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Mansion to be illuminated on Monday

Special Correspondent

`The beauty of Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion will be sublime when the lights are on'

NEW LOOK SOON: Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion which will come alive in brilliant hues. — Photo: M.A. SRIRAM

MYSORE: Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion, reckoned to be an architectural jewel in Mysore, will come alive in its brilliant hues and bathe in milky white light on Monday when Governor T.N. Chaturvedi switches on the new illumination system for the heritage structure.

The beauty of the illuminated mansion will border on the sublime and will be ethereal when the lights are on, according to the Special Officer N.S. Rangaraju, Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Mysore. "It is befitting that the royal mansion gets a facelift and is illuminated during its centenary year," he added.

A proposal that was first mooted almost two years ago it has seen the light of the day because of the efforts of the Vice-Chancellor of the university J. Shashidhar Prasad and Registrar N.D. Tiwari, said Prof. Rangaraju.

The illumination system will incorporate 40 special bulbs each ordered and certified by Philips and is reckoned to cost nearly Rs. 6 lakhs. Prof. Rangaraju said the mansion would be illuminated on all public holidays, including Sundays, and on special occasions such as festivals or major events. It will be a new attraction to tourists and the locals alike. The specially installed bulbs take about 15 minutes to attain their full luminosity and the system has been tried and okayed, he said. Four of the 40 lights will be perched on a high pole every day and will swathe the sublime building with milky white light on all nights.

These special bulbs are not the regular neon lights but are akin to the ones used to illuminate the Crawford Hall, according to Prof. Rangaraju.

The Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion was meant to one of the palaces for the royal family and was acquired by the University of Mysore to establish the postgraduate centre at Manasagangotri.

The structure was in a dilapidated state because of neglect and was fully restored and conserved with funds from Infosys Foundation. Today, the splendid mansion is cited as an example for heritage and architectural conservation and will house the Mysore University Museum Complex, reckoned to be the first of its kind among universities in the country.

Prof. Rangaraju said power connections have been laid and all cables have underground links.

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