By Dr. K. Javeed Nayeem, MD

It has been announced that a Heritage Museum is being proposed to be set up at our old Deputy Commissioner’s Office, under the Central Government’s Swadesh Darshan Scheme. This certainly seems like a very great and welcome idea if not for any other reason than that it is most likely to give a new lease of dignified existence to one of our most prominent heritage buildings.

A dignified existence, with good upkeep and some befitting utility, is exactly what every one of our many such structures is begging for, considering the fact that every one of them, without any exception, has a history behind it, that is linked closely with the history of our city itself.

The old DC Office building was built in the year 1895, at a cost of Rs. 1,75,506, during the reign of Sri Chamaraja Wadiyar X, the 23rd Maharaja of Mysore and it served as the administrative centre of the Mysore Royalty. The Legislative Assembly of the State, set up by Dewan C. Rangacharalu in the year 1881, also operated from this building until the year 1923 which later became the Mysore Deputy Commissioner’s Office, immediately after independence.

In its garden stands the imposing bronze statue of Sir James Davidson Gordon, who served as the Chief Commissioner of Mysore from 1878 to 1881 and was also the guardian of Maharaja Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar. He is credited to be the person responsible for introducing the Railways to our State, with the first Railway line between Mysore and Bangalore becoming operational in the year 1878.

It appears that when the strong room in one of the wings of the Mysore Palace was opened in the presence of our Tourism Minister H.K. Patil recently, a total of 369 rare artefacts were found under layers of dust, away from the gaze of the public and our tourists, which will now most likely be displayed in the new heritage museum once it is established.

Other similar items from many other sources, which are worthy of being showcased as relics of our heritage, will naturally be expected to join them in due course.

Another treasure trove of artefacts, long shut out from public eyes for some strange reason and which is certainly worthy of being displayed, is the one locked away and hidden in the main building of the Mysore Palace itself. I have seen it long ago, due to sheer good luck, because I happened to visit the Palace on the day it was being cleaned and dusted!

It has all the dozens of hunting trophies of our Maharajas, carefully mounted and preserved by some noteworthy taxidermists of the yesteryears, like the three Van Ingen Brothers and Theobald, the man after whom a road has also been named in our city.  Thankfully, due to the long-standing efforts of a few ex-servicemen, a War Memorial is already coming up close by, on the lawns of our old DC Office. This was much needed in our city, considering the fact that the Mysore region never had one, although it has contributed many Bravehearts, who have left behind admirable and even trailblazing records         of service and sacrifice, on many war-fronts.

And, the proposal to declare the nearby Krishnaraja Boulevard as a heritage road is very welcome too, because that designation will protect the short stretch of double road from losing its distinctive character. But what seems more than a little alarming is the bundle of other accompaniments that are also expected to be dished out to us with the creation of the museum, like new entrance gateways, Vista Street, Event Garden, Food Court and Laser Show gardens. Yes, they are all there in the proposal, which is what is very disturbing about it.

What these embellishments will do to the pristine surroundings of the majestic building can only be imagined and this is where we Mysureans have to be wary of some cunning opportunists, who in the garb of seemingly well-intentioned souls, setting out to do good to our city, may be all set to make fortunes for themselves!

So, it will be most appropriate if some responsible citizens of good standing too, are taken into confidence while deciding on how to go about the whole process of setting up this proposed heritage museum. I say this because while the cake seems quite good, the icing seems to be more than a little frightening!

We have seen how some of our best heritage sites have been hijacked and transformed into grotesque and ugly monsters, under the guise of promoting tourism. The best and closest example is our Brindavan Gardens which, until not long ago, was the fairyland of our State and which is now a place where anyone, with any aesthetic sense and a longing for some peace and tranquility, dreads to go.

Gone are those days when, after an hour of walking alongside them, spending a lazy hour, over a cup of tea, in the sit-out of the Krishnaraja Sagar Hotel, overlooking the vast expanse of gardens and fountains, was the most relaxing thing one could imagine of doing. Today, to recreate that walk you have to first jostle shoulders with many people and walk through many souvenir shops and food stalls, enduring acrid smoke and fumes and the smell of fish being fried on both sides of the narrow approach pathway, before you can summon the courage to take a deep breath!

Yes, let’s not allow this to happen in the heart of our city, which with its regal buildings all around, eminently qualifies to be called the most beautiful quarter of Princely Mysore!

e-mail: kjnmysore@rediffmail.com