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Mysore

Mysore is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Mysore is the administrative seat of Mysore District, and is the former capital of the Kingdom of Mysore. Mysore is known as the Cultural Capital of Karnataka.

Mysore City

Mysore is at 770 m above sea level and 140 km from Bangalore. One of the best (some would say worst) times to visit Mysore is during the annual nine-night, ten-day Dussera or Dasara or Navaratri festival, which usually occurs in early October.

University of Mysore (named Manasa Gangotri) one of the oldest universities in India is located in this city. Other institutions include the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Defense Food Research Laboratory (DFRL).

Mysore is also called the City of Palaces, as there are many palaces situated in the city. A few of them are:

• The main Mysore Palace
• Rajendra Vilas (also called the summer palace situated on top of the Chamundi hills)
• Jaganmohana Palace
• Jayalakshmi Vilas (now in the University of Mysore premises)
• Lalitha Mahal (now converted to a hotel)

Even though the Government of Karnataka is now looking after the Mysore palace, a small portion of the palace has been given to the Royal family to live in.

Attractions

• The Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens known popularly as Mysore Zoo
• The Chamundeswari Temple and Nandi the Bull (on the Chamundi Hills)
• The Natural History Museum
• The Railway Museum
• Kalamandira
• Kukkarahalli Lake
• Pushpakaashi(Flower garden)
• Manasagangotri(Mysore University campus)
• Karanji Lake
• Mysore Silk Factory

History

Mysore is believed to have been established sometime in the eleventh century, and became the capital of a small kingdom around 1400, which was a tributary of the Vijayanagara empire until its fall in 1565. Shortly thereafter the Wodeyar family took control of the kingdom. From the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, the Woyedar capital alternated between Srirangapattana (Seringapatam) and Mysore. The Kingdom of Mysore grew to include most of the southern part of modern-day Karnataka. After the defeat of Tipu Sultan of Mysore in 1799, the British installed his nephew on the throne, and Mysore became a princely state in British India, and the capital was moved to Bangalore after 1834. The kingdom was acceded to India after its independence in 1947, and became Mysore state in 1950, which was later enlarged and its name changed to Karnataka.

Nearby Places

• Srirangapattana (Seringapatam), an island fortress-city that also served as the capital of the Kingdom of Mysore.
• Karigatta (hill which is located near srirangapattana.
• The Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) dam across the Kaveri river and the adjoining Brindavan Gardens
• The Nilgiri Hills
• Bandipur National Park
• Madumalai Forest
• Nagarhole National Park
• Rangantittu Bird Sanctuary
• Kabini: rated among the top five wildlife resorts in the world by Tatler's Travel Guide
• Somnathpur is an ancient temple town having a temple of historical & archeological importance
• Balamuri and Edamuri (back waters of river kaveri).
• Himavad Gopalaswamy hill
• Biligirirangana Betta (Hill)
• Kunthi hill
• Melukote

Noted people who have worked in Mysore

• Mokshagundam Vishweshwaraiah. He was the chief architect of the Krishna Raja Sagar dam.
• Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
• R. K. Narayan.
• K. V. Puttappa (popularly known as Kuvempu).
• C. D. Narasimhaiah.
• D. V. Gundappa
• Javagal Srinath

Noted people who were born in Mysore

• Kamala Markandaya, novelist.
• J. Jayalalithaa (born 1948), Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

Mysore District

Mysore District is bounded by Mandya district to the northeast, Chamrajnagar district to the southeast, Kerala state to the south, Kodagu district to the west, and Hassan district to the north. It has an area of 6,268 sq km, and a population of 2,624,911 (2001 census), an increase of 15.04% from 1991.

Mysore District lies on the undulating table land of the southern Deccan plateau, within the watershed of the Kaveri River, which flows through the northwestern and eastern parts of the district. The Krishna Raja Sagar Reservoir, which was formed by building a dam across the Kaveri, lies on the northern edge of the district. Bandipur National Park is located in Mysore District, and Nagarhole National Park lies partly in Mysore district and partly in adjacent Kodagu District.

Mysore is the rail junction for the district, and rail lines connect Mysore to Bangalore to the northeast via Mandya, to Tamil Nadu to the east, and to the rail junction at Hassan to the northwest, to Chamarajanagar to the south east.