Mysore, India

The Magnificent Mysore Palace (front view)

If one picture is worth a thousand words, then this picture blog would qualify as a small book.

Mysore is a city of two million in southern India.  Two million is considered a moderate size city in India.  The Mysore Palace is the second most visited building in India after the Taj Mahal, and for good reason as these photos will show.  The 27th Maharaja of Mysore still occupies half of the palace with his family.  The Indian government occupies 20%, which it uses for official meetings and as a reception area for honored guests.  And the remaining 30% is open for public tours, from which the photos below are taken. 

I took many photos, more that I can show.  I’ve visited palaces in Europe, which have amazing artworks.  But the Mysore Palace is the most extravagant palace I’ve ever visited.  It reminds visitors of the grandeur of pre-colonial India.  The British conquered the Indians when they occupied India, exploiting its rich resources for four hundred years.  The British Museum contains relics of British colonialism.  I’m not sure what they took from Mysore, but there were enough riches left behind for us to enjoy today.

“Wedding Room” panorama photo

Palace side view
The Wedding Room
Floor tile pattern in Wedding Room
Dome ceiling of the Wedding Room
Inner Courtyard
Tigers in the courtyard
Courtyard tiger, made of brass
Room where the Maharaja would meet the public
Meeting room, side view
Another ornate ceiling
An artist’s representation of a royal event with the Maharaja
The Maharaja’s Howdah: 750 kilos (1800 pounds) of pure gold! Poor elephant had to carry that with the Maharaja at festivals.
Hindu temple and rose garden adjacent to the palace
A group of Muslim students from the local Madrassa
Teak door–Teak is the second-most expensive wood, after sandelwood.
Pure silver door
Door inlayed with ivory and jewels
Mirrored selfie with lamp

Besides visiting the Mysore Palace, I asked our guide to show us the Mysore market.  The fruit-vegetable-flower market occupies several blocks in the center of the city.  We visited the day after Valentine’s, so there were more roses and rose-arrangements than usual.  The fruits and vegetables are all grown locally.  Unfortunately, February is too early in the year for mango season.  It is, after all, “winter,” though the temperatures approach the low nineties every day.  Summer is monsoon season, during which torrential rains fall across most of India.  Thus, winter is the high tourist season.  However, we have encountered very few Americans on our tour of South India.

These guys are rightfully proud of their displays.
Different types of bananas
Mysterious exotic Indian vegetables
Valentine’s Day leftovers
These ornate displays are used to decorate weddings and festival.
Lotus blossoms: a revered Indian flower

Hi, I'm Dallas Smith

My blogs offer the vicarious pleasure for my readers to learn of my travels and musical adventures.

http://www.mazerandsmith.com
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Comments (5)

  1. Al and Harriet

    February 22, 2023 at 4:33 am

    Amazing pictures – we’d love to know more about your guide and some of “his” comments as you (no doubt) challenged him to tell you “more” than a typical “tourist”. Glad you are enjoying this trip. You are missing some cold and messy weather in Detroit and no doubt in Reno as well. We can see why you were caught up in all this! 1800 lbs. of gold to be “sat on” one or two times a year!! This is all quite a contrast to your Israeli trip. We look forward to your next blog.
    Harriet and Al in chilly Detroit

  2. Skip MacEkhannon

    February 22, 2023 at 5:06 am

    Can I say, colorful? How is eating in India? Take special care, no raw food unless you can peel it or? Can you drink the water?

  3. Jan Hyatt

    February 22, 2023 at 12:16 pm

    Wow! Thank you Dallas for allowing us to share your adventures!

  4. Christine Szymanski

    February 22, 2023 at 5:35 pm

    so lavish and ornate from the Palaces to the fruit and vegetables market.

  5. Vicki Anderson

    February 27, 2023 at 5:49 am

    Thank you for sharing your exotic adventures! What a treat!

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