THE JAGANMOHAN PALACE,MYSORE

The Jaganmohan Palace was constructed in 1861 by the king, His Highness Krishnaraja Wodeyar III as an alternate retreat for the royal family. The Mysore Palace, which was the original home of the royal family was burnt down in a fire and the construction of a new palace in its place was started in 1897. Till the new palace was completed in 1912, the Jaganmohan Palace was used by the royals as their home. In 1902, the king His Highness Rajarshi Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar was installed to the Mysore throne, in a ceremony that took place in a pavilion inside the Jaganmohan Palace. This ceremony was attended by Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy and Governor General of India. The palace was used for his daily durbar by the king and also the special Dasara durbar during the dasara period. In 1915, the palace was converted into an art gallery, which was later renamed in 1955 in the name of HH Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, as the Sri Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery . The early convocations of the Mysore University were also held in this palace. The first session of the Legislative Council of the Mysore state was held here in July 1907. The Legislative Council was then called as the Representative Council and was presided over by the Diwan (Prime Minister of the state). HH Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar converted the palace into a trust and opened it for public viewing.

The palace is built in traditional Hindu style and has three stories. In 1900, an external facade with a hall behind it was added to the palace. This facade has three entrances and the entablature has religious motifs and miniature temples crafted on it. The walls of the interiors are painted with murals. These mural paintings which follow the traditional style of the Mysore school of painting depict the Dasara scene and the canvas depicting the sequence of the Jumboo Savari stretches across three walls. This mural is the earliest known picture of the Mysore Dasara and has been painted using vegetable dyes. A family tree of the Wodeyars tracing the lineage of the royal family is also painted on a wall.

The art gallery contains one of the largest collections of artefacts in South India. Most of these artefacts are paintings, prominent among which are those by Raja Ravi Varma, some of which demonstrate scenes from the Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharatha. The collection of paintings in the gallery exceed 2000 in number and these belong to different Indian styles of painting like Mysore, Mughal and Shantiniketan. 16 paintings of Raja Ravi Varma were donated to the gallery by Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar. Another important painting present here is the Lady with the lamp which was painted by the artist Haldenkar and is placed in a dark room where it is the only exhibit. This is to give an illusion that the glow of the lamp is illuminating the face of the woman. Some other painters whose works are exhibited here include Nikolai Roerich, Svetoslav Roerich and Rabindranath Tagore and Abanindranath Tagore. There are beautiful paintings by the Ukil brothers -Sharada Ukil, Ranada Ukil and Barada Ukil. Another collection of paintings by a British Army Officer named Col. Scot on the wars between Tipu Sultan and the British army are said to be the only visual representation of the wars.

Other exhibits here include weapons of war, musical instruments, sculptures, brassware, antiques coins and currencies. Some other unique artefacts exhibited here is a French clock which has a mechanism in which a parade by miniature soldiers is displayed every hour; beating drums mark the seconds and a bugle marks the minute. Paintings made on a grain of rice which can be viewed only through a magnifier are also displayed here.