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Amba Vilas Palace (Mysore Palace)
Photograph by Mahendra Simmha
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Amba Vilas Palace |
The Amba Vilas Palace fits the universal picture of what a fairytale palace
would look like: embellished with elaborate arches, pillars and colonnades and topped by a fanciful medley of deep pink marble domes and turrets, dramatically crowned by a five-storeyed tower with a golden roof. In keeping with royal scale, the palace complex includes 12 temples; the Karikal Thotti and stables for the royal elephants and horses. The palace makes an unforgettably dramatic sight when illuminated; an enterprise that requires the use of over 96,200 bulbs. (Incidentally, about 25,000 bulbs have to be replaced annually.)
The palace was commissioned in 1897 by the Queen-Regent, Kempananjammanni Vanivilasa Sanndihana. Her brief to architect Henry Irwin was simple: combine different styles of architecture. Completed in 1907, at a cost of Rs 41.5 lakh, the palace fully satisfied the royal command. The three-storeyed stone building of fine grey granite was built in the Indo-Saracenic style—a fusion of Hindu, Muslim, Gothic and Rajput styles of architecture.
The palace served as both the residence of the royal family and its seat of governance. The Durbar or Audience Hall is one of the most magnificent rooms in the palace, with its ornate ceiling, pietra dura mosaic floor decorated with semi-precious stones, sculpted pillars, stained glass ceilings, decorative steel grills and chandeliers. The jewel-studded throne of the Wodeyars is displayed here during the Dasara celebrations.
The palace is a treasure house of exquisite objects of art from all over the world. Rooms of special interest include: the Gombe Thotti or Doll's Pavilion, with traditional dolls dating back to the 19th century, a collection of Indian and European sculpture and ceremonial objects like a wooden elephant howdah decorated with 84 kilograms of gold; the Kalyana Mantapa or Marriage Hall, an octagonal-shaped hall with a peacock theme from stained glass ceiling to floor, and wall murals depicting royal processions and Dasara celebrations; and the Armoury.
The scion of the Wodeyar dynasty, Srikanthadatta Wodeyar, lives in a private section of the palace with his family.
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