6th January, 2019 – Srirangapatnam

We set off after breakfast from our lovely Oberoi Hotel and were sad to leave as it really is the sort of hotel that you feel you could happily stay in for a lot longer. Lovely staff and excellent service and facilities. But it was time to head south for Mysore, though with a special stop en route, that being Srirangapatnam, the site of a British victory in 1799 in which the future Duke of Wellington took a major part.

Being Sunday, the traffic on MG Road was nice and quiet and we were soon on our way through the outskirts of the city and into a bit of countryside. It is a longish drive to Mysore of at least 4 to 5 hours, especially when your driver sticks to a very modest (and no doubt sensible) 60 to 70 KPH tops. I sat in front and seemed remarkably calm as we wove in and out of the traffic with millimetres to spare. We only had one scare which was when a kite (of the bird variety) swooped down for a tasty morsel right in front of the car, which gave us all a bit of a start, but nothing compared to how the motorcyclist behind us must have felt!

We stopped for a coconut en route, a wonderfully refreshing drink – and you get to eat it as well. I add a few other pics as well of sights seen as we travelled.

Not sure what they were selling, but they had to be quick on their feet – this was at a traffic light!

Coconut stop! I always count their fingers before and after they decapitate the coconut. Pandi looking on.

Wide Load!

One of 4 ladies at the petrol station all in the same immaculate outfit doing a bit of tidying up of the forecourt.

We made a friend, briefly. He wanted my email address so he could send me the photo he took of me. I respectfully declined…

We arrived in Srirangapatnam just after lunch and met our new guide, Devarajah at the Summer Palace of Tipu Sultan. OK, time for a bit more history (oh no, do we have to, sir? Can’t we just have more photos? Please, sir.). No – and there will be a test when I get back!

Srirangapatnam is a tiny island in the Kaveri or Cauvery River, about 5km by 1 km, about 14 km north of Mysore. Originally it was the site of a temple to Vishnu built in 1133 and became a fort in 1454 and in 1616 it was the capital of the Wadiyah Mysore rajas. It is also associated with Haider Ali, who deposed the Wadiyahs in 1761 (he had been one of their trusted generals – big mistake) and who, with his son Tipu Sultan, transformed the small state of Mysore into a major Muslim power. Both of them wanted to rid India of the hated British invaders (the East India Company) and there were 4 wars, ending here, at Srirangapatnam in 1799 when the British forced a breach in the wall of the fort, sent in two Forlorn Hopes to take the breach and captured the fort. Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore, died in the fighting. The future Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley was involved in the siege and later ran the area as governor.

Our first port of call was the summer palace or Daria Daulat Bagh, literally meaning ‘wealth of the sea’. It was built in 1784 and is richly painted and decorated, not least with a mural of the Battle of Pollinore in 1780, a victory over the British (with French help). I will let the captions on the photos explain further.

A view of the Daria Daulat Bargh, Srirangapatnam, with blinds hanging down to keep out the sun.

Only a colonel then.

Beautiful Mughal decoration everywhere.

Part of the mural of the Battle of Pollilur, 10th September, 1780 with the wounded Lt Col William Baillie in the palanquin in the middle of the picture. Of the 3853 men on the British side only 50 European officers and 200 other men were taken prisoner after the general massacre. Baillie died in captivity in Srirangapatnam in 1782.

Our guide, Devarajah and one side of the palace.

Some of the many dignitaries who visited Tipu at his palace – described by our guide as Tipu’s Facebook page!

Close-up of some of the visitors.

Very Persian style.

One of the lovely portraits of the senior advisors to Tipu.

A model of the fort. The summer palace and mausoleum are to the right, out of the photo. Not much of the original fort remains today.

Tipu Sultan himself – only 5ft 1 inch tall, but very brave.

A depiction of the storming of the breach. The soldier with the flag at the top of the wall to the right was a sergeant

Exquisite decoration

We then drove to the Gumbaz mausoleum, also built in 1784 by Tipu Sultan like the palace, to commemorate his father, Haider Ali, his mother and, as it turned out, himself (courtesy of Colonel Wellesley).

Does this remind you of anywhere else? On a smaller scale of course.

More graves, some of which are members of the harem or officials. Gumbaz mausoleum

The graves of Haider Ali, his wife and his son, Tipu Sultan.

A lovely exterior – Gumbaz mausoleum, Srirangapatnam.

One of the minarets, Gumbaz mausoleum, Srirangapatnam.

OK, finally we made it to the fort itself – or at least what remains of it. You can still see quite a few bits of the walls and what surprised me was the small town that was inside it, complete with railway line. There were a few site’s such as Baillie’s dungeon and the place where Tipu Sultan’s body was found, but all-in-all, it was a bit disappointing, though perhaps with more time it would have provided more detail regarding the battle. Some photos….

Tipu Sultan’s body was found here.

The Water Gate, Srirangapatnam Fort.

And then it was on to Mysore and checking in to our next hotel, the Royal Orchid Metropole heritage hotel. It was built by the Mysore raja of the day in 1920 for foreign guests to stay in and is certainly quite long on the heritage with a big room, but I am not sure the plumbing had been updated since it was first put in. Comfortable enough though, although after the Oberoi it felt like a step down with some rather uninterested staff. Here is the compulsory shot of the room and some other views.

Our bed, Royal Orchid Metropole Hotel, Mysore.

Looks palatial! Royal Orchid Metropole Hotel, Mysore.

We were not finished for the day though as Sunday night is the one day of the week when the Mysore Palace is lit up for one hour with some 5,000 light bulbs  for the general public to come and enjoy. Now, to be honest, Val and I both thought it would be like a son et lumiere show, whereas it was more like Harrods (on a grand scale) with a slightly dodgy military brass band playing some just about recognisable marches. Still impressive though and all free, so worth the trip.

Mysore Maharaja’s Palace at dusk

The gopuras or gateways to one of the 12 temples in the grounds of Mysore Palace

Panorama Mysore Palace!!

The Band Strikes Up!!

The lights are on!

Are you thinking of Harrods? Or Downton Abbey, perhaps?

And now with lights!

And that was that for a full and very good day’s sightseeing. Back to the hotel, a bite to eat and bed.

More soon (I am having trouble keeping up – and I am almost at the end of the allowance for photos with the package I have with WordPress, so we might have to do something desperate like switch to another blogging host. We shall see.).