Bangalore Palace

Bangalore Palace
Front façade of the Bangalore Palace
Map
General information
Architectural styleTudor Revival architecture
LocationInner Bangalore
Town or cityBangalore
CountryIndia
Coordinates12°59′55″N 77°35′31″E / 12.9987°N 77.5920°E / 12.9987; 77.5920
Construction startedApril 1874
Completed1878
OwnerPramoda Devi Wadiyar

Bangalore Palace is a 19th century royal palace located in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, built in an area that was owned by the Rev. John Garrett, the first principal of the Central High School in Bangalore. The palace was commissioned for the Maharaja of Mysore, Chamarajendra Wadiyar X, and currently belongs to the current head of the Wadiyar dynasty, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar.

Construction

[edit]

Interior décor

[edit]
The Durbar Hall, Bangalore Palace (1890; Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'[1])
Geometric tile and wallpaper in Bangalore Palace

Renovation

[edit]
Aerial view of Bangalore Palace and grounds
Maharaja's Palace at Bangalore. Lee-Warner Collection 'Souvenirs of Kolhapur. Installation of H.H. the Maharajah, 1894'

The palace grounds are used for holding public events including music concerts.

International concerts

[edit]

Many international artists have performed in the grounds. Today a legal battle between government and the Mysore royal family has seen a ban of commercial activities. Nevertheless, a number of private companies controlled by the royal family runs a number of wedding halls on the grounds. For the past 34 years the oldest security agency of Karnataka named Scorpion Security Ltd has their national headquarters inside the palace premises.

Over the past few years, the palace grounds have been hosts to major music artists like: Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Backstreet Boys, Bryan Adams, Delirious?, Don Moen, Hillsong United, David Guetta, Elton John, Deep Purple, Petra, Textures, Amon Amarth, Lamb of God, Mark Knopfler, Akon, The Black Eyed Peas, The Rolling Stones, Sepultura, Mr Big, Metallica, Megadeth, Michael Learns to Rock, Roger Waters, Guns N' Roses, The Prodigy, Dream Theater, No Doubt, Sepultura, Scorpions, Enrique Iglesias, Machine Head, Cradle of Filth, Jay Sean, Ludacris and Flo Rida.

Iron Maiden's performance in 2007 was a historic gig named Eddfest in the subcontinent. The concert was part of the band's A Matter of Life and Death Tour. The name Eddfest is taken from the band's mascot Eddie. The concert is the largest paid concert ever to take place in India with an estimated 38,000 people in attendance with 4000 people watching from outside the venue without tickets. It marked the first visit of Iron Maiden to the Indian subcontinent, and the first major heavy metal concert to take place in the country.

Jay Sean, Ludacris and Flo Rida performed in Palace Grounds on 22 September 2011 for the opening ceremony of the Champions League T20.

Metallica performed at the palace grounds on 30 October 2011 as part of the Rock N India festival, their first show in India which was attended by 31,000 people.[2] It would also turn out to be the last concert to take place as the state government and police stopped giving permission for any future musical events or concerts at the venue (all concerts banned).

Fun World

[edit]

Fun World is an amusement park situated in the palace grounds. This amusement park is allowed under permission from Smt Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, owner and legal heir to Late Sri Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar. It has various joy rides, water park and snow room.

Amusement park in the palace grounds
[edit]

The 1974 British film, Ghost Story, was filmed in the palace and grounds. It also featured in Krishna Shah's Shalimar in 1978, an Indo- American film starring Dharmendra,Zeenat Aman,Shammi Kapoor,Rex Harisson,John Saxon and Sylvia Miles.

Also the film Choron Ki Baaraat is extensively shot in this palace interior as well as surrounding.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'. 1890. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  2. ^ Rude shock for Metallica fans. Archived 31 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
[edit]