I used to force my father to accompany me to the famous Dasara procession which is held in Mysore every year. After years of requests , this year I was granted :) So we took off to see the famous
AMBARI .
The Team :
1. Mr. Gowrishankar ( my father )
2. Mr. Suresh (my uncle)
3. Myself
Our first visit was to Nanjangud :
Origin of the name
The main temple at Nanjangud is dedicated to the
Hindu God
Shiva, also called
Sri Nanjundeshwara, "The God who drank poison" . In Hindu mythology, the Gods and demons churned the ocean in search of the ambrosia. During this churning, poison emanated first, followed by ambrosia. To prevent the poison from spreading across the universe and to destroy it,
Shiva came to the rescue and drank it up. His wife
Parvati then held his throat tightly to prevent the poison from spreading to the rest of his body and killing him. Narada held his mouth so that he did not vomit it out. The poison remained in his throat, making it blue in colour. For this reason, Shiva is also called Neelakantha, or "the blue-thorated one". Nanjanagud literally means "the place where Nanjundeshwara resides.
History
Nanjangud has been a major
Shaiva centre for nearly a thousand years. It is the biggest temple in Karnataka. The original Nanjundeshwaraa temple is said to be of
Ganga period (325 - 1000 CE). This temple has then been renovated by the
Hoysala kings. Both
Hyder Ali and
Tipu Sultan had close associations with this temple. The
Wodeyar kings of
Mysore made various grants to renovate the temple.
Getting There
By Road
From the state capital
Bangalore, one can take the State Highway 17 which goes to
Mysore and then onwards to Nanjangud. The total distance from
Bangalore to Nanjangud is around 163 km. Another route is about 30 km from
Mysore, which takes 30 minutes by road.
[edit] By Rail
Nanjangud has a railway station with
broad gauge line (the standard gauge followed by Indian Railways) which runs from
Mysore to Nanjangud.
Mysore being an important location is well connected by rail to major cities in
India and hence passengers can stop over at
Mysore and take another train to reach Nanjangud. There is also a proposal to connect the railway line at
Chamarajanagar to the railway line at
Mettupalayam in
Tamil Nadu which will provide connectivity between Nanjangud and other cities in south
India.
The gauge conversion of the railway track from
Mysore to
Chamarajanagar has been completed.
By air
The nearest airport is the one at
Bangalore. Alternatively one can use the airports at
Coimbatore or
Calicut for reaching Nanjangud. However, the airport at
Mysore is being upgraded which can then be used to reach Nanjangud.
Economy
Nanjangud is a home to many industries which are mainly located in the Nanjangud Industrial Area which is spread across 532 acres (2.15 km
2). It all started with the now closed Sujatha Textile Mills (STM) which at its peak used to employ about 3000 people. Since then, STM has closed down. However, there are other industries which thrived. There are 36 major industries, 12 medium industries and 35 small-scale units at Nanjangud. According to NIA, Nanjangud is the second highest tax-paying (sales tax of over Rs400 crore a year) taluk in the State after Bangalore. Some of the major businesses located in Nanjangud are:
Nestle India Ltd
AT&S India Pvt Ltd.
TVS Motor Company
Bannari Amman Sugars Ltd
South India Paper Mills
S Kumars Reid & Taylor
Raman Boards
Jubilant Organosys
Brakes (India)
Bacardi RUM
Krishna Raja Sagar : Then me moved to see the famous KRS dam which is built on the river Kaveri. The famous Brindavan gardens are located here.
Krishna Raja Sagara (
Kannada:
ಕೃಷ್ಣರಾಜಸಾಗರ), also popularly known as
KRS (ಕೆ.ಆರ್.ಎಸ್.), is the name of both a
lake and the
dam that causes it. For information about the settlement near the dam and reservoir, see
Krishnarajasagara. The dam is across
Kaveri River, in
Mandya District near
Mysore in
Karnataka state,
India. There is an ornamental garden attached to the dam, called
Brindavan Gardens.
The Dam
The dam was built across river
Kaveri, the life giving river for the
Mysore and
Mandya districts, in 1924
[1]. Apart from being the main source of water for irrigation in the most fertile Mysore and Mandya , the reservoir is the main source of drinking water for almost the whole of
Bangalore city, the capital of the state of
Karnataka. The water released from this dam is further used as an important source of water in the state of Tamil Nadu, which has its own
Mettur dam in the Mettur district.
Sir. Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya served as the chief engineer during the construction of this dam. The dam is named for the then ruler of the
Mysore Kingdom,
Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV
The Brindavan Gardens
The
Brindavan Gardens is a show garden that has a botanical park, with fountains, as well as boat rides beneath the dam. Diwans of Mysore planned and built the gardens in connection with the construction of the dam. KRS Dam was the first to install automated Crest gates during 1920 which was initiated by Sir. M V. Display items include a musical fountain. Various biological research departments are housed here. There is a guest house, and a four star luxury heritage hotel
Royal Orchid for tourists
History
The Krishnarajasagara dam was constructed under the guidance of
Sir Mirza Ismail, the
Dewan (chief financial officer) of
Mysore. As a part of beautification of the dam site, Sir Mirza Ismail conceived a plan of developing a garden in
Mughal style with a design similar to that of
Shalimar Gardens in
Kashmir.
The work on this garden was started in 1927. It was constructed in a
terraced fashion and named Krishnarajendra Terrace Garden.
The main architect for the park was G.H. Krumbigal, then Superintendent of Parks and Gardens of the Mysore Government
After KRS, we went to Mysore to view the famous Dasara procession.
Mysore is the second largest city in the state of
Karnataka,
India. It is the headquarters of the
Mysore district and the
Mysore division and lies about 146 km (91 mi) southwest of
Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka. The name
Mysore is an anglicised version of
Mahishūru, which means the abode of
Mahisha.
Mahisha stands for
Mahishasura, a demon from
Hindu mythology. The city is spread across an area of 128.42 km
2 (50 sq mi) and is situated at the base of the
Chamundi Hills.
Mysore is famous for the festivities that take place during the
Dasara festival when the city receives a large number of tourists. Mysore also lends its name to the
Mysore mallige, the
Mysore style of painting, the sweet dish
Mysore Pak, the
Mysore Peta (a traditional silk turban) and the garment called the Mysore
silk saree. In an exercise carried out by the
Urban Development Ministry under the national urban sanitation policy, Mysore was rated the second cleanest city in India in 2010 and the cleanest in Karnataka
Dusshera (
Kannada:
ಮೈಸೂರು ದಸರ) is the
Nadahabba (state-festival) of the state of
Karnataka. It is also called as
Navaratri (
Nava-ratri = nine-nights) and is a 10-day festival with the last day being
Vijayadashami, the most auspicious day of Dasara. Dasara usually falls in the month of September or October. According to a legend,
Vijayadashami denotes the victory of truth over evil and was the day when the Hindu Goddess
Chamundeshwari killed the demon
Mahishasura.
Mahishasura is the demon from whose name; the name
Mysore has been derived. The city of
Mysore has a long tradition of celebrating the Dasara festival and the festivities here are an elaborate affair and attract a large audience including foreigners.
Procession
On
Vijayadashami, the traditional Dasara procession (locally known as
Jumboo Savari) is held on the streets of
Mysore city. The main attraction of this procession is the idol of the Goddess Chamundeshwari which is placed on a golden
mantapa on the top of a decorated elephant. This idol is worshipped by the royal couple and other invitees before it is taken around in the procession. Colourful tableaux, dance groups, music bands, decorated elephants, horses and camels form a part of the procession which starts from the
Mysore Palace and culminates at a place called
Bannimantap where the
banni tree (Prosopis spicigera) is worshipped. According to a legend of the
Mahabharata,
banni tree was used by the
Pandavas to hide their arms during their one-year period of
Agnatavasa (living life incognito). Before undertaking any warfare, the kings traditionally worshipped this tree to help them emerge victorious in the war
. The Dasara festivities would culminate on the night of
Vijayadashami with an event held in the grounds at Bannimantap called as
Panjina Kavayatthu (torch-light parade)
On all the 10 days of Dasara, various music and dance concerts are held in auditoriums around
Mysore city. Musicians and dance groups from all over India are invited to perform on this occasion. Another attraction during Dasara is the
Kusti Spardhe (wrestling-bout) which attracts wrestlers from all around
India
Before the Ambari come, many tableaux of different districts of Karnataka go through the royal roads in the city.
Many folk dances and different music bands along with NCC students perform.
Another major attraction during Dasara is the Dasara exhibition which is held in the exhibition grounds opposite to the
Mysore Palace. This exhibition starts during Dasara and goes on till December. Various stalls which sell items like clothes, plastic items, kitchenware, cosmetics and eatables are set up and they attract a significant number of people. A play area containing attractions like
Ferris wheel is also present to provide entertainment to the people. Various Governmental agencies setup stalls to signify the achievements and projects that they have undertaken. Now-a-days youth Dasara is being held in Mysore, which is attracting large groups of youngsters from mysore as well as from all over karnataka.
Then comes the famous Ambari : The
Golden Howdah (elephant seat or
Chinnada Ambari in
Kannada) is a
howdah, the carrier mounted on the lead elephant during the
Jamboo Savari (Elephant Procession) of the famous
Mysore Dasara. It is the
cynosure of all eyes during the famous Dasara festivities.
The Howdah
The exact date of its making is not known. The 750-kg-howdah, used in the
Jamboo Savari (elephant procession) on the Vijayadashami day, has two wide seats in rows, bigger than the interiors of a family car. The Rajas of
Mysore used this howdah in the famous Dasara procession, which traversed through the thoroughfares of the princely city during the festival every year. But since the abolition of royalty the statue of Chamundeshwari is being carried in the howdah. The Howdah is made of Pure
gold
Usually when the Ambari comes , it rains . This has happened from many years and is still continuing. To our excitement, this time also it rained heavily as the Ambari left the palace.
After we saw the Ambari, we moved towards the Amba Vilas palace . The rains had stopped and a beautiful rainbow was formed at the gate of the royal palace.
Mysore Palace :
The
Palace of Mysore (
Kannada:
ಮೈಸೂರು ಅರಮನೆ) is a palace situated in the city of
Mysore in southern
India. It is the official residence of the
Wodeyars - the erstwhile royal family of Mysore, and also houses two
durbar halls (ceremonial meeting hall of the royal court).
Mysore has a number of historic palaces, and is commonly described as the
City of Palaces. However, the term "Mysore Palace" specifically refers to one within the old fort. The palace was commissioned in 1897, and its construction was completed in 1912. It is now one of the most famous tourist attractions in Mysore. Although tourists are allowed to visit the palace, they are not allowed to take photographs inside the palace.
Architecture
The architectural style of the palace is commonly described as
Indo-Saracenic, and blends together
Hindu,
Muslim,
Rajput, and
Gothic styles of architecture. It is a three-storied stone structure, with marble domes and a 145 ft five-storied tower. The palace is surrounded by a large garden.
The three storied stone building of fine gray
granite with deep pink marble domes was designed by Henry Irwin. The facade has seven expansive arches and two smaller ones flanking the central arch, which is supported by tall pillars.
Above the central arch is an impressive sculpture of
Gajalakshmi, the
goddess of
wealth,
prosperity,
good luck, and
abundance with her
elephants.
Temples
The palace complex includes twelve Hindu temples. The oldest of these was built in the 14th century, while the most recent was built in 1953.
Some of the more famous temples are:
- Ambavilasa or Diwan e Khas.
This was used by the king for private audience and is one of the most spectacular rooms. Entry to this opulent hall is through an elegantly carved rosewood doorway inlaid with ivory that opens into a shrine to Ganesha. The central nave of the hall has ornately gilded columns, stained glass ceilings, decorative steel grills, and chandeliers with fine floral motifs, mirrored in the pietra dura mosaic floor embellished with semi-precious stones.
- Gombe Thotti (Doll’s Pavilion)
Entry to the palace is through the Gombe Thotti or the Doll’s Pavilion, a gallery of traditional dolls from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The pavilion also houses a fine collection of Indian and European sculpture and ceremonial objects like a wooden elephant howdah (frame to carry passengers) decorated with 84 kilograms of gold.
The Kalyana Mantapa or marriage hall is a grand octagonal-shaped pavilion with a multi-hued stained glass ceiling with peacock motifs arranged in geometrical patterns. The entire structure was wrought in Glasgow, Scotland. The floor of the Mantapa continues the peacock theme with a peacock mosaic, designed with tiles from England. Oil paintings, illustrating the royal procession and Dasara celebrations of bygone years, make the walls more splendid.
The statue Circle is also beautifully lit .
Information Source : Wikipedia
