Musafir

Believed to be the second strongest fortification in India, Srirangapatna Fort (Tipu's Palace) is one of the prominent Monuments in Karnataka. It is from this fort that Tipu Sultan charged at the British soldiers with his legendry sword. Unfortunately, it is within Srirangapatna Fort in Karnataka India that Tipu finally lay dead - betrayed by one of his own men.

As we pass towards the Fort Area, we see the magnificent outer walls standing at a height of almost 20 feet. There are four gates to the Fort namely the Bangalore, Mysore, Delhi and Water and Elephant Gates. We enter the fort  through the  Bangalore Gate.

The design on the gate are still intact but the external sides were destroyed during the plunder of 1799. It is a pity that advertisements and posters are put on these heritage monuments. The entrance to the city is narrow from this gate as it is with any fort. This actually gives additional protection not allowing enemies to enter at once. The fort is actually double walled providing additional protection.

As we move along the road, we see the Jama Masjid. The most notable feature of this structure are the twin minarets which were a gift from Tipu and they dominate the eastern skyline. The minarets were a favourite subject matter for many contemporary European artists in their depictions of the British campaigns against the capital of Mysore. As we move on, we come across the place where the body of Tipu Sultan was found after the siege of Srirangapatna by the British. A small stone marks the exact location. 

As we move on we come across a large subterranean room in the northern rampart wall popularly referred to as the "Bailey’s Dungeon". Allegedly this is the place where British soldiers were imprisoned in the years 1780-1784; more likely, it served as a bomb-proof powder magazine. The area has been heavily restored. A large iron cannon lies embedded in the floor - it fell through the roof and was too  heavy to remove.

Also in one of the corners, there is a small underground chamber. A local guide tells that there are three secret passages which lead to Mysore, Bangalore and Manjarabad in the Hassan District of Karnataka where there is an other Fort commissioned by Tipu.

Near the Fort area, we also see the Wellesley Bridge, a very old bridge through which Colonel Wellesley attacked Srirangapatna. This is also called the Delhi Bridge. Also, here we see the second Gate to the Fort, the Delhi Gate. It is very small and we can go around the Fort from outside. It was very dark by then, so we could not venture out.  There is also a commemorative obelisk here in memory of the British forces that fell during the final siege of Srirangapatna on the 4th of May 1799.

We sat there for some time viewing the setting sun in the distance. We were really tired by then with the strenuous travel that we had done since morning. We then had nice coconut water and the moved on to the last destination in Srirangapatna, the Ranganatha Temple.

The temple is much older than the town and fort having been founded in A.D. 894 by the Ganga king, Tirumalaiya; and later enlarged by a Vijayanagar viceroy in the 15th Century A.D. The island shrine is dedicated to Ranganatha and is a centre for the Vaishnava faith. The temple is also referred to as Paschima Ranganatha  Kshetra, to distinguish it from another island temple on Srirangam further down the Cauvery near Trichy and which is referred to as Purva Ranganatha Kshetra. 

It was already dark then and we were really tired. We started off to Mysore and stayed in Mysore for the night.

There is one common feature in the tombs of Mohammedan rulers and it is that there will be a garden around the mausoleum and a path with trees on both sides lead to the tomb. You can notice this in many monuments like The Taj Mahal or Humayun’s Tomb. Islamic belief says that the way in front of the mausoleum will lead the the dead to the Heaven and the trees on either side provides a pleasant travel. The Gumbaz is no exception.

This tomb and mosque was built by Tipu Sultan as a tribute to his illustrious father, Hyder Ali (1782 - 1784 A.D), after his death. The Gumbaz is situated at the eastern end of Srirangapatna. It enshrines the cenotaphs of Hyder Ali, his wife Fakr-Un-Nisa and Tipu Sultan, after his death in 1799 A.D.

Once you go near the building, you will be welcomed by a cool breeze and once you raise your head to look at the top of the dome, you will see the true beauty of the tomb, the exquisite designs carved. It is built on a stone plinth, with polished black granite pillars that run around the corridor around the inner chamber.  There are tombs of many of the family members inside this corridor.

A special mention need to be made about the entrances to the chamber. They are made of stone with very intricate carvings on them. There are several verses written in Urdu on the top panels. The doors are made of ebony and inlaid with ivory. When we go inside we see that the entire walls decorated with stylised tiger-stripe babri decoration. The doors were given by Lord Dalhousie in the 18th century. 

Inside there is a small enclosure in which the Tiger of Mysore and his parents lay in peace. We can easily identify Tipu’s tomb by the tiger striped-cloth laid on it. Just beside Tipu lies his father and then his mother.  A magnificent dome crowns the building. Just beside the mausoleum there is the Masjid - E - Aksa. It resembles the Gumbaz in terms of the architecture but the most notable feature of this are two long minarets.

At the eastern entrance of the Mausoleum is a tablet in Persian script that speaks of the martyrdom of Tipu Sultan in 1799 A.D.

There are numerous cenotaphs of the relatives of Tipu family inside the same compound. More than 100 family members of Tipu are buried over here including his seven sons and his sisters. Even the garden outside is a house for the numerous tombs. Not only this family, but also his chief generals are buried here.  This is a place best visited in the evening for the cool breeze and the gardens are a pleasure.

We then proceeded towards the Srirangapatna Fort.

As mentioned in the previous post, we all had lunch after a tiresome visit to Shivanasamudra and moved on to Srirangapatna. Before i start talking about the places, let me talk about its history.

Shrirangapatna (anglicized to Seringapatam) which is in the Mandya district of Karnataka is enclosed by the river Cauvery to form an island. The town takes its name from the famous Ranganatha Swamy temple. This town has since time immemorial been an urban centre and place of pilgrimage. During the Vijayanagara empire, it became the seat of a major viceroyalty, from where several nearby vassal states of the empire like Mysore or Talakad were overseen. 

The first monument that we come across when we visit Srirangapatna is the Dariya Daulat, “the wealth of sea”. This is referred to as the Summer Capital of Tipu Sultan and was built in the year 1784 A.D. The palace is square in plan, built on a raised stone plinth, with teak pillars running around the outer edge enclosing a corridor.

The entire building is actually hidden from outside. This could be to protect it from sunlight as the palace is made of wood.

There are two recessed bays on the northern and southern sides overlooking two large halls, through canopied balconies. The living spaces on the two floors of the palace are accessible by four staircases.

There are four cannons in front of the palace. These cannons should have been used in the final battle of Srirangapatna after which the British should have used them to proclaim their victory over Tipu. There is a nice garden in the compound and is a nice place to relax in the evening after the visit to the museum.

All the walls and ceiling of the entire palace are painted. The paintings depict the victories of Haidar Ali and Tipu over the British led by Colonel Bailey, the Nizam of Hyderabad arriving at the battlefield, and durbar scenes of Tipu’s contemporaries like the Rani of Chitore, the Raja of Tanjore, the Raja of Benaras, the Peshwa Balaji Rao II, Magadi Kempegowda, Madakari Nayaka or Chitradurga and Krishna Raja Wodeyar III.

After the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799, this palace was occupied by Lord Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington). This palace currently houses a Museum by the Archaeological Survey of India and consists Oil Paintings, Pencil Sketches, Aquatints, Engravings, Coins, Medals, Costumes, Furniture, Arms etc.

The storming of ‘Seringapatam’ an oil painting by Sir Robert Ker Porter in 1800 is one of the great historical paintings depicting the final capture of Srirangapatna on 5th May 1799. Tipu’s men are on the bridge offering stiff resistance. In the back ground behind the fort walls are part of Tipu’s palace, the minarets of the mosque and the gopura of the Ranganatha Swami temple.

Among the other exhibits, a special mention may be made of the costume of Tipu, a pyjama, a silk coat and a straw hat, two silver bowels presented by him to the Ranganatha Swami temple, a hand made paper manuscript in Persian dealing with the military code of regulations, furniture comprising of chairs, sofa with backrest, couch and a rosewood roundtable, a brass cannon, daggers, swords, pistols and muskets besides iron cannons.

It takes at least 2 hours to visit each article inside the museum. We spent some time in the nice lawn outside for sometime and we moved to The Gumbaz.