Bangalore Palace

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The Bangalore Palace
The Bangalore Palace

Bangalore Palace is a palace located in the city of Bangalore, India and is built to look like a smaller replica of the Windsor Castle in England.[1][2] It was built by Rev. Garrett, who was the first Principal of the Central High School in Bangalore, now known as Central College.[3] The construction of the palace was started in 1862 and completed in 1944. In 1884, it was bought by the Maharaja of Mysore, Chamaraja Wodeyar.[3] Now owned by the current scion of the Mysore royal family, Srikanta Datta Narsimharaja Wadiyar, the palace has recently undergone a renovation. The sprawling grounds surrounding the palace are used for holding public events including musical concerts. Some of the well known international music bands and rockstars that have performed here include The Black Eyed Peas, Sting, Scorpions, Deep Purple, Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, Bryan Adams and Iron Maiden .[4][1][5][6]

Contents

[edit] History

Rev. Garrett, the first principal of the Central High School built this palace with a floor area of 45000 sq. feet (4200 m²). The Palace and the grounds surrounding it were spread across 428 acres (173 ha).[7] The king of Mysore, Chamaraja Wodeyar bought this palace from him at a cost of Rs. 40000 and later renovated it. The palace was built in Tudor style architecture with fortified towers, battlements and turrets. The interiors were decorated with elegant wood carvings, floral motifs, cornices and relief paintings on the ceiling. The furniture, which was neo-classical, Victorian and Edwardian in style, was bought from John Roberts and Lazarus. The upkeep of the gardens was the responsibility of a horticulturist named Krumbiegel. A total of 35 rooms were built in the palace with most of them being bed rooms.[7] The renovation included addition of stained glass and mirrors, specially imported from England, besides a manual lift and wooden fans from General Electric.[8] The Wodeyars used to own the palace till the demise of the king Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar in 1974. It became a private property and later a dispute rose between Srikanta Datta Narsimharaja Wadiyar and the Government of Karnataka regarding the ownership of the palace. With no proper maintenance, the palace and its interiors were turned into a bad shape till the scion managed to win the right to own the property in 1994.

[edit] Interior decor

The ground floor consists of an open courtyard containing granite seats covered with fluorescent blue ceramic tiles.[8] It also contains a ballroom for holding private parties. The first floor containing an elaborate hall called as the Durbar Hall can be reached by climbing a decorated staircase. This is the hall where the king used to address the assembly. The walls along the staircase are adorned with paintings and the Durbar Hall has a massive elephant head mounted in it. One side of the hall contains stained glass windows in Gothic style. The colour yellow is used profusely and the walls and the sofa set in the hall are in yellow. A screen on one end separates the area where the ladies used to sit and watch the assembly proceedings in relative privacy. Some paintings of Raja Ravi Verma are also present here.[8]

The interior walls of the palace are also adorned by old paintings belonging to the mid-19th century, including some Greek and Dutch paintings. Some of the other attractions include a dining table belonging to the Diwan of Mysore, Sir Mirza Ismail. This table contained a mother-of-pearl inlay with Chinese lacquer work.

[edit] Renovation

Srikanta Datta Narsimharaja Wadiyar is working towards renovating this palace after he obtained the right to own it. The woodwork has been renovated and the ballroom has been redone.[3] Even the brass-fittings and lamps have been replaced and the furniture has been newly upholstered. Out of the collection of 30,000 photographs currently present in the palace, it is planned that about 1,000 of them will be restored and put up for viewing in an exhibition. A room has been converted into a boutique where silks and other garments used by the royal family will be exhibited. The palace is open to the public who can visit it after paying a nominal fee. There are also plans to rent out the ballroom for private parties and also to sell silk scarves, photographs and other articles used by the royal family to the tourists. Illumination of the palace and renovating the gardens using Mexican grass is also being planned.

[edit] Concerts

The sprawling grounds surrounding the palace, popularly known as Palace Grounds, can accommodate a large number of people and hence is a popular choice for public assembly. These grounds have also been used to hold music concerts including popular international bands and stars like:

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Habib Beary. Stones prepare for India concert. Online webpage of the BBC, dated 2003-04-03. BBC, MMVII. Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
  2. ^ N. Niranjan Nikam. Restoring royal glory. Online Edition of The Deccan Herald, dated 2007-06-04. 2007, The Printers (Mysore) Private Ltd.. Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
  3. ^ a b c Wadiyar to restore Bangalore Palace. Online Edition of The Hindu, dated 2005-07-22. The Hindu. Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
  4. ^ Now, C. Ashwath will enthral Bangaloreans. Online Edition of The Hindu, dated 2005-04-14. The Hindu. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
  5. ^ ‘Come back to you’, Bryan’s promise to Bangaloreans. Online Edition of The Deccan Herald, dated 2006-02-06. 2006, The Printers (Mysore) Private Ltd.. Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
  6. ^ a b Bangalore rocks to Aerosmith's heavy metal. Online webpage of DnaIndia.com, dated 2007-06-02. © 2005-2007 Diligent Media Corporation Ltd. Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
  7. ^ a b An Exclusive Interview with Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar. Online webpage of BangaloreBest.com. Copyright © 2001 Indias-Best.Com Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
  8. ^ a b c Jangveer Singh. The Indian Windsor castle. Online webpage of the Tribune, dated 2005-08-07. Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
  9. ^ C. Ashwath enthrals Bangaloreans. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
  10. ^ Singer's Pact. Online Edition of the India Today, dated 2001-08-27. © Living Media India Ltd. Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
  11. ^ Sting enthralls Bangalore fans. Online webpage of Sify.com, dated 2005-02-05. © Copyright Sify Ltd, 1998-2007. Retrieved on 2007-06-27.