Mysore

The name Mysore is an anglicised version of Mahishūru,[23] which means the abode of Mahisha in the vernacular Kannada. The common noun Mahisha, in Sanskrit, means buffalo; in this context, however, Mahisha refers to Mahishasura, a mythical demon who could assume the form of both human and buffalo, who, according to Hindu mythology, ruled the ancient parts of Mysore Kingdom, known in Sanskrit as Mahíšhaka, centred at Mahishapura.[23] He was killed by the Goddess Chamundeshwari, whose temple is situated atop the Chamundi Hills, after whom it is named. 'Mahishapura'[24] later became Mahisūru (a name which, even now, the royal family uses), and finally came to be anglicised as Mysore by the British and Maisūru/Mysuru in the vernacular Kannada language.[25]

In December 2005, the Government of Karnataka announced its intention to change the English name of the city to Mysuru.[26] This was approved by the Government of India in October 2014 and Mysore was renamed (along with twelve other cities) to "Mysuru" on 1 November 2014.[27][28][29]

The site where Mysore Palace now stands was occupied by a village named Puragere at the beginning of the 16th century.[30]^:281 The Mahishūru Fort was constructed in 1524 by Chamaraja Wodeyar III (1513–1553),[30]^:257 who passed on the dominion of Puragere to his son Chamaraja Wodeyar IV (1572–1576). Since the 16th century, the name of Mahishūru has commonly been used to denote the city.[31]^:31 The Mysore Kingdom, governed by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire. With the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire after the Battle of Talikota in 1565, the Mysore Kingdom gradually achieved independence, and by the time of King Narasaraja Wodeyar (1637) it had become a sovereign state.[32]^:228 Seringapatam (modern-day Srirangapatna), near Mysore, was the capital of the kingdom from 1610.[30]^:257 The 17th century saw a steady expansion of its territory and, under Narasaraja Wodeyar I and Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar, the kingdom annexed large expanses of what is now southern Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu, to become a powerful state in the southern Deccan.

The kingdom reached the height of its military power and dominion in the latter half of the 18th century under the de facto rulers Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. The latter demolished parts of Mysore to remove legacies of the Wodeyar dynasty.[30]^:257 During this time, Mysore kingdom came into conflict with the Marathas, the British and the Nizam of Golconda, leading to the four Anglo-Mysore wars, success in the first two of which was followed by defeat in the third and fourth. After Tipu Sultan's death in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799, the capital of the kingdom was moved back to Mysore from Seringapatam,[32]^:249 and the kingdom was distributed by the British to their allies of the Fourth Mysore war. The landlocked interior of the previous Mysore Kingdom was turned into a princely state under the suzerainty of the British Crown. The former Wodeyar rulers were reinstated as puppet monarchs, now styled Maharajas. The British administration was assisted locally by Diwan (chief minister) Purnaiah. Purnaiah is credited with improving Mysore's public works.[32]^:249 Mysore lost its status as the administrative centre of the kingdom in 1831, when the British commissioner moved the capital to Bangalore.[32]^:251 It regained that status in 1881[32]^:254 and remained the capital of the Princely State of Mysore within the British Indian Empire until India became independent in 1947.

The Mysore municipality was established in 1888 and the city was divided into eight wards.[31]^:283 In 1897 an outbreak of bubonic plague killed nearly half of the population of the city.[33] With the establishment of the City Improvement Trust Board (CITB) in 1903, Mysore became one of the first cities in Asia to undertake planned development of the city.[34] Public demonstrations and meetings were held there during the Quit India movement and other phases of the Indian independence movement.[35]

After Indian Independence, Mysore city remained as part of the Mysore State, now known as Karnataka. Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, then king of Mysore, was allowed to retain his titles and was nominated as the Rajapramukh (appointed governor) of the state. He died in September 1974 and was cremated in Mysore city.[36] Over the years, Mysore became well known as a centre for tourism; the city remained largely peaceful, except for occasional riots related to the Kaveri River Water Dispute.[37] Among the events that took place in Mysore and made national headlines were a fire at a television studio that claimed 62 lives in 1989,[38] and the sudden deaths of many animals at the Mysore Zoo.[39]

• 
  Street Mural in Mysore
• 
  Map of Mysore and nearby Srirangapatna, c. 1914

Mysore Palace

The civic administration of the city is managed by the Mysore City Corporation, which was established as a municipality in 1888 and converted into a corporation in 1977. Overseeing engineering works, health, sanitation, water supply, administration and taxation, the corporation is headed by a Mayor, who is assisted by commissioners and council members.[41]^:43 The city is divided into 65 wards and the council members (also known as corporators) are elected by the citizens of Mysore every five years.[47] The council members, in turn, elect the mayor. The annual budget of the corporation for the year 2011–2012 was ₹4.27 billion (equivalent to ₹7.1 billion or US$99 million in 2019).[48] Among 63 cities covered under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, Mysore City Corporation was adjudged the second best city municipal corporation and was given the "Nagara Ratna" award in 2011.[49]

Urban growth and expansion is managed by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA), which is headed by a commissioner. Its activities include developing new layouts and roads, town planning and land acquisition. One of the major projects undertaken by MUDA is the creation of an Outer Ring Road to ease traffic congestion.[50] Citizens of Mysuru have criticised MUDA for its inability to prevent land mafias and ensure lawful distribution of housing lands among city residents.[51] The Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation is responsible for electric supply to the city.[52]

Drinking water for Mysore is sourced from the Kaveri and Kabini rivers.[41]^:53 The city got its first piped water supply when the Belagola project was commissioned in 1896.[53] As of 2011, Mysore gets 193,000 cubic metres (42.5 million imperial gallons) of water per day. Mysore sometimes faces water crises, mainly during the summer months (March–June) and in years of low rainfall.[54] The city has had an underground drainage system since 1904. The entire sewage from the city drains into four valleys: Kesare, Malalavadi, Dalavai and Belavatha.[41]^:56 In an exercise carried out by the Urban Development Ministry under the national urban sanitation policy, Mysore was rated the second cleanest city in India in 2010 and the cleanest in Karnataka.[55]

The citizens of Mysore elect five representatives to the Legislative assembly of Karnataka through the constituencies of Chamaraja, Krishnaraja, Narasimharaja, Hunsur and Chamundeshwari.[56] Mysore city, being part of the larger Mysore Lok Sabha constituency, also elects one member to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. The politics in the city is dominated by three political parties: the Indian National Congress (INC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS).[56]

As of 2011, Mysuru city had an estimated population of 920,550 consisting of 461,042 males and 459,508 females, making it the third most populous city in Karnataka[6][60] Mysore urban agglomeration is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state[61] and is home to 1,060,120 people, consisting of 497,132 males and 493,762 females.[9] According to 2011 census, Mysore was the largest non-metropolitan city in India and had the highest basic infrastructure index of 2.846.[62] Mysore is estimated to have crossed 1 million in 2017 making it a Metropolis.[63] The gender ratio of the city is 1000 females to every 1000 males and the population density is 6,910.5 per square kilometre (17,898/sq mi). According to the census of 2001, 73.65% of the city population are Hindus, 21.92% are Muslims, 2.71% are Christians, 1.13% are Jains and the remainder belong to other religions.[64] The population exceeded 100,000 in the census of 1931 and grew by 20.5 per cent in the decade 1991–2001. As of 2011, the literacy rate of the city is 86.84 per cent, which is higher than the state's average of 75.6 per cent.[3][65] Kannada is the most widely spoken language in the city. Approximately 19% of the population live below the poverty line, and 9% live in slums.[66] According to the 2001 census, 35.75% of the population in the urban areas of Karnataka are workers, but only 33.3% of the population of Mysore are.[67] Members of Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes constitute 15.1% of the population.[67] According to the National Crime Records Bureau of India, the number of cognisable crime incidents reported in Mysore during 2010 was 3,407 (second in the state, after Bangalore's 32,188), increasing from 3,183 incidents reported in 2009.[68][69]

The residents of the city are known as Mysoreans in English and Mysoorinavaru in Kannada. The dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the sharing of Kaveri river water often leads to minor altercations and demonstrations in the city.[70] Growth in the information technology industry in Mysore has led to a change in the city's demographic profile; likely strains on the infrastructure and haphazard growth of the city resulting from the demographic change have been a cause of concern for some of its citizens.[71]

Infosys office at Hebbal, Mysore

Tourism and IT is the major industry in Mysore. The city attracted about 3.15 million tourists in 2010.[72] Mysore has traditionally been home to industries such as weaving, sandalwood carving, bronze work and the production of lime and salt.[73] It has many big IT Companies in the city like Infosys and Wipro. The planned industrial growth of the city and the state was first envisaged at the Mysore economic conference in 1911.[73][74] This led to the establishment of industries such as the Mysore Sandalwood Oil Factory in 1917 and the Sri Krishnarajendra Mills in 1920.[75]^{:270, 278}

For the industrial development of the city, the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) has established four industrial areas in and around Mysore, in the Belagola, Belawadi, Hebbal and Hootagalli areas.[76] One of the major industrial area in the proximity of Mysore is Nanjangud which will be Satellite town to Mysore. Nanjangud industrial area hosts a number of industries like AT&S India Pvt Ltd, Nestle India ltd, Reid and Taylor, Jubiliant, TVS, Asian Paints. Nanjangud Industrial area also boasts being 2nd highest VAT / Sales Taxpayer which is more than ₹4 billion (US$56 million) after Peenya which is in state capital Bangalore. JK Tyre has its manufacturing facility in Mysore.[77]

The major software companies in Mysore are Infosys, ArisGlobal, Larsen & Toubro Infotech, Excelsoft Technologies and Triveni Engineering.[78][79][80] The growth of the information technology industry in the first decade of the 21st century has resulted in the city emerging as the second largest software exporter in Karnataka (as of), next to Bangalore.[81][82] Mysore also has many shopping malls one of them are Mall of Mysore which is one of the largest malls in India and Karnataka. Retail is also a major part of economy in Mysore.

Mysore also hosts many central government organizations like CFTRI, DFRL, CIPET, BEML,[83] RMP (Rare Material Project), RBI Note printing Press and RBI Paper Printing Press.

Crawford Hall, University of Mysore

Before the advent of the European system of education in Mysore, agraharas (Brahmin quarters) provided Vedic education to Hindus, and madrassas provided schooling for Muslims.[75]^:459 Modern education began in Mysore when a free English school was established in 1833.[84] Maharaja's College was founded in 1864. A high school exclusively for girls was established in 1881 and was later renamed Maharani's Women's College.[85] The Industrial School, the first institute for technical education in the city, was established in 1892; this was followed by the Chamarajendra Technical Institute in 1913.[75]^:601 While the modern system of education have made inroads, colleges such as the Mysore Sanskrit Pāthaśhāla, established in 1876, still continue to provide Vedic education.[75]^:595

The education system was enhanced by the establishment of the University of Mysore in 1916.[86] This was the sixth university to be established in India and the first in Karnataka.[86] It was named Manasagangotri ("fountainhead of the Ganges of the mind") by the poet Kuvempu. The university caters to the districts of Mysore, Mandya, Hassan and Chamarajanagar in Karnataka. About 127 colleges, with a total of 53,000 students, are affiliated with the university.[87] Its alumni include Kuvempu, Gopalakrishna Adiga, S. L. Bhyrappa, U. R. Ananthamurthy and N.R. Narayana Murthy. Engineering education began in Mysore with the establishment in 1946 of the National Institute of Engineering, the second oldest engineering college in the state.[88] The Mysore Medical College, founded in 1924, was the first medical college to be started in Karnataka and the seventh in India.[89] National institutes in the city include te Central Food Technological Research Institute, the Central Institute of Indian Languages, the Defence Food Research Laboratory, and the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing.[41]^:18

Mysore painting depicting the goddess Saraswati

Referred to as the cultural capital of Karnataka, Mysore is well known for the festivities that take place during the period of Dasara; the state festival of Karnataka. The Dasara festivities, which are celebrated over a ten-day period, were first introduced by King Raja Wodeyar I in 1610.[90] On the ninth day of Dasara, called Mahanavami, the royal sword is worshipped and is taken on a procession of decorated elephants, camels and horses.[90] On the tenth day, called Vijayadashami, the traditional Dasara procession (locally known as Jumboo Savari) is held on the streets of Mysore which usually falls in the month of September or October. The idol of the Goddess Chamundeshwari is placed on a golden mantapa on the back of a decorated elephant and taken on a procession, accompanied by tabla, dance groups, music bands, decorated elephants, horses and camels.[90] The procession starts from the Mysore Palace and culminates at a place called Bannimantapa, where the banni tree (Prosopis spicigera) is worshipped.[90] The Dasara festivities culminate on the night of Vijayadashami with a torchlight parade, known locally as Panjina Kavayatthu.[90]

Mysore is called the City of Palaces because of several ornate examples in the city. Among the most notable are Amba Vilas, popularly known as Mysore Palace; Jaganmohana Palace, which also serves as an art gallery; Rajendra Vilas, also known as the summer palace; Lalitha Mahal, which has been converted into a hotel; and Jayalakshmi Vilas.[91]^:87–88 The main palace of Mysore was burned down in 1897, and the present-day structure was built on the same site. Amba Vilas palace exhibits an Indo-Saracenic style of architecture on the outside, but a distinctly Hoysala style in the interior.[91]^:82 Even though the Government of Karnataka maintains the Mysore palace, a small portion has been allocated for the erstwhile Royal family to live in. The Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion was constructed by Sri Chamaraja Wodeyar for his daughter Jayalakshammanni. It is now a museum dedicated to folk culture and artifacts of the royal family.[92]

Mysuru silk sari

The Mysore painting style is an offshoot of the Vijayanagar school of painting, and King Raja Wodeyar (1578–1617 CE) is credited with having been its patron.[93]^:1 The distinctive feature of these paintings is the gesso work, to which gold foil is applied.[93]^:3 Mysore is known for rosewood inlay work; around 4,000 craftsmen were estimated to be involved in this art in 2002.[94] The city lends its name to the Mysore silk sari, a women's garment made with pure silk and gold zari (thread).[95] Mysore Peta, the traditional indigenous turban worn by the erstwhile rulers of Mysore, is worn by men in some traditional ceremonies. A notable local dessert that traces its history to the kitchen in the Mysore palace is Mysore pak.

Mysore is the location of the International Ganjifa Research Centre, which researches the ancient card game Ganjifa and the art associated with it.[96] The Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA) offers education in visual art forms such as painting, graphics, sculpture, applied art, photography, photojournalism and art history. The Rangayana repertory company performs plays and offers certificate courses in subjects related to theatre.[97][98] Kannada writers Kuvempu, Gopalakrishna Adiga and U. R. Ananthamurthy were educated in Mysuru and served as professors at the Mysore University.[99] R. K. Narayan, a popular English-language novelist and creator of the fictional town of Malgudi, and his cartoonist brother R. K. Laxman spent much of their life in Mysore.[100]

Ambavilas Palace known as the Mysore Palace, is a historical royal residence of Wadiyar dynasty of the Kingdom of Mysore which once ruled most of present day Karnataka

Oriental Library

Newspaper publishing in Mysore started in 1859 when Bhashyam Bhashyacharya began publishing a weekly newspaper in Kannada called the Mysooru Vrittanta Bodhini,[124] the first of a number of weekly newspapers published in the following three decades.[124] A well-known Mysore publisher during Wodeyar rule was M. Venkatakrishnaiah, known as the father of Kannada journalism, who started several news magazines.[125] Many local newspapers are published in Mysore and carry news mostly related to the city and its surroundings,[126] and national and regional dailies in English and Kannada are available, as in the other parts of the state. Sudharma, the only Indian daily newspaper in Sanskrit, is published in Mysore.[127]

Mysore was the location of the first private radio broadcasting station in India when Akashavani (voice from the sky) was established in the city on 10 September 1935 by M.V. Gopalaswamy, a professor of psychology, at his house in the Vontikoppal area of Mysore, using a 50-watt transmitter.[128][129] The station was taken over by the princely state of Mysore in 1941 and was moved to Bangalore in 1955. In 1957, Akashvani was chosen as the official name of All India Radio (AIR), the radio broadcaster of the Government of India. The AIR station at Mysore broadcasts an FM radio channel at 100.6 MHz,[130] and Gyan Vani broadcasts on 105.6.[131] BIG FM, Radio Mirchi and Red FM are the three private FM channels operating in the city.[132]

Mysore started receiving television broadcasts in the early 1980s, when Doordarshan (public service broadcaster of the Indian government) started broadcasting its national channel all over India. This was the only channel available to Mysoreans until Star TV started satellite channels in 1991. Direct-to-home channels are now available in Mysore.[133]

The Wodeyar kings of Mysore were patrons of games and sports. King Krishnaraja Wodeyar III had a passion for indoor games. He invented new board games and popularised the ganjifa card game.[134] Malla-yuddha (traditional wrestling) has a history in Mysore dating back to the 16th century.[135] The wrestling competition held in Mysore during the Dasara celebrations attracts wrestlers from all over India. An annual sports meeting is organised there during the Dasara season too.[136]

In 1997 Mysore and Bangalore co-hosted the city's biggest sports event ever, the National Games of India. Mysore was the venue for six sports: archery, gymnastics, equestrianism, handball, table tennis and wrestling.[137] Cricket is by far the most popular sport in Mysore.[138][139] The city has five established cricket grounds.[140] Javagal Srinath, who represented India for several years as its frontline fast bowler, comes from Mysore.[141] Other prominent sportsmen from the city are Prahlad Srinath, who has represented India in Davis Cup tennis tournaments; Reeth Abraham, a national champion in the heptathlon and a long jump record holder; Sagar Kashyap, the youngest Indian to officiate at the Wimbledon Championships; and Rahul Ganapathy, a national amateur golf champion.[142][143][144][145] The Mysore race course hosts a racing season each year from August through October.[146] India's first youth hostel was formed in the Maharaja's College Hostel in 1949.[147]

Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens

Mysore is a major tourist destination in its own right and serves as a base for other tourist attractions in the vicinity.[37] The city receives many tourists during the ten-day Dasara festival.[148] One of the most visited monuments in India, the Amba Vilas Palace, or Mysore Palace, is the centre of the Dasara festivities.[149] The Jaganmohana Palace, The Sand Sculpture Museum the Jayalakshmi Vilas and the Lalitha Mahal are other palaces in the city.[150] Chamundeshwari Temple, atop the Chamundi Hills, and St. Philomena's Church, Wesley's Cathedral are notable religious places in Mysore.[37]

The Mysore Zoo, established in 1892,[151] the Karanji, Kukkarahalli and the Blue Lagoon Lake are popular recreational destinations. Blue Lagoon is a lake with a mini island located behind the KRS water dam, from which it is mesmerising to watch the sunset and sunrise.[37][152] Mysuru has the Regional Museum of Natural History, the Folk Lore Museum, the Railway Museum and the Oriental Research Institute. The city is a centre for yoga-related health tourism that attracts domestic and foreign visitors, particularly those who, for years, came to study with the late Ashtanga vinyasa yoga guru K. Pattabhi Jois.[153]

A short distance from Mysuru city is the neighbouring Mandya District's Krishnarajasagar Dam and the adjoining Brindavan Gardens, where a musical fountain show is held every evening. Places of historic importance close to Mysore are Mandya District's Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna. And other historical places are Somanathapura and Talakad.[37] B R Hills, Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta hill and the hill stations of Ooty, Sultan Bathery and Madikeri are close to Mysore. Popular destinations for wildlife enthusiasts near Mysore include the Nagarahole National Park, the wildlife sanctuaries at Melkote, Mandya and B R Hills and the bird sanctuaries at Ranganathittu, Mandya and Kokrebellur, Mandya.[154] Bandipur National Park and Mudumalai National Park, which are sanctuaries for gaur, chital, elephants, tigers, leopards and other threatened species, lie between 60 and 100 kilometres (37 and 62 mi) to the south. Other tourist spots near Mysuru include the religious locations of Nanjanagud and Bylakuppe and the waterfalls at neighbouring districts of Mandya's Shivanasamudra.

• Cincinnati, Ohio, United States (2012)[155][156][157]
• Nashua, New Hampshire, United States (2016)[158][159]

• C V Rangacharlu Memorial Hall
• List of Heritage Buildings in Mysore
• List of million-plus cities in India
• Maharaja of Mysore
• Mahisha Kingdom
• Mysore Dasara
• Mysore Kingdom
• Tourist attractions in Mysore
• Mysore Sandal Soap
• Vijayanagara Kingdom
• Mysuru Local Planning Area

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mysore.

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Mysore

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Mysore.

• Mysore Palace – Govt of Karnataka
• Mysore City Corporation
• Mysore District Information
• MysoreMedia
• Mysore at Curlie