A Visit to Mysore Palace

Dr. Jayashree's husband, M.G. Narasimhan, not to be confused with her bother, M.A. Narasimhan, has worked for the Mysore Palace for over 30 years. As mentioned in the Gramani Family Tree, the "Gramani" name (Leaders of the Village) was given by the Royal family. His family has had a close connection to the Palace for many generations.

Yesterday, I had the great honor of being given a tour of the Mysore Palace by M.G. Narasimhan. It was wonderful because he knows so many details about the Palace's history and the various spaces and artwork.

Photos of the inside were not allowed, but here I've posted two photos of the exterior in daylight: a front-side view (above) and the front view (right). If you look closely at the front view you will see a stage being erected on the left. This is where the many Dasara evening dance and music programs will take place, beginning on Wednesday. The open courtyard that you see here will be filled with chairs and people.

The palace has 1000s of lights outlining is architectural structure. These are illuminated each evening from 7-9pm. I haven’t seen it yet at night, but will have plenty of opportunities in the days ahead.

Pairs of these imported bronze lion sculptures guard various entrances on the grounds.

The inside of the palace was spectacular in so many ways. One was the grand scale of it all. Another, and perhaps even more impressive feature, was the intense attention to detail given to seemingly every square inch of space, from the intricately detailed inlays on the floor tiles to the hand painted borders outlining every wall. There were some doors covered completely in silver artwork representing various scenes in Indic mythology and others made completely of rosewood with delicate ivory inlays. Some ceilings contained intricate teakwood carvings and others grand paintings of various deities. The walls of an entire walkway housed canvases of beautiful oil paintings depicting the traditional Dasara processional including decorated elephants, military bands, carriages, and the townspeople in full dress in front of various Mysore landmarks. An inner hall houses the King’s golden throne, currently under cover but which will be on display later in the week. It is made of solid gold and is decorated with pearls.

I must say though, one of my favorite parts of the visit was getting to see the palace’s elephants “close-up.” Here this lovely lady is resting her trunk on my head – which was immediately followed by a slobbery kiss. (I didn’t mind, though.) She’s painted here because she was part of a processional earlier in the day.

In the next photo, one of the male elephants is thoroughly enjoying a spa treatment – a good ole elephant scrub!

I’m looking forward to the days ahead!