Posts Tagged ‘Mysore Palace’

It occurred to me that I hadn’t got anything for my mom since I ventured into my own business. She deserved something special, apart from being understanding and supportive she has always made sure that I’m so comfortable at home because of which I could focus better on work. And dont they say that behind every man’s success there is woman !! okay now you do not have to go and disect the word success and come after me, this is about Sarees and Moms so coming back to it I dint have to think too hard as to what I wanted to get her. It had to be a Mysore Silk Saree !! after all what else can the founder of Royal Mysore Walks think of !! apart from a Mysore Special So off went the mom and son one afternoon to the Mysore Silk factory !!

The Mysore Silk story has always fascinated me.  This factory was started in 1912, almost a 100 yrs back by the Maharaja of Mysore to provide Silk Sarees just for the women of the Mysore Palace. These days husbands have a problem taking their better halves out shopping and back then you had a king starting an entire factory to fulfill their need  chivalry at its best i would say !! Mysore Silk Saree is the only 100% pure silk saree in the whole world and they use pure gold and silver for the zari (the border). Did you know that women sometimes get old Mysore Silk sarees melted and get ornaments made from the precious metal that is obtained !! And any woman who has worn Mysore Silk will vouch for its super lightness unlike the other Silks.

The entire process, right from the silk yarn to the complete Saree  is done in their factory in Mysore and one can witness it. I have been taking a lot of my guests on this tour, and this time I was busy explaining my mom how the entire process is done, which is quite fascinating. But what really impresses me is that fact that just about 4 yrs back it was decided that this heritage industry should be shut down as it was a loss making one. Since then it has been restructured, the workers have gone from 3 shifts have to just one shift. The productivity has increased drastically and so has the quality. Now KSIC is a 400 Cr profit making industry !! People can just log on to their website and order the Saree of their choice and their are unable to meet the market demand. You talk to weavers there who so proudly showoff their handiwork and most of their kids are studying engineering across the street in the same college that the Infosys founder Mr Narayana Murthy went to !!

After the tour mom visibly impressed decided to buy not one but two Mysore Silk Sarees !! And I wasnt complaining Guys now that you know what to buy your mom, but then what are you gonna buy your girlfriend ??

During the 10 days of Dasara festivities, The King holds court every evening. A tradition that has been going on for centuries. Even now there is a Private Durbar held every evening at 7PM during the first 9 days where the Maharaja’s family and friends are invited for the same. And if you lucky enough to sneak in like I did you might as well get to steal a glance.

Golden Throne

After pulling a lot of strings and a bit of my patience we managed to enter the Private Durbar Hall of the Mysore Palace, Which in my personal opinion is the grandest and the most beautiful place in the Palace (of the little that i have seen). You had the cremonial Golden Throne out on display. It is really impressive with all the gold and studded with precious stones. With a line of priests sitting in row in front of the throne and also the Palace staff deressed up in ceremonial robes waiting for the Maharaja to Arrive. The entire ambience makes you feel thatyou are actually in the bygone Royal Era.

The Maharaja makes a grand entrance, The Palace staff guide him to the throne, A lot fanfare, Bugles being blown and respect shown (real or otherwise) in lot a ways. It feels like you are watch a 1960s movie on some royal dynasty ,

They go on to announce loudly something that you can never decipher expect for the words “SriKantaDatta Narasimha Raja Wodeyar Bahadur”, guess they were singing praising for the Maharaja. He accends the throne and salutes.For the next 20-30 mins there are a lot of Pujas that are performed and the loud annuncement keeps coming up regular intervals. After which the Maharaja decends the Thonre and is escorted away.

Truban Maker

The best part of the evening was when we came out and happened to meet Mr Paramesh the  turban maker, He is from the family of turban makers who makes the famous Mysore Peta (Traditional Mysore head gear). You see him in the pic wearing the traditional robe and silver in his hands. Took down his contact , So you might end up seeing more insider details on the Mysore Peta on Royal Mysore Walks