Exploring Mysore, beyond Dussehra

It is home to what is unarguably India’s most spectacular Dussehra festival celebration. But beyond the festival, there is much more to explore in and around the quiet city of Mysore. The region is blessed with an eclectic set of destinations, many with distinct and historic architecture.

The ideal place to begin is the iconic Mysore Palace itself, hub of the Dussehra celebrations. The majestic Amba Vilas Palace, with its exquisite artistry, is the seat of the Wodeyar dynasty. Built on the site of a palace that dated to the 14th century that burnt down, the current structure came up between 1897 and 1912. A grand Indo-Saracenic building, its finest feature comes in the form of painted interiors, especially a set of paintings that depicts court and military life in the early 20th century Wodeyar court.

In the 1930s, Mysore witnessed the lofty St. Philomena’s Cathedral come up. Inspired by a cathedral in Cologne, Germany, St. Philomena’s Neo Gothic style leaves a visitor awestruck. Its most striking feature are the twin spires that rise 175 feet high. Stained glass paintings grace its interiors while a statue of the saint is within a crypt deep inside.

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Less known are two museums that are unexpected in landlocked Mysore but would have perhaps been taken for granted in, say, Mangalore. The first is a Shell Museum with several objects made of shells. These include an aquarium, a Taj Mahal, Ganesha, a Hanuman expanding his tail while an astonished Ravana looks on, and a huge recreation of St. Philomena’s Cathedral – all made of shell. The other museum shows inspiring sand art, with iconic deities and designs created on sand to a level of detail that is astonishing.

The next recommended destination is a museum for which the word ‘sanctuary’ seems a perfect fit. This is the home of eminent writer RK Narayan, best known for heart-warming stories around the fictional town of Malgudi. It is a quiet showcase of his life and his mind. Apart from pictures of his life and televised work, it includes correspondence and a set of his personal books. Apparently modelled on the lines of Shakespeare’s house in England, there is a tranquillity in this home that is unique.

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To go back in time and get a taste of the region’s finest architecture, drive 35 kilometres east of Mysore to Somanathapura. The mid-13th century CE Chennakesava Temple, acme of the Hoysala dynasty’s cultural development, is a mind-boggling display of sculpted iconography. Built on the banks of the Kaveri River, its patron builder was a Hoysala general called Somanatha Dandanayaka.

Built in the middle of a courtyard and bordered by a pillared corridor that runs all around, the shrine stands on an elevated platform shaped like a star. The pillared corridor serves as a circumambulatory passage and has several subsidiary shrines with deities from Vedic and Puranic literature. However, it is the main shrine that arrests attention.

The temple is made with the Hoysala trademark soapstone, the softness of which creates an ideal base for detailed carving. And the artisans poured the magic into the structure with every inch carved. The depictions encompass almost the entire pantheon of Hindu iconography and stories from epics. The temple’s exterior resembles carefully stacked layers of icons, each row following a different theme – from elephants at the base to horsemen, dancers, musicians, deities and more significant gods and goddesses above. The main shrine comprises not one, but three sanctums – dedicated to Keshava, Janardhana and Venugopala. In a fitting tribute to the Hoysala craftsmen, the temple became one of three such shrines to achieve Unesco World Heritage status in 2023.

Like in the tradition of many other towns in South India, this temple was not built in isolation. Using land grants, Somanatha Dandanayaka built an entire town dedicated to the service and upkeep of his fabulous shrine. Over centuries, the Hoysala made way for other dynasties, but the shrine remained in worship. With political tumult in this part of the country, and invasions of iconoclasts, the temple suffered damage in the medieval era. But it was later repaired under the patronage of the Vijaynagara rulers, a continuum of cultural traditions indicating the importance of this shrine.

Further east along the Kaveri, 25 kilometres from Somanathapura, lies another temple town. Talakadu’s origins lie in a legend. It holds that two brothers, Tala and Kadu, once saw a group of elephants praying to a tree. When they cut down the tree, they found an image of Shiva inside and realized that the elephants were rishis who had been transformed. The tree was miraculously restored and the legend of ‘Talakadu’ began. It became the capital of the Western Ganga rulers from the 6th century CE onwards and it is their work that visitors flock to admire today. Temples such as the Vaidyesvara, Pataleshvara, Maraleshwara and Kirtinarayana may not be world heritage sites, but are significant.

Time passed and the Gangas too lost power. The Cholas came next, only to be replaced by the Hoysalas and they too were eventually supplanted by the Vijaynagara empire. In the early 17th century, Talakadu passed into the control of the kingdom of Mysore. But time was running out for Talakadu. A place that found its origin in a legend also has a similar story to mark its end.

Around 1610, a local ruler from Srirangapatna was afflicted with an incurable disease. He came to Talakadu to pay homage at the Vaidyesvara Temple here. His wife Alamelamma later followed him. When the ruler of Mysore came to know of her possible arrival, he was filled with the desire to seize her prized jewels and came with an army. Hearing of this, Alamelamma threw the jewels into the Kaveri and plunged herself into the river too. But not before putting a curse that Talakadu would become sand, and the Mysore rulers would be unable to beget heirs.

Incredibly, both curses proved correct. Talakadu was buried under sand carried by the river and it is only centuries later that the buried temples were excavated. And the Mysore rulers too had a challenge with heirs – one which continued till as recently as 2017, when a princess bore a son. Perhaps old curses too come with an end date!

The author is a heritage explorer with a penchant for seeking obscure sites. A brand consultant by profession, he tweets @HiddenHeritage. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.