The century-old Amba Vilas, popularly known as Mysore palace, is in for minor restoration as part of its long-term maintenance. For, the authorities are keen on restoring the stained-glass ceiling, portions of which are either broken or damaged.
The move is an initiative of the Mysore Palace Board which had commissioned the Regional Conservation Laboratory (RCL), Mysore, to restore some of the Dasara paintings adorning the Kalyana Mantapa. Impressed by the restoration of the paintings depicting Dasara celebrations and durbar hall scenes, the board has sought the expertise of the RCL again.
Subramanaya, Deputy Director of the Mysore Palace Board, and N.S. Rangaraju, professor, Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Mysore, among others, inspected the ceiling on Thursday. It was decided to replace the broken stained-glasses at the Durbar Hall and also at the Kalyana Mantapa.
Manikantan, an expert from Kerala, has been identified for the work. He has been trained in London and has embellished the museum at Egmore, said Dr. Rangaraju. Mr. Manikantan has been asked to make a presentation in two weeks about the process of making the stained glass following which the board authorities will decide the course of action. As scope of the work is immense, it will take a long time and will be an expensive affair. The restoration of stained-glass ceiling was done more than 25 years ago and this is the first major initiative in more than two decades towards replacing or restoring the broken stained-glass ceiling.
