Howdah.

The Ambari Anne or elephant carries the howdah with the idol of Godddess Chamundi on Vijayadashami, the last day of the Dasara. This is called the Jumbo Saavari.

The golden howdah weighs upwards of 750 kilograms and it is taken out only during the Dasara.

During the rest of the year, the howdah is placed in the Mysore Palace and unlike the Golden Throne, it can be viewed by visitors. The website of the Palace Board says that the core of the Howdah is a wooden structure in the form of a mantapa which is covered with 80 kilograms of  Gold Sheets.

These gold sheets have been intricately designed  and they comprise of scrolls, foliage and flowers. The thread is made from the thinnest gold or silver wire.
A few decades earlier, the last Maharaja of Mysore, Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar used to sit in this howdah and participate in the Dasara procession. After his death, the Government decided to place an idol of Chamundi or Chamundeshwari in the howdah.

When the Maharaja sat in the howdah, it had two lights-red and green. These lights were battery operated and the Maharaja used them to control the pace of the Vijayadashami procession.

Thus, this tradition continues to this day but Nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts had objected to the heavy howdah being used. They had suggested to the Government to use a lighter replica, which could be made of wood.

They felt that carrying the 750 kg howdah with the added weight of another 150 kgs would be a burden on the elephant. This, they said, amounted to cruelty. They had first represented to the Government to use a lighter howdah.

The State Cabinet, headed by the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah discussed the issue and rejected the suggestion. It also rejected the suggestion of the Elephant Task Force, which too had recommended reducing the weight of the howdah.

The Cabinet also did not accept the Task Force’s proposal to put in place a Karnataka Elephant Expert Group within the State Wildlife Board mandated with planning, advising and assisting in elephant conservation management in the State

The nature lovers then moved the High Court. Their point was that the elephant always did not carry the howdah. Several decades ago, the elephants pulled a cart on which the howdah was placed.

The Law Minister, T B Jayachandra, has gone on record saying that carrying the golden howdah during Mysore Dasara procession has sentimental value to the people. Besides the elephant carrying the howdah is well trained and its diet is strictly monitored.

There is no doubt that the  Jamboo Savari on Sunday will be the prime attraction of the Dasara. It marks the grand finale of the 10-day Dasara festivities.

The elephant carrying the golden howdah will be accompanied by eleven other caparisoned elephants.

Historians and art lovers are not sure about the exact origin of the howdah and its antiquity. However, we know that the last Maharaja to sit in the golden howdah was Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar in 1969.

When the Dasara festivities were revived by the State Government after the death of the Maharaja, it decided to place the idol of Chamundi in the golden howdah on the caparisoned elephant.

Incidentally, the earliest representation of the Dasara is depicted in a mural is at the Jaganmohan Palace where the Maharaja is seated in a wooden chariot drawn by pairs of elephants. This mural has a caption saying Vijayadashamiya Jamboo Savari and it shows the procession during the tenure of Krishnaraja Wodeyar III. Therefore, it is believed that it was this Maharaja who later in his reign used elephants for the Jamboo Savari.

Summers don't matter in this palace

This summer Mysore experienced a severe water shortage and this could have multiplied had not Hemavathy water be let into the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam to meet the drinking water needs of the growing populace.

This summer also saw a large number of tourists making a beeline to Mysore and its famed surroundings. Almost every tourist who came to Mysore never went back without seeing the main palace or the Mysore palace, Chamundi Hills and the  Zoological gardens.

The scorching summer left scores of tourists parched for water and the sight of the animals in the zoo was pitiable. But strangely, there was no water shortage in the palace premises, which even today remains the second highest visited monument in India after the Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.

If the main palace attracted 30 lakhs tourists and visitors in 2012, nearly 35 lakhs had visited the magnificent three-storied Indo-Sarcenic structure whose foundation was laid in 1897 and completed in 1912. The palace, designed by Sir Henry Irwin, cost a little more than R. 41 lakhs.

The palace, Palace Board members say, did not suffer much from the severe water crunch that affected almost all localities of Mysore. This is because of the huge tanks that were built by the Wodeyar Kings when they built the palace.

The terrace of the palace has no less than a dozen water tanks with a combined capacity of 1.20 lakhs litres of water. These tanks not only provide water to the members of the royal family still living in a portion of the palace but also to the offices of the Palace board and lakhs of visitors.

These water storage tanks are on the third floor of the palace and are under the domes of the structure. Each tank has been so designed that it can store 10,000 litres of water. Of the 12 tanks, six provide water to the Palace and the rest provide water to the offices of Mysore Palace Board.

The tanks have been so constructed that they keep the palace cool even in sweltering summers. Till recently, Cauvery water was pumped directly into these tanks but this has now been stooped and the eight borewells within the palace compound have taken over this job.

Each borewell is fitted with a 5 HP motor and they pump 30,000 litres of water to these overhead tanks. By the way, the fire extinguishers in the palace care connected directly to these tanks and in case of a fire, they can be used to douse the flames.

The palace is one of the few in India to have rainwater harvesting. The Palace Board has joined hands with the National Institute of Engineering to harvest 23 lakh liters of rain water. Two huge tanks, one with a capacity of 14.58 lakh litres and another with a capacity of 8.58 lakh litres, have been constructed in the palace compound to store rain water and when they are full, they can meet the water needs for an entire year.

The palace had harvested 60 lakh litres of rain water last year and it has set a goal of harvesting  one crore litres through surface water rain water harvesting during the current monsoon.

Rain water harvesting is taken up by he board in five stages. In the first stage, 80,000 litres of water is stored and in the second stage 2.2 lakh litres of water is stored. In the third phase it is 3.2 lakh litres of water, four lakh litres of water is stored and the last stage would see 10 lakh litres stored. This process will be repeated ten times an year to achieve the target of  one crore litres.

The Rayankere farm

This area once formed part of the private estate of the Royal family of Wodeyars. It was once part of the daily establishment of the royal family and it remained so till the 1960s after which it was closed.

Today, the land still stands and it is so near Mysore that people pass by it every day. Yet, many Mysoreans seem to have forgotten about its existence and as far as tourists go, I can safely claim that not a single one of them goes there.

This is the Palace dairy farm in Rayanakere which once was situated five miles away from Mysore in Rayanakere Kaval. The locality is on Manontody road, now called Manandavadi and it is on the road to HD Kote.

This is one of the pioneering institutions that the Wodeyars set up and it had a salutary effect in inspiring and encouraging dairying in  Karnataka.

It supplied for at least six decades the palaces and their inmates, including the Maharaja, with milk, cream and butter. The farm, when it was set up in 1919, was one of the most modern and sophisticated not only in India but also in Asia.  

The methods adopted in the farm and the equipments and appliances were all up to date. The farm was also the place where some experiments in dairying were carried out such as in cross-breeding, feeding, preparation of ensilage, anti-serum production and treatment.

The farm was also home to the famous Amrit Mahal cattle, which is described as one of the most hardy animals to have in war.

The Amrit Mahal is a special breed which even today commands a premium in the cattle market. This cattle has been famous for centuries and the Wodeyars had set up an exclusive department for their breeding and care.

Their value has been amply demonstrated again and again by Haidar Ali, Tipu Sultan and the Duke of Wellington, as draught cattle for artillery.

It was Hyder who improved the breed. He introduced a Trichy breed, which, crossed with the Mysore cattle, produced the famous and unrivalled Hallikar breed. It was this cattle which helped the Duke of Wellington to cross rapidly into Mysore territory and engage Tipu.  In fact, the Duke was so enamoured of the breed that when he took on Napolean in the Peninsular War in Europe, he often regretted that he did not have the assistance of the Amrit Mahal cattle.

He found the cattle to be highly active, fiery and quick. They could walk faster than the troops he had with him. The average height is 54 inches, the cows are white, the bulls generally have an admixture of blue over the fore and hind quarters.

The Wodeyars divided the Amrit Mahal into herds and permitted their upkeep in their wild state, without any shelter. It required several months to break the bullocks in and their employment was extremely difficult and dangerous.

Apart from the Amrit Mahal, other breeds at the farm here were  Sind-bred cows, Delhi cows, Ajmer cows, Baroda cows, Mande cows, English half-bred cows, Angola cows, Gokai cows, Hallikar cows, Ayrshire, Holsteins and Jersies.
As mentioned earlier, milk was supplied to the palace and hospitals in Mysore regularly from this farm which encompassed 750 acres. The farm was attached to the dairy where fodder for the cattle was raised and stored for use. The fodder normally consisted of sunflower, cowpea, jola, horsegram, guinea grass, seed grass, kiki-yu grass, lucerne, elephant grass and phalaris kommertat. If there was any surplus fodder, they were supplied to the palace stables and Gajashala (elephant stables).
The Wodeyars endowed the farm with modern machineries such as tractors and ploughs, electric motors, chaff cutters, a self-lift cultivator, “simplex” bullock levellers and others.

Animals infected with diseases were segregated at Konan Kottige near Hinkal. Sometimes, milching cows were even sent to Ooty and to other camps to supply milk to the royal party.
Until 1919, when steps were taken to establish the Rayanakere Palace Dairy Farm, these cattle were kept near the present fort. They were under the care and supervision of the Government livestock expert in the beginning and later the assistant secretary with a government veterinarian in immediate charge.
According to the Palace Administration Reports, employees in the farm were categorised into three divisions: menial staff comprising 13 permanent workers, 37 temporary workers and 45 extra temporary hands; ministerial staff comprising four clerks; and the executive staff comprising an overseer.
The farm once housed cattle stalls, dairy building, silo towers, residential quarters and structures that denoted a busy dairying centre. To its rear, the farm had rolling fields and pastures.

Near the roadside was a temple of Krishna with the paddocks for calves surrounding it. On entering the gate near the temple, a visitor would see dairy building in which the milk yield of each cow was recorded. The milk thus collected was dispatched by a motor van to Mysore in sealed cans for the use of palace and palace departments.
To the rear of the dairy building were four cattle stalls with attached calf-pens and two drinking troughs for the cattle in the farm house.
In order to ensure that clean and pure milk was produced, the stalls were open all around for good ventilation and had granite stone flooring and cemented mangers.
Since milking was done by hands, milkmen were provided with clean, white garments and care was taken to disinfect milkmen’s hands and the cows’ udder and teats with potassium permanganate solution.
The farm had electricity and electric machines chaffed fodder and ground feeding stuff for the cattle, while electric pumps supplied  water to an elevated reservoir.

The Dairy was closed in 1960 but the records do not give the exact  reason.

The cannons that are fired only once

Much has been written about the Dasara and other events of Mysore City but few know the significance of many artifacts and historic items that go to form an integral part of the Nada Habba. We see many of them almost every day but take them for granted and end up forgetting that they too part of our rich heritage.    

One such is the cannons that are fired during the Dasara processions. There are eleven such cannons in the Mysore palace or the main palace and all of them are put to use during the Dasara. Each of the these cannons are polished and in top-notch condition.

It is only once an year and that too during Dasara, that gunpowder shots would reverberate for 90 seconds.

Seven cannons were procured for the palace armoury in 1856 and four in 1857 and 1858 by Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar. They have never been used in any war but they were used to herald special occasions.

The cannons are in such good condition that they can be fired twice in just 90 seconds. For the lakhs of tourists visiting the main palace, the cannons evoke admiration and almost all tourists end up giving the cannons a pat.

Since then, it has been a tradition pf the Wodeyars to use the cannons during auspicious occasions. Twenty-one shots are fired continuously from cannons during Dasara celebrations.

The cannons also gave a guard of honour to the many visiting Governor General and Viceroys who came to Mysore. Personnel attached to His Highness Maharaja Own Infantry (HHMOI)  performed this task earlier. They also fired shots to inform people about the events happening in  the Palace premises.

The Mysore Administration and Palace reports say that only thirteen kushal thopu (cannonades) were fired during auspicious occasions and royal family functions like weddings. However, 21 cannon shots were fired while welcoming Governor Generals to the Palace.

The cannons fired thirteen shots during the inaugural of Vijayadashami, as number 13 is considered to be a good sign. It  was only after Independence  that the number of cannon shots were increased to 21.

The tradition of firing cannon shots continued even after the abolition of Privy Purse. Today, it is being carried out by Gunshot Artillery troupe attached to City Armed Reserved (CAR) police.

A group of 25 personnel, led by an ASI, work in tandem to ensure proper firing of cannons within a stipulated time. The team executes firing of 21 cannon shots during National Anthem and simultaneously gives national salute to chief guest at Jumboo Savari.

Even today, there is high risk involved in the firing of the cannons. One of the team members, Parashuram, a constable, suffered burns after fire caught the gunpowder that he was carrying. He was treated for six months for severe burns. But for this, no other untoward incident has happened.

When the cannons fire, the sound increases to many decibels and if any person is too close, it may damage his eardrum.

There are seven cannons - four long barrels and three short barrels - being used to fire cannon shots at Mysore Palace, where Dasara procession commences, and at Banni Mantap Parade grounds, the venue of torchlight procession. Six men are required to fire one cannon shot.  

There are about ten cannons in the front inner courtyard of the main palace but only three of them are used and three-men teams are deputed to operate the cannons.
In the early 50s, all ten cannons would be hauled over to the vicinity of Doddakere maidan and all ten would boom simultaneously.
The teams operate to specific commands of the artillery officer. The officer, who stands at the head of the barrel, first cleans the barrel with the brush-end of the wooden shaft and then uses the hard-end to ram the cannonball in. The moment he does so, the second person who stands in readiness near the breech-end of the cannon pours in a pre-measured amount of gun powder. This has to be very precise and exact. Too much could cause a massive blow-back with the cannon being propelled backwards with force. Too little means that it is a dud. The third man who holds the lighted torch has to run swiftly, light the gunpowder and then sprint away.
After the first shot, the cannon has to be once again put back in position. On the D day, each cannon is fired seven times in succession. That is how the 21-gun salute is made of.
The cannons have the Royal Gandabherunda etched or inscribed insignia on them. Details about who cast these cannons is not known.

Today, these relics still continue to show us that old is gold and that all that is needed for such masterpieces of artillery engineering are regular maintenance and a little upkeep

The story of the elastic sword

The Palace of Mysore, also known as the Amba Vilas, is the second most visited monument in India after the Taj Mahal of Agra.

The Wodeyar kings first built a palace in Mysore in the 14th century but it was demolished and reconstructed several times. The construction of the current palace was commissioned in 1897 and it was completed in 1912 and again expanded around 1940.

Mysore palace has seen more than 2.7 million visitors. The magnificence of the palace awes one and all but there are several rooms which are locked and they are out of bounds for tourists and visitors alike.

One such locked entity within the palace premises is the royal armoury or the Ayudha Sala which is sealed and kept out of bounds.

No tourist visiting the Palace has seen the Ayudha Sala and though an effort was made in 2004 to throw it open to the public, it never came through mainly for security reasons.

The armoury is a virtual treasure trove of weapons and they date back from the 14^th century to the present days. There are close to 1,000 weapons, though the website of the palace says there are 725 offensive and defensive weapons.

Most of the weapons are a century or more old and the first inventory of this priceless collection was made during the reign of  Krishnaraja Wadiyar III.

It was this King who took personal interest in the armoury and he  provided each of the weapon with metallic labels containing a serial number.

One of the most priceless collection is the armoury is an elastic sword which is numbered as 198. This sword can be worn as a belt and it belonged to Kanthirava Narasaraja Wodeyar who lived between 1638-1659. This is one of the oldest weapons in the armoury.

British accounts state that this probably is the sacred sword which Ranadheera Kanteerava called Vijaya Narasimha. This sword is supposed to have saved the life of the King several times.

One story about the sword still stands out today. The annals of history say that the King of Trichinopoly (today it is called Trichy) was smarting from the defeat of his champion wrestlers by Ranadheera Kanteerava.

Ranadheera had entered Trichy incognito and defeated the champion wrestler. The King, who was also jealous of the growing power of Mysore decided to extract revenge.  

The time for the revenge came when Mysore was celebrating the ascension of Ranadheera to the throne. The Trichy King sent twenty five of his best warriors, who were also expert swordsmen,  to Mysore.

The Tamil warriors managed to enter the palace of the King, which then was in Srirangapatna. One night, they secreted themselves in the rooms leading to Ranadheera’s private quarters. The Mysore King, saw the movement of shadows on the walls and immediately sensed danger. Even as he pulled out his elastic sword, the Tamil warriors attacked.

Ranadheera swiveled about and used the sword to good effect. By the time his personal body guards came, he had already killed several of  the warriors. The rest were easily overcome and when they revealed the plot, they were sent back to Trichy. 

When news of the deed spread, the whole Kingdom celebrated and the Wodeyar family and Ranadheera ordained that the sword should be worshipped regularly.

Ranadheera then liberally endowed a daily allowance to perform pooja to the sword.

Another weapon is a knife bearing the inscription “chura de 2” and this belonged to Chikkadevaraja Wadiyar who ruled between 1672 and 1704.

A sword called nimcha and bearing the number 36 was the personal property of Hyder Ali and another heavy sword named Sanva was used by Tipu Sultan. There is a beautiful knife with an inscription labelled Pesh-Kabza and it was used by Krishnaraja Wadiyar III.

Another exhibit is the herige katti, which is a knife that was used by midwives for delivering infants. Some of the other weapons are tabbar, jambya, gaddara, khandava, abbasi, saipu, madu, and alemane.

The round flat discs in the armoury were deadly weapons, They were thrown in the hope of slicing off an enemy's head. Other objects in the armoury are  brass spears to be attached to the tusks of war elephants; and several fearsome daggershears, looking like enormous five-bladed scissors, some blades having saw-like edges. Some of these instruments were dipped in poison before they were used to cut at the enemy.

Very few survived the wounds from these five blades as they ripped open the flesh. The armoury also had six or seven small state guns, probably presented to Krishna Raja Wadiyar III at his enthronement and one of them apparently captured by Col. Wellesley, in 1803, at Bijapur.

The gun presented by Wellesley has an inscription saying Moolke Maidan of Beejapore (Bijapur). Many guns are inscribed with the names of princes and officials ho used or owned them.

The armoury also has two chauris with an inscription stating that they were presents to Krishnaraja Wadiyar III by Lord Dalhousie.

The armoury is believed to have been founded by Chamaraja Wodeyar IV, who is more popularly known as Bola Chamaraja or the Bald Wodeyar, sometime in 1575.

There are several vajra-musti, or tiger claws.

The use of these claws and the Vajra Musti is described in detail by Col. Wilks when he saw a mock fight during a Dassara celebration.

Some of the claws are made of buffalo horn, and, even so, are capable of splitting open an adversary's skull. However, in real fights, iron claws were widely used and one of the most celebrated stories of such claws is of Shivaji and the Bijapur General Afzal Khan.

There are several accounts of Britishers, including Col. Mark Wilks (1758-1831) who saw the tiger claws and other objects hung on a pillar in the armoury (Mark Wilks was the uncle of Mark Cubbon who was the Commissioner of Mysore and after whom the Cubbon Park in Bangalore is named).

Col. Mark Wilks wrote one of the first histories of medieval South India called “Historical Sketches of the South of India”, in which he has examined the rise of the Wodeyars. He has described Mysore, the King and the armoury. The book is the first account by an European about the rise of the Mysore Wodeyars following the fall of  Vijayanagar in 1565.

The royal throne is preserved here in a locked room and it is displayed only during Dassara.

Today, some of the weapons used by the royal family are exhibited in the private collection of Wodeyars.

One of the best books on the subject is “Arms and Armoury of the Mysore Palace” by HT Talwar and the Mysore Gazette apart from records with the ASI and the Wodeyar family.

Next to the armoury is the trophy room, which is a taxidermist's delight. There is the massive trophy of an African two-horned rhinoceros, which one of the Mysore kings reportedly shot on a hunting expedition to Africa.

There are also 14 tigers, all shot within the territory of the Maharajah – in his private hunting grounds and estates, which are now well known today as Bandipur and Nagarhole. There are more than 50 stuffed animals on display.