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Date of journey: 14/06/2008

Starting from: Bangalore

Destination: Mysore

Crew: Maneesh and Varun.

It was a nice weekend and Varun and I decided to go to Mysore on a bike. I made myself ready for a two-day drive as Varun doesn’t know how to drive a bike. It was Saturday and we started early at 5 am. It took us a while to reach Mysore Road as there was some construction going on. After half an hour drive we were in the Mysore Road. Well, driving was much easier then, as Mysore Road is fantastic. The route goes like this:

Bangalore—50—> Ramanagaram—30—> Maddur—20—> Mandya—22—> Srirangapatna—13—>Mysore

So the total distance would be 135 km to reach Mysore. However, we wanted to check out Srirangapatna and Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary on the way. We reached Ramanagaram around 6.30 am and just near to that we stopped for tea at a nice small cottage:

You can see the beautiful Mysore Road in this picture:

Then, we moved along and after half an hour drive we found a Cafe Coffee day. It’s amazing to find it in a highway and we had cappuccino and cookies. Then, it was a non-stop drive till we reached Srirangapatna at 8.00 am. Srirangapatna (also spelt Srirangapattana ; anglicized to Seringapatam during the British Raj) is a town in the Mandya district of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located near the city of Mysore and is of great religious, cultural and historic importance. We took a right turn and entered the town. The first spot was an ancient mosque, Jama Masjid:

Next, to see was the death place of Tipu Sultan, a monument is constructed over there where it is engraved, “The body of Tipu Sultan was found here”

History goes like this: Sultan Fateh Ali Tipu, also known as the Tiger of Mysore (November 20, 1750, Devanahalli – May 4, 1799, Srirangapattana), was the first son of Haidar Ali by his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-nissa. He was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore from the time of his father’s deathin 1782 until his own demise in 1799. He had a vision and a mission in life. The vision was to make his people enlightened and prosperous, and the mission was to liberate his land from the yoke of the colonials. His short but stormy rule is significant because of his view that the only life worth living was that which would unfold the drama of human freedom, not only political freedom, but also social freedom, economic freedom, cultural freedom, and freedom from want, hunger, apathy, ignorance and superstition. His definition of the State itself was organized energy for freedom.

He was defeated in the Third Anglo-Mysore War and in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War by the combined forces of the English East India Company, the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Mahratta Confederacy, and to a lesser extent, Travancore. Tipu Sultan died defending his capital Srirangapattana, on May 4, 1799. Then, we went to see a historic temple, Ranganatha Swamy Temple. Temple of Lord Vishnu in the sleeping posture on the Great Snake Anantha, is one of the Largest temples in the State. It was built in 9th century by Vijayanagara rulers.

Then, we saw Tipu Sultan’s Palace, which is now in ruins:

Our next spot was Colonel Bailey’s Dungeon- Named after Colonel Bailey who died here in 1782 AD this dungeon was used to imprison British prisoners like Captain Baird and Rulay, Colonel Brithwhite Sampson, Frazer and Lindsay by Tipu Sultan. This dungeon lies north of Ranganatha Swamy temple. The oblongbastion referred to as Sultan Bateri conceals the vaulted dungeon measuring 30.5 mts x 12.2 mts. built in brick and mortar. In the dungeon, the prisoners were chained to the stone slabs fixed on the east, north and the west walls:

After that we moved forward to see the Obelisk. The Obelisk marks the place where Tipu Sultan breathed his last when he was trying to stop a British soldier from pulling his legendary sword from its sheath. He was killed in this encounter due to the betrayal of his own men.

Our next spot was Dariya Daulat Bagh. It was built in the year 1784. This wooden palace made of teak is set among groomed lawns and flowerbeds. Dariya Daulat Bagh was the Summer Palace of Tipu Sultan. There is a 5 Rs. entry fee per person.

After that we went to Dodda Gosai Ghat. It lies on the banks of the Cauvery in Srirangapatna. It is a preferred place for shooting song and dance sequences of regional films. There is a beautiful temple near the ghat.

Our exploration of Srirangapatna led us to another ancient temple, Nimishamba Devi temple. This temple is on the banks of river Cauvery, about 2 kms from Srirangapattana.

From the temple one can see a beautiful view of River Cauvery:

The next place was Sangam. It is the place where River Loakpavani joins River Cauvery. This is a popular picnic spot and is a beautiful place. From here the river follows into the Mettur Dam in Tamil Nadu:

After Sangam, we went to check out Gumbaz. This tomb and mosque was built by Tipu Sultan as a tribute to his illustrious father, Hyder Ali (1722-1784 AD), after his death. It is built on a stone plinth, with polished black granite pillars that run along the corridor around the inner chamber. The Gumbaz is situated at the eastern extreme of Srirangapatna, it enshrines the cenotaphs of Hyder Ali, his wife Fakr-Un-Nisa and Tipu Sultan after his death in 1799 AD. The chamber is painted with tiger stripes that were associated with Tipu.

Cenotaphs-Hyder Ali in the middle, his wife Fakr-Un-Nisa and Tipu Sultan on either sides:

For more photos of Srirangapatna, click here.

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