Mysuru Srirangapatna One Day Tour: An Experience

Mysuru is known as the cultural capital of Karnataka. Mysuru can be reached by a journey of about two and a half to three hours from the Karnataka capital Bengaluru. Last week I have also made a day trip to Mysuru and Srirangapatna. This is my first trip to Mysuru after Corona. This is a package tour organized by a private package company and visited important places of Srirangapatna and Mysuru in one day. Rs.800 per person. There is a fee which does not include hotel meals, snacks, and entry fees to tourist spots. The trip started from Mysuru Road Bus Station around eight thirty in the morning. We reached Srirangapatna till eleven after having a brake fast at Bidadi's Tatte Idli Hotel. We first visited Gumbaj where Tipu's tomb is located. The tombs of Tippu Sultan and his father Hyderali Khan and mother who died in the Fourth Anglo Mysuru  War against the British on 4th May 1799 are located there. Outside the fort in Srirangapatna, is the tomb of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. The Gambaj is a magnificent example of Indo-Islamic architecture, with a magnificent dome, ivory-hued embroidered doors.

After seeing that we visited the famous Sri Ranganathaswamy temple inside the fort. About 1200 years old, this temple is dedicated to Ranganathaswamy. This temple in Srirangapatna is known as Adiranga, which is an island in the midst of the Kaveri River flowing around it. Apart from this, the Madhyaranga in the Shivanasamudra, the Antyarangas in Srirangam in Tamil Nadu also come under the influence of the Kaveri River. Built by Ganga in the 9th century, this temple flourished during the rule of Vijayanagara kings and Hoysala rulers after Ganga. It is mentioned that the Hoysalas Dankanachari and Tankanacharya developed the temple for the service of Ranganatha and also built many pillars for this purpose. The emblem of the Hoysalas can also be seen on those pillars. The architecture of the temple is a mixture of Hoysala, Chola, Vijayanagara and is diverse in design and style. This temple is mostly made up of pillars and each pillar has carvings of some mythological scenes like idols of God, Natyaranis, horses, elephants, gatekeepers, Garuda, avatars of Hanuman, Dasavatara of Vishnu. The kind I attached to the sanctum occupies a special position. On Sankranti sunrise, the sun's rays fall at Ranganatha's feet. It is believed to be the form of Suryanarayana in the temple. The design of the sanctum is like a bamboo basket, around the idol of the deity Brahma, Maheshwar, Ashta Dikpalakas, Shankha-chakra and Sapta Rishi are also enshrined. It is carved in such a way that it feels like everyone is praying to go around while God is sleeping in Vaikuntha. At the bottom is Garuda with Adisesha on him and Maha Vishnu lying down and at the feet of the god is the idol of Bhudevi and Devi. The idol of this god belongs to the Treta Yoga and is said to be around 9 thousand years old. The exterior of the temple is over 1,000 years old. On the right side of the sanctum are the idols of Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya and on the left side there are the idols of Dasa Sevaks of the temple.

After seeing all these we left for Mysuru. We reached the famous St. Philomena Church which is near from the Mysuru bus station.

Built in 1804 in Gothic style, this church is one of the oldest and most attractive churches in the country. Inside the main courtyard is a statue of Saint Philomena. The very attractive exterior delicate carvings, tall twin towers (gopuram), stained glass used in several places make this church an exciting tourist destination. By the time I finished seeing this, I was sick to my stomach. Our package manager is KSIC for shoppers in Mysore. He had brought the silk saree in front of the shop and touched it. We had to wait there for half an hour without fate. I drank some juice at the bakery next to the alley and recovered a bit. Later he was taken to a famous hotel in the city. Even there, there was a delay of half and three quarters of an hour for everyone getting a seat. By the time everyone finished eating, it was past three o'clock. Then the package manager guide announced that the next destination is the famous Mysuru Palace or Amba Vilasa Palace. But all of us were excited to see the Goddess Chamundeshwari temple and have a glimpse of Mother. But there was no access to private vehicles because the Goddess's birth anniversary festival was going on in the temple that day! This was very disappointing for all of us. We asked that if we had been informed about this while booking the package or at least a day in advance, we would have been prepared for the trip on a different day. We also had a little discussion with the package manager about this issue. On the other hand, we ask  many local auto drivers, inquired with the shopkeepers, they also opined that it is rare to see the goddess today. Thinking that we are so lucky, what else can be done, we gave up our desire to see our mother and left to see the beauty of. Mysuru Palace is world famous. The Palace entry fee is Rs 100 per person. In my opinion, this is a bit high. A common tourist who comes to Mysuru does not come to see only one palace, but comes to see different tourist spots. Rs. 100 for this one place is little costlier for him. His travel expenses will not become a burden? I have seen the Mysore Palace before. When ticket price was Rs.40 or 50 per person. Now this price has doubled. By the way, this is not Dussehra time either. it wasn't even a weekend when I went. 100 to the palace on a normal day. I was a bit upset that I had to watch it. This palace, which was started in 1897 and completed in 1912, is also known as Ambavilasa Palace. The palace is in Indo-Saracenic style with domes, arches, towers. The outer walls of the palace are carved with birds, animals and others. There is an engraving on the inner cover. A puppet cradle is first seen at the entrance to the palace. Traditional puppets from the 19th and 20th centuries are on display here. There are spacious halls with unique carved pillars, Durbarhall, Kalyan Mantaps, Armoury. On Sundays, public holidays and Dussehra celebrations, the palace is decorated with electric lamps and 97,000 electric bulbs are used to light it. This palace has four entrances. The main entrance is called “Jaya Marthanda” to the east, “Jayarama” to the north, “Balarama” to the south and “Varaha” to the west.

After passing Amba Vilasa Palace, we reached Krishnarajasagar Dam, Brindavan Garden, and it was around six o'clock. 50 rupees per person an admission fee there. This is only for viewing the Brindavan Garden and the musical fountains there. No one has allowed  to the road above the dam. On the afternoon of my visit, Chief Minister Basavaraja Bommai had arrived and dedicated baagina to the river Kaveri which is dam was full. The dam built near Kannambadi on the Kaveri River was known as Kannambadi Dam before it was named after Nalwadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar in 1917. It is famous for the world famous Brindavan. Located 14 km from Srirangapatna, it is known as 'Traveller's Paradise'.

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By the time we were there it had started to rain. I enjoying the beauty of the fountains and getting soaked in the rain, the reason is that there are no shelters to protect from rain and take shelter when it rains. Apart from this, there is no stone bench to sit down for the elderly, the physical difficulties, those with problems such as foot pain that cannot walk! A tourist there said that this is a Government administration area so there is such chaos.  However, as far as I can tell, this place is visited by thousands of people every day and they collected 50 rupees per person. Why can't even provide necessary basic facilities to the people for the administrative system? The concerned government departments and individuals should pay more attention to this and make appropriate arrangements.

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Seeing the fountains lit up with electric lights is a treat. This Dipalankara will be held daily from seven to eight o’clock in the evening. On the day, we were allowed to roam around here until eight. This was the place where the most time was spent on the entire package. Around eight o'clock we all left there. On the way, we stopped at a hotel in Srirangapatna and had lunch. Reached the Mysore bus station around twelve o'clock in the night and came home by auto from there and went to sleep at 1 o'clock in the late night. All in all, the one-day trip to Mysuru was over. But not being able to see Chamundeshwari Amma desire remained the same.