Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the South India state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the Kingdom of Mysore for almost six centuries (). Known for its heritage structures, palaces (such as the famous Mysore Palace), and its culture, Mysore has been called the "City of Palaces", the "Heritage City", and the "Cultural capital". It is the second-most populous city in the state and one of the cleanest cities in India according to the Swachh Survekshan.
Mysore is situated at the foothills of the Chamundi Hills. At an altitude of above Sea level, the city of Mysore is geographically located at 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is about southwest of the state's capital, Bangalore, and spreads across an area of (city and neighbouring census towns). The population of the city combined with its neighbouring towns in its metropolitan area is about 1,288,000 in 2023.
Most of the city's development during modern times could be attributed to the maharajas of Mysore and the Wadiyar dynasty, who were patrons of art and culture. Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, when they were briefly in power in succession, also contributed significantly to the economic growth of the city and the kingdom by planting mulberry trees and silk in the region, and fighting four wars against the British Empire. In present days, the Mysore City Corporation is responsible for the civic administration of the city.
During the Vijayadashami festivals, Mysore receives hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world. The city is also the namesake to various art forms and culture, such as Mysore Dasara and Mysore painting; foods such as the sweet delicacy Mysore pak; breakfasts like Mysore Dosa and Mysore Masala Dosa; brands such as Mysore Sandal Soap and Mysore Paints; and styles and cosmetics such as Mysore peta, a traditional silk turban, and the Mysore silk . Mysore is also known for betel leaves and its own special variety of jasmine flower fondly referred to as "Mysore mallige". Tourism is a lifeline industry for the city alongside the traditional industries. Mysore's intracity public transportation includes bus and intercity public transportation includes rail, bus, and air.
In December 2005, the Government of Karnataka announced its intention to change the English spelling of the city to Mysuru. This was approved by the Government of India in October 2014, and Mysore was officially renamed, along with twelve other cities, on 1 November 2014.
The kingdom reached the height of its military power and dominion in the latter half of the 18th century, under the de facto rulers Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. The latter demolished parts of Mysore to remove legacies of the Wodeyar dynasty. During this time, the kingdom of Mysore came into conflict with the Marathas, the British Empire, and the Nizam of Hyderabad, leading to the four Anglo-Mysore wars, success in the first two of which was followed by defeat in the third and fourth. After Tipu Sultan's death in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799, the capital of the kingdom was moved back to Mysore from Seringapatam, and the kingdom was distributed by the British to their allies of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. Part of the kingdom was annexed into the Madras Presidency, another to the Nizam of Hyderabad. The landlocked interior of the defeated kingdom of Mysore was turned into a princely state under the suzerainty of the The Crown, with the five-year-old Wodeyar Krishnaraja III as titular ruler and with Purnaiah, who had served under Tipu, as chief minister or diwan and Lt. Col. Barry Close as Resident. The British took control of Mysore's foreign policy and insisted on an annual tribute for maintaining a standing British army at Mysore.Kamath, Suryanath U., A Concise history of Karnataka: from pre-historic times to the present (Bangalore: Jupiter books, 1980, OCLC 7796041), p. 249Kamath (2001), p. 234Venkata Ramanappa, M. N., Outlines of South Indian history: with special reference to Karnataka (Delhi: Vikas Pub. House, 1975, ), p. 225 Purnaiah is credited with improving Mysore's public works. In 1831, claiming there was maladministration, the British took direct control of the princely state.Kamath (2001), p. 250Venkata Ramanappa, M. N. (1975), pp. 229–231 For the next fifty years, the kingdom of Mysore was under the direct rule of British Commissioners,Venkata Ramanappa, M. N. (1975), pp. 231–232 and in 1831 the city of Mysore lost its status as the administrative centre, when the British Commissioner moved the capital to Bangalore.
In 1876–77, towards the end of the period of direct British rule, Mysore suffered from the Great Famine of 1876–1878, in which nearly a fifth of the population died.Lewis Rice, B., Report on the Mysore census (Bangalore: Mysore Government Press, 1881), p. 3 In 1881, Maharaja Chamaraja Wadiyar X was given control of Mysore, in a process called rendition, but with a resident British officer and a diwan to handle the Maharaja's administration,Kamath (2001), pp. 250–254 and the city of Mysore regained its status as the capital. The Mysore municipality was established in 1888 and the city was divided into eight wards. In 1897 an outbreak of bubonic plague killed nearly half of the population of the city. With the establishment of the City Improvement Trust Board (CITB) in 1903, Mysore became one of the first cities in Asia to undertake planned urban development. Public demonstrations and meetings were held there during the Quit India movement and other phases of the Indian independence movement.
Until the independence of British India (which did not include Mysore) in 1947, Mysore remained a Princely State within the British Raj, with the Wodeyars continuing their rule. After Indian Independence, Mysore city remained as part of the Mysore State, now known as Karnataka. Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, then king of Mysore, was allowed to retain his titles and was nominated as the Rajapramukh (appointed governor) of the state with a £20,000 payment. He died in September 1974 and was cremated in Mysore.
Over the years, Mysore became well known as a centre for tourism; the city remained largely peaceful, except for occasional riots related to the Kaveri River Water Dispute. Among the events that took place in Mysore and made national headlines were a fire at a television studio that claimed 62 lives in 1989, and the sudden deaths of many animals at the Mysore Zoo.
The gender ratio of Mysore is 1,000 females to every 1,000 males and the population density is . According to the census of 2001, 73.65% of the city population are , 21.92% are , 2.71% are Christians, 1.13% are and the remainder belong to other religions. The population exceeded 100,000 in the census of 1931 and grew by 20.5 per cent in the decade 1991–2001. , the literacy rate of the city is 86.84 per cent, which is higher than the state's average of 75.6 per cent.
Kannada is the most widely spoken language in the city. Approximately 19% of the population live below the poverty line, and 9% live in . According to the 2001 census, 35.75% of the population in the urban areas of Karnataka are workers, but only 33.3% of the population of Mysore are. Members of Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes constitute 15.1% of the population. According to the National Crime Records Bureau of India, the number of cognisable crime incidents reported in Mysore during 2010 was 3,407 (second in the state, after Bangalore's 32,188), increasing from 3,183 incidents reported in 2009.
The residents of the city are known as Mysoreans in English language and Mysoorinavaru in Kannada. The dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the sharing of Kaveri river water often leads to minor altercations and demonstrations in the city. Growth in the information technology industry in Mysore has led to a change in the city's demographic profile; likely strains on the infrastructure and haphazard growth of the city resulting from the demographic change have been a cause of concern for some of its citizens.
Urban growth and expansion is managed by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA), which is headed by a commissioner. Its activities include developing new layouts and roads, town planning and land acquisition. One of the major projects undertaken by MUDA is the creation of an Outer Ring Road to ease traffic congestion. Citizens of Mysore have criticised MUDA for its inability to prevent land mafias and ensure lawful distribution of housing lands among city residents. The CESCOM is responsible for electric supply to the city.
Drinking water for Mysore is sourced from the Kaveri and Kabini rivers. The city got its first piped water supply when the Belagola project was commissioned in 1896. , Mysore gets of water per day. Mysore sometimes faces water crises, mainly during the summer months (March–June) and in years of low rainfall. The city has had an underground drainage system since 1904. The entire sewage from the city drains into four valleys: Kesare, Malalavadi, Dalavai and Belavatha. In an exercise carried out by the Urban Development Ministry under the national urban sanitation policy, Mysore was rated the second cleanest city in India in 2010 and the cleanest in Karnataka. In Mysore, the Jal Diwali Campaign empowered SHGs to collectively address water conservation challenges. 90 women heads of 30 women’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in Mysuru city were introduced to the nitty-gritty of water supply, by a visit to Mysuru City Corporation’s (MCC) Water Treatment Plant at Hongalli near Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam in Mandya district.
The citizens of Mysore elect five representatives to the Legislative assembly of Karnataka through the constituencies of Chamaraja, Krishnaraja, Narasimharaja, Hunsur and Chamundeshwari. Mysore city, being part of the larger Mysore Lok Sabha constituency, also elects one member to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. The politics in the city is dominated by three political parties: the Indian National Congress (INC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS).
For the industrial development of the city, the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) has established four industrial areas in and around Mysore, in the Belagola, Belawadi, Hebbal and Hootagalli areas. One of the major industrial areas near Mysore is Nanjangud which will be a satellite town to Mysore. Nanjangud industrial area hosts a number of industries like AT&S India Pvt Ltd, Nestle India ltd, Reid and Taylor, Jubiliant, TVS, and Asian Paints. Nanjangud Industrial area also boasts being 2nd highest Value-added tax / Sales Taxpayer which is more than after Peenya which is in state capital Bangalore. JK Tyre has its manufacturing facility in Mysore. The city has emerged as a hub of automobile industries in Karnataka.
The major software companies in Mysore are Infosys, ArisGlobal, Larsen & Toubro Infotech, Excelsoft Technologies and Triveni Engineering. The growth of the information technology industry in the first decade of the 21st century has resulted in the city emerging as the second largest software exporter in Karnataka (), next to Bangalore. Mysore also has many shopping malls, including the Mall of Mysore which is one of the largest malls in India and Karnataka. Retail is also a major part of the economy in Mysore.
Mysore also hosts many central government organisations like CFTRI, DFRL, CIPET, BEML, RMP (Rare Material Project), RBI Note printing Press and RBI Paper Printing Press.
Mysore is called the City of Palaces because of several ornate examples in the city. Among the most notable are Mysore Palace, popularly known as Mysore Palace; Jaganmohana Palace, which also serves as an art gallery; Rajendra Vilas, also known as the summer palace; Lalitha Mahal, which has been converted into a hotel; and Jayalakshmi Vilas. The palace of Mysore burned down in 1897, and the present structure was built on the same site. Amba Vilas palace exhibits an Indo-Saracenic style of architecture on the outside, but a distinctly Hoysala style in the interior. Even though the Government of Karnataka maintains the Mysore palace, a small portion has been allocated for the erstwhile royal family to live in. The Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion was constructed by Sri Chamaraja Wodeyar for his daughter Jayalakshammanni. It is now a museum dedicated to folk culture and artefacts of the royal family.
The Mysore painting style is an offshoot of the Vijayanagar school of painting, and King Raja Wodeyar (1578–1617 CE) is credited with having been its patron. The distinctive feature of these paintings is the gesso work, to which gold foil is applied. Mysore is known for rosewood inlay work; around 4,000 craftsmen were involved in this art in 2002. The city lends its name to the Mysore silk sari, a women's garment made with pure silk and gold zari (thread). Mysore Peta, the traditional indigenous turban worn by the erstwhile rulers of Mysore, is worn by men in some traditional ceremonies. A notable local dessert that traces its history to the kitchen in the Mysore palace is Mysore pak.
Mysore is the location of the International Ganjifa Research Centre, which researches the ancient card game Ganjifa and the art associated with it. The Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA) offers education in visual art forms such as painting, graphics, sculpture, applied art, photography, photojournalism and art history. The Rangayana repertory company performs plays and offers certificate courses in subjects related to theatre. Kannada writers Kuvempu, Gopalakrishna Adiga and U. R. Ananthamurthy were educated in Mysore and served as professors at the Mysore University. R. K. Narayan, a popular English-language novelist and creator of the fictional town of Malgudi, and his cartoonist brother R. K. Laxman spent much of their life in Mysore.
A short distance from Mysore city is the neighbouring Mandya District's Krishnarajasagar Dam and the adjoining Brindavan Gardens, where a musical fountain show is held every evening. Places of historic importance close to Mysore are Mandya District's Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna. And other historical places are Somanathapura and Talakad. B R Hills, Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta hill and the of Ooty, Sultan Bathery and Madikeri are close to Mysore. Popular destinations for wildlife enthusiasts near Mysore include the Nagarahole National Park, the wildlife sanctuaries at Melkote, Mandya and B R Hills and the bird sanctuaries at Ranganathittu, Mandya and Kokrebellur, Mandya. Bandipur National Park and Mudumalai National Park in Tamil Nadu, which are sanctuaries for gaur, chital, , , and other threatened species, lie between to the south. Other tourist spots near Mysore include the religious locations of Nanjanagud and Bylakuppe and the waterfalls at neighbouring districts of Mandya's Shivanasamudra. Known for their royal grandeur, the annual Mysore Dasara celebrations are a major tourist attraction and attract large number of tourists every year.
RTO code of Mysore West is KA09 and Mysore East is KA55.
The education system was enhanced by the establishment of the University of Mysore in 1916. This was the sixth university to be established in India and the first in Karnataka. It was named Manasagangotri ("fountainhead of the Ganges of the mind") by the poet Kuvempu. The university caters to the districts of Mysore district, Mandya district, Hassan district and Chamarajanagar in Karnataka. About 127 colleges, with a total of 53,000 students, are affiliated with the university. Its alumni include Kuvempu, Gopalakrishna Adiga, S. L. Bhyrappa, U. R. Ananthamurthy and N.R. Narayana Murthy. Engineering education began in Mysore with the establishment in 1946 of the National Institute of Engineering, the second oldest engineering college in the state. The Mysore Medical College, founded in 1924, was the first medical college to be started in Karnataka and the seventh in India. National institutes in the city include te Central Food Technological Research Institute, the Central Institute of Indian Languages, the Defence Food Research Laboratory, and the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing. The city houses a campus multi-campus, multi-disciplinary private deemed university, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham.
Mysore was the location of the first private radio broadcasting station in India when Akashavani (voice from the sky) was established in the city on 10 September 1935 by M.V. Gopalaswamy, a professor of psychology, at his house in the Vontikoppal area of Mysore, using a 50-watt transmitter. The station was taken over by the princely state of Mysore in 1941 and was moved to Bangalore in 1955. In 1957, Akashvani was chosen as the official name of All India Radio (AIR), the radio broadcaster of the Government of India. The AIR station at Mysore broadcasts an FM radio channel at 100.6 MHz, and Gyan Vani broadcasts on 105.6. BIG FM, Radio Mirchi and Red FM are the three private FM channels operating in the city.
Mysore started receiving television broadcasts in the early 1980s, when Doordarshan (public service broadcaster of the Indian government) started broadcasting its national channel all over India. This was the only channel available to Mysoreans until Star TV started satellite channels in 1991. Direct-to-home channels are now available in Mysore.
In 1997 Mysore and Bangalore co-hosted the city's biggest sports event ever, the National Games of India. Mysore was the venue for six sports: archery, gymnastics, equestrianism, handball, table tennis and wrestling. Cricket is by far the most popular sport in Mysore. The city has five established cricket grounds. Javagal Srinath, who represented India for several years as its frontline fast bowling, comes from Mysore. Other prominent sportsmen from the city are Prahlad Srinath, who has represented India in Davis Cup tennis tournaments; Reeth Abraham, a national champion in the heptathlon and a long jump record holder; Sagar Kashyap, the youngest Indian to officiate at the Wimbledon Championships; and Rahul Ganapathy, a national amateur golf champion. The Mysore race course hosts a racing season each year from August through October. India's first youth hostel was formed in the Maharaja's College Hostel in 1949.
Geography
Area and extent
Climate
Rainfall
Demographics
Administration and utilities
/ref> Karnataka Fire and Emergency Services, provide fire and emergency services in the city.
Economy
Culture
Tourism
Transport
Road
Trin Trin PBS
Rail
Air
Education
Universities
1916 University of Mysore Public Undergraduate, Post-Graduate, and Doctoral Research Multi-disciplinary 1948 National Institute of Engineering Private 1996 Karnataka State Open University Public 2008 Karnataka State Music University Public Undergraduate and Post-Graduate Music 2016 JSS Science and Technology University Private Undergraduate, Post-Graduate and Doctoral Research Multi-disciplinary
Autonomous institutes
1992 Mahajana Law College Private Affiliated to Mysore UniversityUndergraduate, LLB
Law 1924 Mysore Medical College & Research Institute Public Affiliated to Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences Undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate, and doctoral research Medicine 1928 Yuvaraja's College, Mysore Public University of Mysore Basic Science 1946 National Institute of Engineering Government-aided private Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University Undergraduate, post-graduate Engineering 1950 Central Food Technological Research Institute Public Set up by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Research and development Food technology 1961 Defence Food Research Laboratory Set up by the Defence Research and Development Organisation Defence and contingency food technology 1963 Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (JSS Science and Technology University) Private Affiliated to JSS Science and Technology University Undergraduate, post-graduate and doctoral research Engineering 1963 Regional Institute of Education, Mysore (NCERT) Government Affiliated to University of Mysore Undergraduate, Post-graduate and Research in the field of Teacher Education Educational Training and Research 1966 All India Institute of Speech and Hearing Public Commissioned by the Central Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate, and doctoral research Audiology, speech, and hearing 1945 Sarada Vilas College Private Affiliated to Mysore University Undergraduate, Graduate, LLB, Pharmacy Educational 1997 Vidya Vardhaka College of Engineering Private Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University Undergraduate, Post Graduate, Research and Development Engineering
Media
Sports
Notable people
Sister cities
See also
Bibliography
External links
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