Karnataka - Mysore   

Illuminated palace awaits Golden Chariot guests

MYSORE: A visual treat awaits the guests of Golden Chariot, the State’s luxury train, during the train’s stopover in Mysore as part of its tourist circuit.

The most fascinating part of the city tour — watching the illuminated Amba Vilas Palace — was missed by the guests because of the timing of the tour schedule.

However, the Golden Chariot’s guests, most of whom are international tourists, can now watch the palace illumination even though they cannot make it to the city on weekends (on Saturdays and Sundays over one lakh bulbs are switched on to bring alive the grandeur of the majestic palace).

Following a request from the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC), one of the partners of the luxury train, the Mysore Palace Board has consented to illuminate the palace for Golden Chariot tourists on Wednesdays. The 15-minute special illumination is exclusive for the guests.

“Besides Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, we are now illuminating the palace on Wednesdays to boost tourism. A request was made to the board to illuminate the palace so that the Golden Chariot guests, mainly foreign travellers, do not miss the prime tourist attraction of the city,” said P.V. Awaradi, Deputy Director, Palace Board.

Mr. Awaradi told The Hindu that the special illumination was being done since last two weeks.

“The decision for palace illumination on Wednesdays was taken at a recent board meeting,” he said.

The train takes its passengers across many tourist destinations in the State, including Mysore, Srirangapatna, Belur, Shravanabelagola, Halebeedu, Hampi, Badami and Aihole, on an eight-day and seven-night sojourn. The trip ends in Goa.

On the departure dates, the train leaves Bangalore on Monday and reaches Mysore on the same night. From Mysore, it was leaving to Hassan on Thursday morning.

In two days, the guests are taken around the city, Srirangapatna and Kabini.

“The guests were missing the illumination because the train was leaving to other destinations covering Mysore and surrounding places on Tuesday and Wednesday. As many foreign tourists had expressed desire to experience the illuminated palace, a request was made to the board to consider special illumination for the guests to promote tourism, which was considered,” sources in the Tourism Department said.

The palace, built in Indo-Sarcenic style, comes alive when it is illuminated with over one lakh specially-manufactured incandescent (15 watt) bulbs.

The bulbs fixed in a synchronised pattern are switched on at one go, making it a breathtaking sight.

The palace illumination had remained a mascot for the tourism industry here since several decades. Although 40-watt bulbs were used in the past, the authorities switched over to 15-watt bulbs to overcome circuit burnout. The board spends about Rs. 80 lakh to Rs. 90 lakh every year towards the maintenance of the palace illumination.

It approximately pays Rs. 80,000 to the electricity supply company for illuminating the palace for an hour.

Incidentally, the luxury train would be celebrating its second anniversary in March this year. The train’s first commercial run was flagged off from Yeshwanthpur station in Bangalore on March 10, 2008.

The KSTDC and other partners could not celebrate the train’s first anniversary last year because of the model code of conduct, which had come into effect following the announcement of Lok Sabha elections.

During its inaugural year, the luxury train undertook 27 successful runs, carrying 825 passengers on board.

In spite of economic slowdown, the Golden Chariot, the third luxury train launched after Rajasthan’s Palace on Wheels and Maharashtra’s Deccan Odyssey, managed to get 35 per cent of bookings on every trip. Among the travellers, 80 per cent were international tourists.

The Golden Chariot will shortly take tourists to popular destinations in the three States.

The inaugural run of the train on the three-State trip “Splendour of the South” has been scheduled for March 15.

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