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Triumph TR 4A, and Bond Equipe. The common lineage is Triumph - Bonds were Triumph Herald based.
Seen on the SALT 12 Rally in Somerset/Dorset/Devon, held June 1,2,3 2018. The SALT rallies are a celebration of Cold-War era motoring.
©2018 Allen Walker (TatraŠkoda)
A legendary story, written by four different die cast manufacturers.
'71 Skyline 2000 GTR KPGC10 (Kyosho)
'71 Skyline 2000GTX KPGC10 (Matchbox)
Skyline GTR R34 (Hot Wheels)
GTR R35 (Tomica)
Commercial picture of Saab . Even if I should have prefered to see the older model on the front and the recents ones background I love that draw
Hemis Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery (gompa) of the Drukpa Lineage, located in Hemis, Ladakh, India. Situated 45 km from Leh, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Hemis Monastery existed before the 11th century and was re-established in 1672 by the Ladakhi king Sengge Namgyal. The annual Hemis festival honoring Padmasambhava is held here in early June.
Terma and tertöns : The essence of Tebetan Buddhism.
Padmasambhava (lit. "Lotus-Born"), also known as Guru Rinpoche, is a literary character of terma (Terma or "hidden treasure"- are key Tibetan Buddhist teaching, which the tradition holds were originally esoterically hidden by various adepts such as Padmasambhava and his consorts, in the 8th century for future discovery at auspicious times by other adepts, known as tertöns. As such, they represent a tradition of continuous revelation in Tibetan Buddhism. Termas are a part of Tantric Literature. Tradition holds that terma may be a physical object such as a text or ritual implement that is buried in the ground (or earth), hidden in a rock or crystal, secreted in a herb, or a tree, hidden in a lake (or water), or hidden in the sky (space). Though a literal understanding of terma is "hidden treasure", and sometimes objects are hidden away, the teachings associated should be understood as being “concealed within the mind of the guru”, that is, the true place of concealment is in the tertön's mindstream. If the concealed or encoded teaching or object is a text, it is often written in dakini script: a non-human type of code or writing).
Terma is an emanation of Amitabha (Amitābha or Amideva, is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism. Amitābha is the principal buddha in the Pure Land sect, a branch of Buddhism practiced mainly in East Asia, while in Vajrayana Amitābha is known for his longevity attribute, magnetising red fire element, the aggregate of discernment, pure perception and the deep awareness of emptiness of phenomena. According to these scriptures, Amitābha possesses infinite merits resulting from good deeds over countless past lives as a bodhisattva named Dharmakāra. "Amitābha" is translatable as "Infinite Light," hence Amitābha is also called "The Buddha of Immeasurable Life and Light" ).
Terma that is said to appear to tertons (A tertön is a discoverer of ancient texts or terma in Tibetan Buddhism) in visionary encounters and a focus of Tibetan Buddhist practice (Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet, Mongolia, Tuva, Bhutan, Kalmykia and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, and India (particularly in Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Dharamsala, Lahaul and Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim. It is also practiced in Northeast China. Religious texts and commentaries are contained in the Tibetan Buddhist canon such that Tibetan is a spiritual language of these areas. The Tibetan diaspora has spread Tibetan Buddhism to many Western countries, where the tradition has gained popularity. Among its prominent exponents is the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. The number of its adherents is estimated to be between ten and twenty million).
History
Hemis Monastery existed before the 11th century. Naropa, the pupil of the yogi Tilopa, and teacher of the translator Marpa is connected with this monastery. A translation was made by A. Grünwedel (Nӑro und Tilo,: Festschrift Ernst Kuhn, München 1916) of Naropa's biography that was found in Hemis monastery.
In this manuscript Naropa (or Naro) meets the "dark blue" (Skr.: nila: dark blue or black) Tilopa (or Tillo), a tantric master, who gives Naropa 12 "great" and 12 "small" tasks to do in order to enlighten him to the inherent emptiness/illusoriness of all things. Naropa is depicted as the "abbott of Nalanda" (F. Wilhelm, Prüfung und Initiation im Buche Pausya und in der Biographie des Naropa, Wiesbaden 1965, p. 70), the university-monastery in today's Bihar, India, that flourished until the sacking by Turkish and Afghan Muslim forces. This sacking must have been the driving force behind Naropa's peregrination in the direction of Hemis. After Naropa and Tilopa met in Hemis they travelled back in the direction of a certain monastery in the now no longer existing kingdom of Maghada, called Otantra which has been identified as today's Otantapuri. Naropa is consered the founding father of the Kagyu-lineage of the Himalayan esoteric Buddhism. Hence Hemis is the main seat of the Kagyu lineage of Buddhism.
In 1894 Russian journalist Nicolas Notovitch claimed Hemis as the origin of an otherwise unknown gospel, the Life of Saint Issa, Best of the Sons of Men, in which Jesus is said to have traveled to India during his "lost years." According to Notovitch, the work had been preserved in the Hemis library, and was shown to him by the monks there while he was recuperating from a broken leg. But once his story had been re-examined by historians, Notovitch confessed to having fabricated the evidence. Bart D. Ehrman states that "Today there is not a single recognized scholar on the planet who has any doubts about the matter. The entire story was invented by Notovitch, who earned a good deal of money and a substantial amount of notoriety for his hoax". However, the Indian Pandit Swami Abhedananda also claims to have read the same manuscript, and published his account of viewing it after his visit to Hemis in 1921. Abhedananda claims on the book jacket that it was translated for him with the help of a "local Lama interpreter." In the same vein, Notovich did not initially translate the manuscript, but reported his Sherpa guide did so as Notovitch could not read the original text. Notovich's version of the manuscript was translated from Tibetan to Russian to French to English. According to Swami Abhedananda's account, his Lama's translation was equivalent to the one published by Notovich. The Gutenberg Project has published the entire manuscript as a free ebook.
Hemis Festival
The Hemis Festival is dedicated to Lord Padmasambhava (Guru Rimpoche) venerated as the Dance Performance at Hemis Monastery representative reincarnate of Buddha. He is believed to have been born on the 10th day of the fifth month of the Monkey year as predicted by the Buddha Shakyamuni. It is also believed that his life mission was, and remains, to improve the spiritual condition of all living beings. And so on this day, which comes once in a cycle of 12 years, Hemis observes a major extravaganza in his memory. The observance of these sacred rituals is believed to give spiritual strength and good health. The Hemis festival takes place in the rectangular courtyard in front of the main door of the monastery. The space is wide and open save two raised square platforms, three feet high with a sacred pole in the center. A raised dias with a richly cushioned seat with a finely painted small Tibetan table is placed with the ceremonial items - cups full of holy water, uncooked rice, tormas made of dough and butter and incense sticks. A number of musicians play the traditional music with four pairs of cymbals, large-pan drums, small trumpets and large size wind instruments. Next to them, a small space is assigned for the lamas to sit.
The ceremonies begin with an early morning ritual atop the Gompa where, to the beat of drums and the resounding clash of cymbals and the spiritual wail of pipes, the portrait of "Dadmokarpo" or "Rygyalsras Rimpoche" is then ceremoniously put on display for all to admire and worship.
The most esoteric of festivities are the mystic mask dances. The Mask Dances of Ladakh are referred collectively as chams Performance. Chams performance is essentially a part of Tantric tradition, performed only in those gompas which follow the Tantric Vajrayana teachings and the monks perform tantric worship.
Source: Wikipedia and others.
Back in 1984 this was THE place to go after work for a few inexpensive "cold ones". Especially on Friday because that was always quarter-beer night at the Choo-Choo. Plenty of railroaders frequented this establishment along US 2/53 in Itasca, the eastern-most part of Superior, Wisconsin. The Choo-Choo Bar started out as a passenger car body and the caboose was added in October 1979. Its lineage is not CStPM&O, but rather Lake Superior Terminal & Transfer Railway No. 11. But since the adjacent railroad yard was owned by C&NW, it made sense to make this an Omaha Railway car, complete with the Employee Owned North Western logo. It's always a good thing to know where your customers are coming from—and play to that strength. No doubt, there were many more men drinking here from C&NW than there were from the other roads. But I can attest that a bunch of my BN pals who worked at Allouez stopped by here on a regular basis too since the GN ore yards were just a mile or two west of here.
The Choo-Choo is still here but the caboose was sold to a guy on a farm in Wisconsin and it was moved there several years ago and it's still painted mostly the way you see it here too. Here's a link to its most recent conversion: www.flickr.com/photos/gbw305/6845133460/
Here's a still-in-service shot of No. 11 and this car is ex-Great Northern Railway X-340: www.flickr.com/photos/jeff_lemke/25984054241/in/album-721...
The Choo-Choo's original passenger car is still in Itasca but you can't see it from the highway anymore. A new building was constructed around it. No doubt to reduce the maintenance expense on the old passenger car body. When you drive into town from the est you'll see Gronk's on the right side of the street and the Choo-Choo directly across from it on the left side of the street. Be brave. You'll have to walk inside to see what's been a local landmark here for decades. The burgers are FANTASTIC. In fact, the Choo-Choo made my official list for Best Burger Joints in the Twin Ports so be sure to read my story from July 2015 that was published in my once-a-month Twin Ports e-Newsletter. If you're not already signed up to receive these e-newsletters you'll find a link inside of this edition: conta.cc/1IdKCXG
Airline: Union Aviation
Aircraft: Embraer Lineage 1000
Registration: YL-UAG
C/n: 19000362
Time & Location: 06.07.2025, EVRA, Latvia
Four generations of women (well one to be!). Starting with my grandmother Manjari in the green bordered sari holding the arm of her eldest daughter (my aunt) Krishna. Standing at the back is Krishna's daughter-in-law Jhumpa with her daughter Trisha.
Red Hmong village (Ban Van Hoa).
The Hmong (Mong) are concentrated in Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Lai Chau, Son La, Cao Bang and Nghe An provinces.
Each lineage lives within a group setting. The head of the village assumes the common affairs for the lineage. Young Hmong men and women are free to choose their partners. Marriages are absolutely forbidden between men and women of the same lineage. Matrimonial life of the Hmong is very harmonious and divorce is very rare.
Hmong language belongs to the Hmong-Dao Group.
The Traditional Tet (New Year's Day) of the Hmong is organized every December or January. They refrain from eating green vegetables during the three days of the Tet Holiday. The musical instruments of the Hmong include various kinds of "khen" (pan-pipes) and lip organs. After a hard working day and to celebrate spring, the young men and women often play "khen" and lip organs to express their feelings for their partners.
The Hmong make their clothes from linen. Women's attire consists of a skirt, a blouse that opens at the front and has embroidery on the back, an apron to cover the skirt at the front, and leggings.
The Hmong live mainly on slash-and-burn cultivation. They also grow rice and corn on terraced
fields. Their principal food plants are corn, rice, and rye. Apart from these crops, they also grow medicinal plants and linen plants to supply the fibers for cloth weaving.
Please do not post group or invite banners
Went down to Mount St Helens last night and found the wind was too much of a factor in the compositions I set up for with wildflowers and none of those shots turned out. I did, however, spend the previous 2 hours shooting some more isolated compositions of the landscape below the mountain to pretty good result. This is part of an eroded bank just below Johnston Ridge where the colors produced by the volcanic history of the mountain are plainly evident. What became painfully obvious from this trip though is how inadequate cheap my telephoto lens is. Anyone want to donate an EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L to me?
Hemis Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery (gompa) of the Drukpa Lineage, located in Hemis, Ladakh, India. Situated 45 km from Leh, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Hemis Monastery existed before the 11th century and was re-established in 1672 by the Ladakhi king Sengge Namgyal. The annual Hemis festival honoring Padmasambhava is held here in early June.
Terma and tertöns : The essence of Tebetan Buddhism.
Padmasambhava (lit. "Lotus-Born"), also known as Guru Rinpoche, is a literary character of terma (Terma or "hidden treasure"- are key Tibetan Buddhist teaching, which the tradition holds were originally esoterically hidden by various adepts such as Padmasambhava and his consorts, in the 8th century for future discovery at auspicious times by other adepts, known as tertöns. As such, they represent a tradition of continuous revelation in Tibetan Buddhism. Termas are a part of Tantric Literature. Tradition holds that terma may be a physical object such as a text or ritual implement that is buried in the ground (or earth), hidden in a rock or crystal, secreted in a herb, or a tree, hidden in a lake (or water), or hidden in the sky (space). Though a literal understanding of terma is "hidden treasure", and sometimes objects are hidden away, the teachings associated should be understood as being “concealed within the mind of the guru”, that is, the true place of concealment is in the tertön's mindstream. If the concealed or encoded teaching or object is a text, it is often written in dakini script: a non-human type of code or writing).
Terma is an emanation of Amitabha (Amitābha or Amideva, is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism. Amitābha is the principal buddha in the Pure Land sect, a branch of Buddhism practiced mainly in East Asia, while in Vajrayana Amitābha is known for his longevity attribute, magnetising red fire element, the aggregate of discernment, pure perception and the deep awareness of emptiness of phenomena. According to these scriptures, Amitābha possesses infinite merits resulting from good deeds over countless past lives as a bodhisattva named Dharmakāra. "Amitābha" is translatable as "Infinite Light," hence Amitābha is also called "The Buddha of Immeasurable Life and Light" ).
Terma that is said to appear to tertons (A tertön is a discoverer of ancient texts or terma in Tibetan Buddhism) in visionary encounters and a focus of Tibetan Buddhist practice (Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet, Mongolia, Tuva, Bhutan, Kalmykia and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, and India (particularly in Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Dharamsala, Lahaul and Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim. It is also practiced in Northeast China. Religious texts and commentaries are contained in the Tibetan Buddhist canon such that Tibetan is a spiritual language of these areas. The Tibetan diaspora has spread Tibetan Buddhism to many Western countries, where the tradition has gained popularity. Among its prominent exponents is the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. The number of its adherents is estimated to be between ten and twenty million).
Interested Viewers can see the following documentary on Padmasambhava:
Padmasambhava
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQBbfLtxj8A&spfreload=10
History
Hemis Monastery existed before the 11th century. Naropa, the pupil of the yogi Tilopa, and teacher of the translator Marpa is connected with this monastery. A translation was made by A. Grünwedel (Nӑro und Tilo,: Festschrift Ernst Kuhn, München 1916) of Naropa's biography that was found in Hemis monastery.
In this manuscript Naropa (or Naro) meets the "dark blue" (Skr.: nila: dark blue or black) Tilopa (or Tillo), a tantric master, who gives Naropa 12 "great" and 12 "small" tasks to do in order to enlighten him to the inherent emptiness/illusoriness of all things. Naropa is depicted as the "abbott of Nalanda" (F. Wilhelm, Prüfung und Initiation im Buche Pausya und in der Biographie des Naropa, Wiesbaden 1965, p. 70), the university-monastery in today's Bihar, India, that flourished until the sacking by Turkish and Afghan Muslim forces. This sacking must have been the driving force behind Naropa's peregrination in the direction of Hemis. After Naropa and Tilopa met in Hemis they travelled back in the direction of a certain monastery in the now no longer existing kingdom of Maghada, called Otantra which has been identified as today's Otantapuri. Naropa is consered the founding father of the Kagyu-lineage of the Himalayan esoteric Buddhism. Hence Hemis is the main seat of the Kagyu lineage of Buddhism.
In 1894 Russian journalist Nicolas Notovitch claimed Hemis as the origin of an otherwise unknown gospel, the Life of Saint Issa, Best of the Sons of Men, in which Jesus is said to have traveled to India during his "lost years." According to Notovitch, the work had been preserved in the Hemis library, and was shown to him by the monks there while he was recuperating from a broken leg. But once his story had been re-examined by historians, Notovitch confessed to having fabricated the evidence. Bart D. Ehrman states that "Today there is not a single recognized scholar on the planet who has any doubts about the matter. The entire story was invented by Notovitch, who earned a good deal of money and a substantial amount of notoriety for his hoax". However, the Indian Pandit Swami Abhedananda also claims to have read the same manuscript, and published his account of viewing it after his visit to Hemis in 1921. Abhedananda claims on the book jacket that it was translated for him with the help of a "local Lama interpreter." In the same vein, Notovich did not initially translate the manuscript, but reported his Sherpa guide did so as Notovitch could not read the original text. Notovich's version of the manuscript was translated from Tibetan to Russian to French to English. According to Swami Abhedananda's account, his Lama's translation was equivalent to the one published by Notovich. The Gutenberg Project has published the entire manuscript as a free ebook.
Hemis Festival
The Hemis Festival is dedicated to Lord Padmasambhava (Guru Rimpoche) venerated as the Dance Performance at Hemis Monastery representative reincarnate of Buddha. He is believed to have been born on the 10th day of the fifth month of the Monkey year as predicted by the Buddha Shakyamuni. It is also believed that his life mission was, and remains, to improve the spiritual condition of all living beings. And so on this day, which comes once in a cycle of 12 years, Hemis observes a major extravaganza in his memory. The observance of these sacred rituals is believed to give spiritual strength and good health. The Hemis festival takes place in the rectangular courtyard in front of the main door of the monastery. The space is wide and open save two raised square platforms, three feet high with a sacred pole in the center. A raised dias with a richly cushioned seat with a finely painted small Tibetan table is placed with the ceremonial items - cups full of holy water, uncooked rice, tormas made of dough and butter and incense sticks. A number of musicians play the traditional music with four pairs of cymbals, large-pan drums, small trumpets and large size wind instruments. Next to them, a small space is assigned for the lamas to sit.
The ceremonies begin with an early morning ritual atop the Gompa where, to the beat of drums and the resounding clash of cymbals and the spiritual wail of pipes, the portrait of "Dadmokarpo" or "Rygyalsras Rimpoche" is then ceremoniously put on display for all to admire and worship.
The most esoteric of festivities are the mystic mask dances. The Mask Dances of Ladakh are referred collectively as chams Performance. Chams performance is essentially a part of Tantric tradition, performed only in those gompas which follow the Tantric Vajrayana teachings and the monks perform tantric worship.
Source: Wikipedia and others.
M-AKKU Embraer 190 Lineage 1000 at Glasgow 2/11/21.
This aircraft was visiting in connection with the COP 26 World Climate Change Conference.
Fotos: Jesús Clares
Modelo: Hekady Borafluch
MUA & Hair: Mar Alvarez Hazen - Aranzazu Invernón Hita
Asist. Iluminación: Taichia Sagara - Alberto Carrillo Compe
9H-FAB
Embraer ERJ-190 Lineage 1000
Air X Charter
C/n 19000534
London Luton Airport (LTN / EGGW)
15.7.23.
Off to Malaga.
The Palace of Mysore (also known as the Amba Vilas Palace) is a historical palace in the city of Mysore in Karnataka, southern India. It is the official residence and seat of the Wodeyars — the Maharajas of Mysore, the former royal family of Mysore, who ruled the princely state of Mysore from 1350 to 1950. The palace houses two durbar halls (ceremonial meeting halls of the royal court) and incorporates a mesmerizing and gigantic array of courtyards, gardens, and buildings. The palace is in the central region of inner Mysore, facing the Chamundi Hills eastward.
Mysore is commonly described as the City of Palaces. There are about seven palaces inclusive of this; however, Mysore Palace refers specifically to the one within the Old Fort. Built by the Maharaja Rajarshi His highness Krishnarajendra Wadiyar IV, Mysore Palace is now one of the most famous tourist attractions in India, after the Taj Mahal, and has more than 6 million visitors annually.
THE ROYAL LINEAGE
Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar was Maharaja from 1799 to 1868. After the fall of Tipu Sultan he made Mysore his capital in May 1799 and focused on education, religious sites and donating jewels to temples including Melkote. Chamaraja Wadiyar was coronated on September 23, 1868, at the age of five. He was anointed king on the date fixed by the Governor General. He is credited with founding India's first democratic institutions with the Mysore representative assembly in 1881. Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar was Maharaja from 1895 to 1940 He was also called the Saint King by Mahatma Gandhi. Assisted by dewans Sir M Visvesvaraya and Sir Mirza Ismail, he changed Mysore by adding Asia's first hydro electric project at Shivanasamudra, the KRS dam and the University of Mysore in 1916. Jayachamaraja Wadiyar was the twenty fifth and the last king, reining from 1940 to 1950, when he agreed to merge the state with the union of India. A musicologist and a philanthropist, he was named Raj Parmukh of Mysore from Jan 26, 1950, a post he held for six years. The present Maharaja is Yaduveera, who was adopted by his aunt.
MYSORE
King Yaduraya first built a palace inside the Old Fort in Mysore in the 14th century, which was demolished and constructed multiple times. The regent of Mysore, Her Majesty Maharani Vani Vilas Sannidhna, and her son, the Maharaja of Mysore His Highness Rajarshi Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, commissioned the British architect Lord Henry Irwin to build a new palace to replace the old one which had been turned into ashes by fire. Meanwhile, the royal family stayed in the nearby Jaganmohan Palace.
Construction of the current palace was commissioned in 1897, completed in 1912, and expanded around 1940 (including the addition of the present Public Durbar Hall wing) during the reign of His Highness Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, the last Maharaja of Mysore Kingdom. The construction was completed in 1912, but the fort continued to be beautified and its inhabitants were slowly moved to the newer extension built off the palace.
Apart from the leonine Ambavilas Palace and Jaganmohan Palace (which, later, His Highness Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar used as his art gallery and it remains an art gallery), the city has several other grand palaces like Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion (now the office of the district commissioner), Rajendra Vilas Mansion (now a private hotel atop Chamundi Hills), Lalitha Mahal Palace (now a five-star hotel), Laxmi Vilas Mansion, Cheluvamba Vilas Palace (the palace which His Highness Maharaja Sri Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar donated to the newly born Govt. of India; now the headquarters of Central Food Technological Research Institute, a national research institute), and Krishnarajendra Vilas Palace (now Krishna Rajendra Hospital). Besides there are buildings a century old or more, like Crowfard Hall (now the headquarters of the University of Mysore), Oriental Research Institute building, Corporation Complex of Mysore City Corporation, et cetera. In all the above palaces, the royal family holds blocks held by the kings traditionally. However, the Bangalore Palace and Ambavilas are entirely under the possession of the royal family. Despite this, the state government of Karnataka has its tourism department authorized the supervision Mysore Palace. Bangalore Palace remains entirely a private property of the princess.
ARCHITECTURE
The architectural style domes of the palace is commonly described as Indo-Saracenic and blends Hindu, Muslim, Rajput, and Gothic styles. It is a three-stone structure with marble domes and a 145 ft five-story tower. The palace is surrounded by a large garden. The entrance gate and arch hold the emblem and coat of arms of the kingdom of Mysore, around which is written the kingdom's motto in Sanskrit: "न बिभॆति
The palace has three entrances: the East Gate (the front gate, opened only during the Dasara and for VVIPs), the South Entrance (for public), and the West Entrance (usually opened only during the Dasara). In addition, there are numerous secret tunnels from the palace cellar leading to Srirangapatna, other palaces, and confidential areas.
The three-story stone building of fine gray granite with deep pink marble domes has a facade with several expansive arches and two smaller ones flanking the central arch, which is supported by tall pillars. Above the central arch is a sculpture of Gajalakshmi, the goddess of wealth, prosperity, good luck and abundance with her elephants. There are three major exclusive temple buildings within the Old Fort, and about 18 inside the palace heart building. The Maharajas of Mysore were devotees of Goddess Chamundi, which is why the place faces Chamundi Hills. Besides, head of the Parakala Mutt stays the spiritual rajguru (royal teacher and guide) as a reason of which the palace is built next to an even older Parakala Mutt headquarters.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Every autumn, the palace is the venue for the famous Mysore Dasara festival, during which leading artists perform on a stage set up in the palace grounds. On the tenth day of the festival Vijaya Dashami, a parade with caparisoned elephants and floats originate from the palace grounds.
Dasara is the most extravagant festival of Mysore. It is celebrated in September and October of each year. The festival celebrates and commemorates the victory of the great Goddess Durga, also called Chamundeshwari, after she slew the demon Mahishasura, thereby symbolizing the triumph of good over evil according to Hindu mythology.
This festival has been celebrated by the Wodeyars at Srirangapatna since 1610, and in Mysore with great pomp since 1799. The tradition is still carried on, although the scale of the celebrations has diminished. The Dashera festivities have become an integral part of the culture and life in Mysore. To celebrate this festival, the Palace of Mysore is illuminated with more than 96,000 lights during the two-month period.
UNIQUE ROOMS
The palace is an excellent combination of Indo-Saracenic architecture and features a number of unique rooms.
AMBAVILASA
This room was used by the king as a hall for private audiences. Entry to this opulent hall is through an elegantly carved rosewood doorway inlaid with ivory that opens into a shrine dedicated to Ganesha. The central nave of the hall has ornately gilded columns, stained glass ceilings, decorative steel grills, and chandeliers with fine floral motifs, mirrored in the pietra dura mosaic floor embellished with semi-precious stones. This is where the king would confer with his ministers. It was the chamber in which he gave audience to people deserving special attention.
GOMBE THOTTI (Doll’s Pavilion)
Entry to the palace is through the Gombe Thotti, or Doll’s Pavilion, a gallery of traditional dolls from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The pavilion also houses a fine collection of Indian and European sculpture and ceremonial objects, including a wooden elephant howdah (frame to carry passengers) decorated with 84 kilograms of gold.
Kalyana Mantapa
The Kalyana Mantapa, or marriage hall, is a grand, octagonal-shaped pavilion with a multi-hued stained glass ceiling with peacock motifs arranged in geometrical patterns. The entire structure was wrought in Glasgow, Scotland.
The floor also displays a peacock mosaic, designed with tiles from England. Oil paintings illustrating the royal procession and Dasara celebrations of bygone years are displayed on the walls.
Other rooms
The palace houses several rooms of importance. These include:
The Diwan-e-aam, a public durbar where the general population could meet the king at scheduled times to submit petitions.
An armory which contains arms used by the members of the royal family. It contains lances, cutlasses, and other 14th century weapons as well as those used in the early twentieth century, such as pistols.
TEMPLES
The palace complex includes twelve Hindu temples. The oldest was built in the 14th century, while the most recent was built in 1953.
Some of the famous temples are:
- Someshvara Temple, dedicated to God Lord Shiva
- Lakshmiramana Temple, dedicated to God Lord Vishnu
- Shwetha Varahaswamy Temple, dedicated to
Lord Varahaswamy, one of the 10 incarnations of lord Vishnu
- Sri Prasanna krishna Swami Temple
- Sri Bhuvaneshwari Temple
- Kodi Someshwaraswami Temple
- Sri Gayatri Temple
- Sri Trineshwara temple
VISITORS INFORMATION
The palace is ten minutes from the city central railway station and from the suburb bus-stand; right behind city bus-stand, and twenty minutes (less four miles) from Mysore Airport. The domestic airport is directly connected to the international airports of Bangalore (Kempegowda International Airport), Chennai (Chennai International Airport), Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum International Airport), Hyderabad (Rajiv Gandhi International Airport), and Bombay (Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport). The city is connected through the state highway SH-17.
- Palace light illumination on Sundays and all public holidays between 7 and 7:45 in the evening.
- Sound and light programs are arranged on all days between 7 and 7:45, except on Sundays and public holidays.
The scenes of every detail in and around the palace attract one's attention. However, the authorities have prohibited photography inside the main palace complex.
The Old Fort of the palace stands open from morning 10 to night 8 and is free of cost. Entry to the palace buildings is between 11 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon, under tight security. Two squads, one police and one paramilitary, stand guard during the day, and two more during night. Children below seven are free to enter the palace, while those between seven and twelve are charged rupees 25 per head. For adults, tickets are available for Rs. 40. Price of admission for foreign tourists is INR 200. Footwear is removed before entering the palace complexes.
A major issue for visitors is the frequent extortion of bribes from visitors and tourists from corrupt Police and Palace Guards. Several scams have been reported which include guards who "befriend" visitors while offering to take them to a "secret room" where they extort money from tourists. Guards frequently requests bribes for taking photos, or try and intimidate visitors into providing money or foreign currency. Visitors have reported other scams perpetrated by corrupt officials which include demands to produce tickets and further requesting bribes.
ACQUISITION
Currently, a major portion of the palace is under the control of the Government of Karnataka, acquired by passing the Mysore Palace Acquisition Act. Only a small portion of the palace, towards the West Gate, is under the possession of Princess Pramodadevi Wadiyar. In fact, the High Court of Karnataka had passed judgment in favor of the late prince H.H. Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar that the palace belongs to the royal family. However, the Government of Karnataka moved Supreme Court after its defeat in the High Court. The case is still pending. Only the prince did not survive to continue fighting against the government, who demised on the 10th of December, 2013.
WIKIPEDIA