Tipu Sultan's Daria Daulat Bagh

On our way to Bangalore, we stopped by the historical town of Srirangapatnam. This island town was made famous by Mysore’s raja Haider Ali and his son Tipu Sultan, both of whom were responsible for transforming the small state of Mysore into a major Muslim power. Nicknamed the “Tiger of Mysore,” Tipu Sultan took it upon himself to try and rid India of the hated British invaders. In 1799, the British finally managed to capture the citadel at Srirangapatnam, killing Tipu and firmly establishing Britain’s presence in South India.

After quickly photographing the Jami Masjid mosque (built by Tipu in 1787), we went to Tipu Sultan’s summer palace – Daria Daulat Bagh, also built in1787. Walking through the yellow archway at the entrance revealed the summer palace in the middle of a beautiful symmetrical garden. Large columns were made of teak. Green sunscreens covered much of the open veranda surrounding the entire palace. The scalloped arches of the veranda reminded me very much of the architecture I had seen in Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. The rather simple exterior of the palace failed to prepare me for the beauty of the interior. Every inch of the teak walls and ceiling was covered with patterns and colors. Some walls had painted floral designs with raised Arabic “window” frames. Columns were carved with zigzag stripes in blue, green, and cream colors. The ceiling had 8-pointed stars with floral designs inside each star. The floor was also patterned and quite colorful. Near the entrance was an upper balcony from which Tipu was able to view visitors. My favorite part was the two walls covered with murals. The west wall recalls in great detail the victory by Haider Ali over the British at Pollilore in 1870, painted in a Mughal style. Heroism and bravery by the Indian fighters was prominently presented. The east wall is basically narrative portraiture of the royal family, including queen smoking a hookah pipe. How I would have loved to photograph these mural treasures, but photography was not allowed. Sharing the space were scores of school kids in uniforms. They quickly snaked through the rooms & exhibits, many of whom were more interested in us than what was on the walls and displays. More busses full of kids were outside, with other groups sitting on lawn under shady trees, one class sitting neatly in a row.

See more photos of Srirangapatnam on my Flickr page

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