The Royal Walk

Overview

An expert-guided tour in the heart of the city takes you past some grand old structures which are stark reminders of Mysore’s regal past. Along the way you will enjoy stories about the opulent lives of the maharajas and how they shaped the city’s cultural landscape, being great patrons of the arts and crafts. The allurements of a 125-year old market revive memories of the city’s golden past and the rich atmospherics offer excellent photops for even a novice photographer. A stop at a popular sweetshop gives you a taste of another slice of royal heritage and history…this time of the culinary kind.

Why you will love it

• Delving into Mysore’s regal past
• Uncovering hidden gems from Mysore’s history
• Soaking in the multi-layered regal nuances of the city in a century-old market

What you will experience

We start this walk in the heart of the city to get the pulse of Mysore’s regal past. We will also get some insights on how it is linked to historical events in America and Europe as we gaze upon colonial structures such as the Town Hall and the Clock Tower. America’s connections with India were routed through the British Raj. When Britain tried to subjugate fledgling America, it inspired the Americans to see how other countries who were Britain enemies were coping with their struggles. So that’s how America took a keen interest in Britain's conflict with the Mysore Kingdom even though it was a thousand miles away. Americans were readily supported by France, which was shared an old enmity with Britain. Mysore was a key ally of the French in India, so when the conflict arose between Britain against the French and Dutch during the American War of Independence, it sparked off Anglo–Mysore hostilities in India.

As we stop at the roundabout at Statue Square we will ponder on the multiple layers of the city that were shaped by the royal house of Mysore. The 125-year old Devraja Market, named after Raja Dodda Devaraja Wodeyar in 1925, recaptures the essence of its age-old roots and rich atmospherics of a commercial and cultural hub. Then again we are captivated by a historic sweet, Mysore Pak, which marks one of the highlights of the royal kitchen of the Wodeyars and is now a gift to the sweet tooth of Mysore; thousands of people have over time converged on the shop, where the fourth generation of the royal chef who invented it dishes out this great delicacy.