After conducting heritage walks that involve participants visiting historical monuments on foot, authorities in Mysuru are now seeking to popularise the concept of guided tours of monuments on Trin Trin bicycles.
A guided tour of Mysuru’s historical structures on Trin Trin, the country’s first public bicycle sharing (PBS) initiative, was held on Monday with Deputy Commissioner D. Randeep and Mayor M.J. Ravi Kumar leading a group of 70 other cyclists.
Unlike the heritage walk, which covers only a few monuments around Mysuru palace, the cycling expedition organised by the Department of Archeology, Museums and Heritage, saw participants visit many more monuments such as the Oriental Research Institute (ORI) and the Deputy Commissioner’s Office, which have their own historical significance.
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Though such a heritage cycling expedition had been conducted earlier for groups by the postal department and banks, this was the first time such an expedition was conducted for the general public on Trin Trin. An enthusiastic group of cyclists started of on the expedition from Town Hall after a formal flag off by Mr. Randeep and Mr. Ravi Kumar.
Guided by retired professor of ancient history and archaeology N.S. Rangaraju and journalist Echanur Kumar, the cyclists visited Clock Tower, Chamaraja Circle, Mysuru palace, K.R. Circle, Jaganmohan Palace, Niran Ashram, Padmalaya, Yuvaraja College, Maharaja College, Oriental Research Institute, Crawford Hall and the Deputy Commissioner’s Office.
In contrast, the heritage walk was restricted to Clock Tower, Chamaraja Circle, Mysuru palace and K.R. Circle, but would cover Dufferin Clock Tower, Devaraja Market and Chamaraja Technology Institute (CTI) on Sayyaji Rao Road.
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On Monday, Mr. Randeep, who also pedalled along with the participants, also learnt about the history and heritage of the Deputy Commissioner’s office building besides posing for a photograph in front of the bronze statue of James Gordon, the British administrator, who served as the Chief Commissioner to Mysore region for a brief period during the 19th century.
A notable participant of the guided bicycle tour included 88-year-old Sosale Veeraiah, a retired postal department employee from N.R. Mohalla in Mysuru. Among the youngest was 11-year-old Annapoorneshwari, a Class VI student of JSS Bala Jagath School.