Mysore, a city located in the southern part of the Indian state of Karnataka is a beautiful city rich with heritage and cultural significance. It is filled with places of historical artifacts and monuments. It is situated in the district of Mysore, which is one of the largest districts in the state. This cultural city, which is also the capital of the Karnataka state has many educational, commercial and administrative centers and an amazing heritage architecture. It was and is the home for many great musicians, music composers, dancers, Sanskrit scholars, writers and intellectuals.
The city with the majestic Mysore Palace, the royal mansions, public buildings, gardens, water bodies and planned markets exhibit an incredible impression of the vision of the Maharajas, their Dewans and other talented luminaries on the City Municipality even as early as 1862. The beautiful intertwining complementary buildings, sites, lakes, parks and open spaces of Mysore along with the back drop of the Chamundi Hills adds to the city’s attraction.
Mysore is also called the City of Palaces owing to the number of palaces that are situated in the city. Ambavilas Palace is the main palace of Mysore, and it is one of the most visited monuments in India, even more than Taj Mahal. It is also often commonly referred to as the Mysore Palace. Mysore is a tourism hot spot and also acts as a base for other tourist places in and around the vicinity of the city. The city receives the maximum number of tourists during the Mysuru Dasara festival which signifies the triumph of good over the evil and the worship of Devi Chamundeswari. This festival is celebrated with pomp and glory as a State festival. There is also a large scale Dasara Exhibition that is conducted in the winter season for almost three to four months. It is set up in the palace grounds of the Ambavilas Palace and has sellers and hawkers from far and wide selling a variety of bright and colorful items.
The Hindu community is the largest widespread religious community in the city. Muslims form another prominent community in the city and there is a sizable population of Jains as well. In today’s time, the range of religion present in Mysore tells about an vital part of the culture of the city. Be it the Hindus or the Muslims all communities live in Mysore with omnipresent cordiality. This also shows the ample influence of the cultural tradition and values of Mysore which have made the people live like brothers on a common ground. Over all the years, the city of Mysore has also gradually become a cosmopolitan city with people from many different walks of life coming and living together peacefully. One can find people from different parts of the country, speaking various different languages and celebrating different festivals together, all while co-existing happily. Even though Mysore has become a very modern city, it has not lost touch with its traditions.
The festivals in Mysore are an amazing depiction of the cultural unity of the place. Even when it is inhabited by people of different faiths and beliefs, Mysore acts as a common cultural canopy under which all the various social festivals and events are celebrated by all. Dasara is one such major festival followed and celebrated by the people of Mysore with a lot of joy and enthusiasm. The ten day long festival of Dasara is celebrated by the residents of Mysore by taking out a procession in which the idol of Goddess Chamundi is placed on a well decorated elephant. All the houses in the city are beautifully embellished. The celebration not only includes religious ceremonies but also the decoration of houses, the splendid display of dolls and the distribution of sweets to neighbors and children. The in of Mysore have celebrated Dasara in this manner for decades.
The Mysore food culture stands as a distinct identity of the place. It is also a wonderful place for the ones who love to try the local cuisine. The famous Mysore Masala dosa is served with potato filling which is eaten with sambar and coconut chutney. There are many different types of dosas like set-dosa, rava dosa, onion dosa etc. Mallige idli, rava idli and thatte idli are the special types of idlis.
Mysore is a calm and homely city that welcomes all those who come to see its glory and experience its warmth. It is very easily accessible by train, bus and flights, and is therefore an ideal holiday destination. The board on the borders will be there to extend their “Welcome to the Heritage City Mysore” to you.