The renovated Jaganmohan Palace housing the Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery, scheduled to be thrown open to the public in July, will feature a new lifestyle wing, giving visitors a peek into the life of the royals of yore.
Disclosing this to reporters in Mysuru on Wednesday, Pramoda Devi Wadiyar of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family said 90% of the work in the palace, built in the 1860s, has been completed.
Antique wooden furniture, cushions, and upholstery used by the royal family, are some of the about 100 odd artefacts that showcase the craftsmanship of the times. Renovation has brought into focus the aesthetics of the heritage structure. Repeated paint work had damaged it and the renovation work involved not only peeling away multiple layers of paint from the walls, but also cleaning the intricately carved wooden doors and frames. The walls have been refurbished with lime and mortar, the original construction material. A good varnish has worked wonders on the wooden beams and pillars. A fire alarm system and CCTV cameras have been installed.
Heritage experts have also worked on the display of the antiques, making it “systematic”, she said.
The entry to the art gallery, which was hitherto from the southern side, will be from the northern side after its reopening. The visitors, who enter the reception area, will begin their tour from the northern side of the gallery, where the antique clock, made in France, is displayed along with musical instruments and paintings.
The Jaganmohan Palace had housed the royal family after the wooden palace was destroyed in fire, and when the Amba Vilas Palace was being built. It was here that the first representative Assembly of Mysore was convened in 1881 by the then Maharaja Chamaraja Wadiyar X.
The renovation work had been taken up by heritage experts G.N. Heritage Matters under the auspices of Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Foundation.
