Strains of homa greet you in Tudor edifice

SAVE OUR HERITAGE
Strains of homa greet you in Tudor edifice
The Times of India

Bangalore: The imposing turreted stone structure looks straight out of medieval England. Any minute, you think a handsome knight will come charging out on his noble steed.

But, incongruously enough, it is the strains of a Gayathri homa that reach your ears. The homa is something the scion of the erstwhile Mysore royal family, Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, insists upon once in two or three months.

It is this incongruity that captures the essence of Bangalore Palace and its blending of cultures.

The palace, which sits on a roughly 480-acre plot, is remarkably well preserved given that Chamaraja Wodeyar X oversaw its construction sometime in the 1870s. The palace opened in 1887.

Raju, one of the guides there, says the maharaja used the finest material for his palace: from imported light fittings, stained glass and mirrors from England, to a manual lift and wooden fans by General Electric Co, and floors of teakwood and rosewood furniture.

The architecture is Tudor style, complete with turreted parapets, fortified towers, arches and battlements. Elegant wood carvings and beautiful paintings by Raja Ravi Varma and others, add colour to the walls.

One of the first rooms open for the public is the ‘skating ball room.’ As is obvious from the name, Britishers and the Mysore royals had grand parties there. A massive elephant head has been mounted in the room. Beside it is the GE lift enclosed in an intricately-carved wooden compartment.

Upstairs is the ‘darbar hall’ where a 200-year-old Ravi Varma painting of a reclining woman hangs. Next is the library full of law books. And, beside it is the ‘magic mirror’ — placed there for ‘vaastu’ and security reasons — which covers a passage.

A beautifully carved rosewood balustrade guides you to the bedrooms used by the Bharatpur Maharaja and Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. Attractions here include an unusual chair-like weighing machine that was used to weigh riders.

The princesses’ rooms come next and these sections have some ornate decorations — a mounted elephant’s trunk and stuffed cushions made of deer and elephant legs!

In another section of the palace, are the rooms used by the maharanis of Bharatpur and Mysore. These are next to a ‘bisilumadi’ or parapet that the royal ladies used to stand on while drying their hair!

The private rooms of Srikanta Datta Wadiyar and his wife Pramoda Devi are out of bounds for visitors.

These contain a ‘round sitting room’ for the Maharaja, a sitting room for Pramoda Devi, their bedroom, dining room and a modern artroom. The royal couple’s silk collection is also on display and sale here.

The palace is open from 10 am to 6 pm daily. Tickets cost Rs 100 each, with photography and video costing extra. Call 23360818/23315789.

(This is the 16th in our series on Karnataka’s rich cultural heritage).

Palatial facts
Bangalore Palace is at Vasantnagar. Entry is from the Mount Carmel side. Most of the city's high-profile concerts happen in its grounds. A star attraction this year will be A.R. Rahman’s concert on October 8.