29th January 2011
It usually happens that in our zeal to explore new areas, we often ignore the nearer ones. One such place was “Bangalore Palace”. Although, it is one of the prime places in Bangalore for movie shootings, it never came into my mind to visit this place!! We had Henk visiting our Office from Netherlands and hence I got a chance to see Bangalore Palace!!!! Along with Henk, Nataraj and Hareesha, I visited this place.
The Palace at the center of the city is now owned by Srikantha Datta Narasimharaja Wodeyar from Mysore royal family. It has no similarities with Mysore Palace but looks like a minor version of a castle. The place is also rented to super rich people for holding private parties.
Audio guide is available at the Palace which gives very clear information about the lifestyle of Mysore kings. It is available in English, Kannada, Hindi and other few European languages. Lots of paintings and photographs on Mysore rulers adorn the walls. It is better to take an audio guide to understand about the place and the paintings. You need to carry an original copy of ID or pay Rs 2000/- as deposit to get the audio guides.
What I was surprised was about entry fees to the Palace. An entry costs Rs 100/- while an audio guide costs Rs 175/- (This includes entry). And then comes the catch of all; Rs 500/- for a still camera!! Needless to say, foreigners have to shell more.
Labels: near Bengaluru, paintings, Palace