Mysore Palace

One Sunday we toured Mysore Palace and stayed to watch it illuminated at night.

The tour was a bit of a nose-to-tail trail ride. Firstly, there were lots of rules — no photos, no shoes.  Secondly, visitors were funneled into the viewing areas and lead around by velvet ropes. Except in the open spaces (e.g., ballroom), it was quite crowded and the crowd was quite pushy. Oddly, local tourist kept poking at things — pushing (hard!) on the oil paintings, knocking on the inlayed doors, trying to pry at modelings. I was surprised that people didn’t treat the palace with more respect.

While the craftsmanship of many things in the palace was spectacular (e.g., the stained glass paneled dome, the columns in the ball rooms, the carved metal doors, the inlayed rosewood), I do not think I share the Mahaarja’s taste in interior decorating. The palace was built from 1897- 1912 and does reflect the Gilded Age design trends — French lamps, European crystal chandeliers, etc.  It seemed a little… um… Graceland.  (Listen, you never know when the Maharaja may invite me over to dinner, so I’m not saying anything more.)

But I did enjoy seeing it lighted at night — that was pretty cool. {UnclEd, it made me think of your parliament building in Victoria!}