Interior of the Amba Vilasa of the Palace, Mysore

This photograph of the interior of the Amba Vilas Palace, Mysore taken in the 1890s by M. Burahnudin, is from the Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'. A note with this photograph reads, "The hall is used on all minor festive occasions for holding durbars, and, during the ten days devoted to the Dasara feast, the Goddess Chamundi is installed here and daily worship offered."The Dasara festival is celebrated in most parts of India in commemoration of Lord Rama's victory over the demon-king Ravana. In Mysore however, it is held in celebration of the goddess Chamundi who killed the demon-king Mahishasura. 

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The Temple Car, Chamundi Hill, Mysore

This photograph of the Temple Car, Chamundi Hill, Mysore taken in the 1890s by an unknown photographer, is from the Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'.The view shows a temple car in the foreground with the gopura (the great pyramidal tower over the entrance-gate to the precint of a temple. S India) of the Chamundi Temple beyond. The car was presented to the temple by the Maharaja of Mysore in 1848. This temple was dedicated to the goddess Chamundeshwari, who was believed to have killed the evil demon-king Mahishasura

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Ancient photo of Temple on Chahmundy, Mysore, India

Photograph of the temple on Chamundi Hill in Mysore. The Chamundi Temple complex is situated on the homonymous hill that overlooks the town of Mysore and is dedicated to the guardian goddess divinity of the ruling Wadiyar family who built the shrine in the 17th century. Two gopuras constitute the access to the temple. The outer gateway, which can be seen in this photograph, is a steep pyramid built over an earlier stone wall. A mandapa leads to the shrine where the goddess is enthroned. 

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The Public Offices, Mysore

This photograph of the Public Offices, Mysore taken in the 1890s by an unknown photographer, is from the Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'.A caption note accompanying this photograph reads, "Designed and built by Col. (now Sir) Richard Sankey, 1864-1868, for the Mysore Chief Commissioner's offices. The Mysore Government now holds its offices in the building, and the Council of Regency meets weekly in the large central hall upstairs." 

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General Wellesley's House, Mysore.

This photograph of General Wellesley's House, Mysore taken in the 1890s by an unknown photographer, is from the Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'.A note accompanying the photograph reads, "This building, though not pretentious architecturally, awakens interest from the fact that is was built, and for some time occupied, by the great Duke of Wellington, then Colonel Wellesley. It is situated opposite the west gate of Government House." 

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Tank near Government House, Mysore, with Chamundi Hill beyond

Photograph from the Elgin Collection: 'Autumn Tour 1895. Vol II', taken in 1895. This is a view of the tank near the Government House in Mysore with Chamundi hill in the background. Mysore is situated in Karnataka in Southern India in a valley with two ridges on either side. Government house was begun in 1800 by Colonel Wilks and completed in 1805. It is a fine example of a European style house of the period. Chamundi Hill is approximately 3000 feet high, situated to the southeast of Mysore and is topped with a temple dedicated to the guardian deity of the Mysore Rajas, the goddess Chamundi, or Durga. 

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The memorial fountain erected by European officers, Mysore

This photograph of the Memorial Fountain,Mysore taken in the 1890s by an unknown photographer, is from the Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'.A general view of the memorial fountain dedicated to Maharaja Chamrajendra Wadiyar, with the Lansdowne Bazaars in the background. On 25 March 1881, at the age of 18 years, the Maharaja was publicly entrusted with the administration of the state. During his reign, the state experienced high levels of modernisation of its infrastructue, such as irrigation, railways and roads. 

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The Navagali or Fifth Day Ceremony of the Marriage [of the Maharaja of Mysore].

This photograph of the Royal Marriage, Mysore taken in 1900 by an unknown photographer, is from the Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'.Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar and his bride Maharani Pratap Bai are seated beneath the canopy in the durbar hall, with dignitaries seated on the floor and along the sides of the hall. The various articles and foodstuffs used in the ceremony are arranged on the ground in front of the couple. The letterpress slip pasted beneath the image describes the occasion as the "The Navagali or Fifth Day Ceremony of the Marriage." 

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The Main Street, Mysore

This photograph of a Main Street, Mysore taken in the 1890s by an unknown photographer, is from the Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'. Mysore, once the dynastic capital of the state, was superseded by Seringapatam as the seat of the court from 1610 until Tipu's death in 1799. In 1831, upon British occupation, the seat of administration was transferred to Bangalore. At the end of the street a small way-side shrine can be seen.

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Lansdowne Bazaars, Mysore

This photograph of the Lansdowne Bazaars, Mysore taken in the 1890s by an unknown photographer, is from the Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'. This two-storey range of bazaars was named after Lord Landsdowne, Governor-General and Viceroy, to commemorate his visit to Mysore in 1892. It measures over 1,050 ft in length. 

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View of Mysore from Jagan Mohan Palace

This view of Mysore from the Jagan Mohan Palace, taken in the 1890s by an unknown photographer, is from the Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'. The photograph was taken from an upper storey of the palace and shows the palace gardens in the foreground. Notes accompanying this print read, "The view shown is a portion of old Mysore with the west gate of the fort in the distance. The street in the centre has been named 'Lukshmi Vilasa' in honor of the bride of H.H. the Maharaja." The palace was built in 1861 by Krisnaraj Wodeyar IV. 

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The European Durbar at the Marriage [of the Maharaja of Mysore].

This photograph of the European Durbar at the Royal Marriage taken in 1900 by an unknown photographer, is from the Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'.A durbar is the court kept by an Indian ruler; a public audience or levee held by a native prince, or by a British governor or viceroy in India. This is a formal group portrait with Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar and his bride Maharani Pratap Bai seated beneath the canopy in the durbar hall, with European and Indian officials gathered round. 

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Mysore. Temple of Chamondee, with idol car

Photograph of the Chamundi temple with the temple car to the left, near Mysore, Karnataka, from Taylor and Fergusson's 'Architecture in Dharwar and Mysore', taken by William Henry Pigou in c.1856. The granite hill overlooking the town of Mysore is called Chamundi Hill after the goddess enshrined in the temple near its summit. Chamundi, the slayer of the demon Mahishasura, is a form of the mother goddess Shakti, and is the family deity of the Wodeyar princes of Mysore. The temple is the oldest at Mysore, with local tradition relating that it was founded in the 12th century, but its gateway with its pyramidal tower or gopuram was completed in 1827. The shrine itself is a small structure with a small porch. Outside the temple is the chariot used during ceremonies to carry the statue of the goddess. It is adorned with the lion which is her mount.

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Mysore. Colossal bull at Chamondee. [Chamundi.]

Photograph of the Nandi bull on Chamundi Hill near Mysore in Karnataka, from Taylor and Fergusson's 'Architecture in Dharwar and Mysore', taken by William Henry Pigou in 1856. Chamundi Hill, overlooking Mysore, takes its name from the goddess Chamundi to whom a temple is dedicated near its summit. The goddess, a form of Shakti who as Chamundi slew the demon Mahishasura, is the tutelary deity of the Wodeyars, rulers of the former princely state of Mysore. Nandi, the sacred bull, is the vehicle of Shiva, the consort of the goddess, and symbolises great strength and virility, the animal force in man. The massive Nandi sculpture on the road that ascends Chamundi Hill is 5 ms tall and the largest of its type in India. It was carved from a single rock at the behest of Dodda Devaraja Wodeyar (ruled 1659–72).

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Temple of Chamondee on the hill near to Mysore

Photograph of the Chamundi temple near Mysore, Karnataka, from Taylor and Fergusson's 'Architecture in Dharwar and Mysore', taken by William Henry Pigou in c.1857. The granite hill overlooking the town of Mysore is called Chamundi Hill after the goddess enshrined in the temple near its summit. Chamundi, the slayer of the demon Mahishasura, is a form of the mother goddess Shakti, and is the family deity of the Wodeyar princes of Mysore. The temple is the oldest at Mysore, with local tradition relating that it was founded in the 12th century, but its gateway with its steep pyramidal tower or gopuram was completed in 1827. The shrine itself is a smaller structure with a small porch. 

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Mysore. Idol car at Chamondee. [Chamundi Temple.]

Photograph of the Chamundi temple with the temple car in the foreground, near Mysore, Karnataka, from Taylor and Fergusson's 'Architecture in Dharwar and Mysore', taken by William Henry Pigou in c.1857. The granite hill overlooking the town of Mysore is called Chamundi Hill after the goddess enshrined in the temple near its summit. Chamundi, the slayer of the demon Mahishasura, is a form of the mother goddess Shakti, and is the family deity of the Wodeyar princes of Mysore. The temple is the oldest at Mysore, with local tradition relating that it was founded in the 12th century, but its gateway with its pyramidal tower or gopuram was completed in 1827. The shrine itself is a small structure with a small porch. Outside the temple is the chariot used during ceremonies to carry the statue of the goddess. It is adorned with the lion which is her mount.

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Gateway of the Eastern Palace, Mysore

Photograph from the album of Major General Jackson Muspratt-Williams, of the entrance gate to the Summer Palace of the Maharaja of Mysore, at Mysore in Karnataka, India, taken by an unknown photographer some time in the 1860s. Mysore was ruled by the Hindu Wodeyar Maharajas from c.1400 until the 20th century, save for the period from 1761 until 1799 when the Muslim Haider Ali and his son Tipu Sultan seized power. There are a number of palaces in the environs of the city built by the Maharajas which date from the 19th and 20th centuries, after the labyrinthine old city was demolished and rebuilt by its Muslim conquerors; the most famous is the main palace in the centre of Mysore, the Amba Vilas, a spectacular building designed in the orientalist “Indo-Saracenic” style by the British architect Henry Irwin. There were two summer palaces in Mysore, the Lokaranjan Mahal, situated in south-east Mysore, and the Rajendra Vilas Palace, situated on the summit of Chamundi Hill to the south-east of the city. This view shows a gateway to the palace built in a Hindu architectural style.

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The Amba Vilasa of the Palace, Mysore

This photograph of the Amba Vilasa, Mysore Palace taken in the 1890s by an unknown photographer, is from the Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'. "This portion of the palace [called the Amba Vilasa], which was rebuilt in the Indo-Saracenic style in 1895, was also burned down with all its treasures of pictures of the Krishna Wodeyar period which consisted principally of officers connected with Mysore, painted by European artists, in the fire of 1897; the walls, columns, and iron girders alone remaining." 

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[Group portrait of] the Maharaja [of Mysore] and his brothers and sisters

Full length studio portrait of Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore and his brothers and sisters by M. Burahnudin in 1895. This photograph is from the Elgin Collection: 'Autumn Tour 1895. Vol II'. Mysore was the capital of the Wodeyar rulers, who were governors of southern Karnataka under the Vijayanagar Kings. The Wodeyar dynasty ruled almost uninterruptedly from 1399 until Indian independence, except for the 38 year rule of Haidar Ali and his son Tipu Sultan, in the 18th century. Born June 4th 1884 the Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV succeeded to office as a minor on the death of his father. He is regarded as one of the most enlightened rulers of modern India; he is credited with transforming Mysore (modern Karnataka) into a model princely state and his period of rule has often been called the ‘Golden Age of Mysore’.

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Group of pupils of the Belgaum Girls' School, with master and assistants

Photograph of the Girls' School at Belgaum in Karnataka from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections: India Office Series (Volume 46), taken by an unknown photographer in c. 1870. Female education in India grew dramatically in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The Imperial Gazetteer of India states regarding female education, "The Government did not take up the subject until 1849, when Lord Dalhousie informed the Bengal Council of Education that henceforth its functions were to embrace female education, and the first girls' school recognized by Government was founded shortly afterwards by a committee of native gentlemen. The despatch of of 1854 directed that female education should receive the frank and cordial support of Government...The Education Commission of 1882 advised that female education should receive special encouragement and special liberality...The adoption of this attitude has resulted in a considerable development of the public instruction of girls, although it still lags far behind that of their brothers. In 1871 there were 134 secondary and 1,760 primary girls' schools; in 1901-2 the numbers were 461 and 5,628 respectively."

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