Srirangapattana has been much in the news these days, what with the Karnataka government proposing to set up a Srirangapattana tourism circuit and seeking World Heritage Site status for it. So we decided to revisit the capital of Tipu Sultan, Tiger of Mysore with a mission to discover places in neither guides’ nor tourists’ itineraries. But we allowed ourselves the exception of the Gumbaz, the elegant mausoleum of Tipu and his parents, Hyder Ali and Fakhrunissa.
It was a hot summer day when we visited. Dark clouds swirled threateningly in the sky and I was reminded of an account of the events of May 5, 1799. The British had finally felled their dreaded enemy, Tipu Sultan, the previous day. But a fearful thunderstorm struck during Tipu’s funeral, sparking disquiet in even the most rational British minds. Furious winds and lightning strikes killed scores that night and left scenes of desolation such as seldom seen. “All language is inadequate to describe its horrors. Rather than be exposed to such another scene, I would prefer the front of a hundred battles,” shuddered one British soldier. Thankfully, we were spared such an event and could admire the spotlessly-maintained mausoleum in leisure.
Royal graves
The imposing dome of the mausoleum glowed orange in the setting sun, contrasting pleasingly with the gleaming black granite pillars of the corridor. On one wall are Persian verses describing Tipu’s martyrdom and above the two ivory-inlaid ebony doorways leading to the burial chamber are verses from the Koran. Inside, the room is painted with Tipu’s favourite motif, tiger stripes.
The royal graves are all covered with satin and strewn with fresh flowers. In the corridor and garden are graves of several relatives and attendants, including that of Mir Sadiq, Tipu’s trusted Diwan and one of the most infamous traitors in Indian history. Would history have been any different had he not withdrawn Tipu’s troops from their posts that fateful day in 1799 and then signaled the all-clear to the waiting British army?
A few metres from Tipu’s mausoleum and its throngs lay our first destination, another mausoleum, but one that receives no footfalls. In a small enclosure overrun with bushes and brambles is the quietly graceful mausoleum of Colonel Baillie.
The Colonel had commanded the British army in the famous battle of Pollilur in 1780 and had been utterly vanquished by Tipu and Hyder Ali. Baillie’s relatives erected the memorial some years after Tipu’s death, acknowledging his defeat at the hands of a “superior” enemy. The poignant mausoleum today lies abandoned and unprotected.
The unfortunate Col Baillie was captured after the disastrous defeat and was supposedly held prisoner in one of Tipu’s subterranean, arched, brick and mortar dungeons in Srirangapattana fort, now ironically named Col Baillie’s dungeons. A cannon that lies somewhat incongruously in the middle of this is probably the most photographed relic in Srirangapattana.
Dark dungeons
Not far is a second prison used for Maratha prisoners, Thomas Inman’s dungeons, possibly the least visited and least known historical spot in the fort. A small path past a Ganapati temple leads through a patch of banana and arecanut groves to reach Thomas Inman’s dungeons – a smaller, bleaker version of Col Baillie’s dungeons. Happily, the roof above contrasts splendidly with the gloom below. The glorious views, the lack of tourists and the spot’s isolation from the hubbub of the main fort make it an ideal spot to gaze calmly into eternity.
Our next destination was the spot where Tipu was killed. According to some, he died at Hoally gate, an archway that was demolished to make way for a road.
Col Wellesley, who took over after Tipu’s death, erected a plaque to commemorate the spot where Tipu’s body was found, a stark memorial that now lies fenced off. But according to other contemporary paintings and accounts, Tipu died at Water Gate, an unassuming archway that leads to the Cauvery.
Today, only an inconspicuous sign indicates Tipu died near here. This then is possibly the spot where British troops finally breached the fort’s ramparts on 4th May 1799.
Tipu himself had rushed to the spot to repulse the attack. In the ensuing melee, Tipu was shot twice. Exhausted, he collapsed near the archway, and in a final clash with an enemy soldier, the Tiger of Mysore was shot and died. Water Gate today is quite devoid of any traces of its role in history. In the rush to see Srirangapattana’s more famous sights including the Ranganathaswamy temple, Jama Masjid and Dariya Daulat, this humble spot is given a miss by most visitors.
A small path leads down to the quiet river, adjacent to the towering fort walls now partly covered with wild shrubbery. An old man and his wife were washing clothes in the Cauvery and spared us nary a glance as we splashed about excitedly in the cool water.
I wondered if this was how calm the river had been when the British forded it that momentous May. Was it fate that the monsoon broke here the day after the fort fell, when rising water levels made the river unfordable?
A short distance from Water Gate was the Lal Mahal, one of Tipu’s palaces, famous for its sophisticated underground piping, its zenana, the four tigers kept chained near its entrance, and most of all for its ornate durbar hall, with three rows of magnificent pillars supporting a roof two stories above, grudgingly described by the British as “very handsome.” We have to take their word for it as the palace was later destroyed by Col Wellesley.
Now fenced off, all that remains for us to peer at through the gates are some crumbling walls, their size the merest hint of the grandeur of the past.
As is often the case in Srirangapattana, past glory rubs shoulders with quotidian life – outside the gates of the ruined palace are trees decorated with cowpats.
Our final destination in Srirangapattana was the Obelisk, situated at the western tip of the island fort. Built in 1907 by the British, it is a simple war memorial listing the soldiers who died in the final victory over Tipu. Steeped in history, this spot typifies Srirangapattana’s appeal. Intrepid explorers are rewarded with the thrill of discovering forgotten bits of history amidst untamed patches of greenery.
Here, you can find derelict structures that resemble Tipu’s famous armouries that stored rockets and munitions. You can walk along the fort’s ramparts to see the damage inflicted by cannons during the 1799 siege.
You can wander off the path to discover dilapidated gateways leading to nooks where nature runs wild.
Or you can sit on the fort walls and savour the solitude as you watch the occasional fisherman cross the Cauvery in his coracle. Inexplicably devoid of tourists, with spectacular views of the two branches of the Cauvery, the area has all the romance and mystery of enchanted ruins.