Mysore, the city of royalty, heritage and culture is also the home of the royal family of Wadiyars. The Wadiyar dynasty ruled over the city of Mysore for over 500 years and resided in the magnificent Mysore Palace.
The Mysore Palace also known as the Amba Vilas Palace located at the centre of Mysore city facing the Chamundi hills was built in 1912 when Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV and his mother Maharani Kempananjammanni Devi commissioned the British architect Henry Irwin to build this palace after the Old Palace was set ablaze.
The palace is designed in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture, this palatial mansion is a three-storied structure with intricately designed square towers at cardinal points, covered with domes. It has two halls, the Durbar Hall has an ornate ceiling and sculpted pillars and the Kalyana Mantapa (Marriage Hall) is a massive octagonal structure with a multi-coloured Belgian stained glass ceiling decorated with peacock motifs is truly an architectural masterpiece.
The palatial mansion has few Darbars and the two well-known ones are darbar-e-khas and diwan-e-khas.
The regal interiors of the palace rightly represent royalty and will take you to the bygone era. The garden surrounding the palace is as beautiful as the interiors, lush green lawns along with flower plants and well-maintained bushes enhance the beauty of the palace.
The Mysore Palace today stands as one of the legacy buildings that has stood the test of time and is visited by millions of people every year. The palace at present is owned by 27-year-old Yaduveer Krishnadutta Chamaraj Wadiyar who is the family head. In 2013, his uncle Srikantadatta Wadiyar died without a child and there was no successor. Rajmata adopted Yaduveer as their son and turned him into the king making him the sole heir.
The world famous Mysore Dasara festival at Amba Vilas every year during autumn. The Dasara procession initiates from the palace on the 10th day or Vijayadashami with grandeur and exuberance, the central attraction of the event is the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari seated on a golden mandapa made of around 750 kgs of gold.
According to Housing.com this mansion sprawling over 31,36,320 square feet has a value of a whopping Rs 3,136.32 crores.
