Dodda Gadiyara to get facelift soon

Silver Jubilee Clock or Dodda Gadiyara, as it is popularly known as, near Rangacharlu Town Hall in the city, is in need of urgent attention. Conservation and repair works are expected to be taken up soon, said Mayor Tasneem.

She said, “We know the problems. We will hold a meeting of the advisory committee and chalk out plans for strengthening the structure and also to conserve it. The Dodda Gadiyara is a pride of Mysuru and we will ensure that it tells the time for the future generations.”

Dodda Gadiyara, a 75-feet-tall structure, is a prominent landmark of the ‘Heritage City’ since 1927. Nearing a century, it has withstood the climatic vagaries and has also been renovated and repaired a few times, earlier. Now, the building needs to be strengthened and the clock also needs to be repaired, to regain its glory.

Interestingly, over the years, the junction where it stands, was named as Mahaveera Circle, by Mysuru City Corporation (MCC). However, people still identify the junction after Dodda Gadiyara.

It was built in the 1920s, to commemorate the silver jubilee of the coronation of Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, the 24th king of Yadu dynasty, that was founded in 1399. It was based on Big Ben of London, thus, its resemblance is evident. Wadiyar ascended the throne in 1902, after his father Chamaraja Wadiyar X. The clock tower has a canopy in Rajasthani style with an overall Indo-Saracenic style. It was inaugurated in 1927.

In fact, there are two more clock towers, in the city. A smaller version, but an older one and more ornate, is popularly known as ‘Chikka Gadiyara’ near Devaraja Market.

At a time when wrist watches were a luxury, Wadiyar kings, who emulated the Westeners in punctuality, erected ‘Chikka Gadiyara’ first. It was named as Dufferin Clock Tower as it was commissioned to commemorate the visit of then British Viceroy to India Lord Dufferin, in 1886.

It is one of the oldest clock towers surviving in India. He had come to Mysuru on the invitation of then Maharaja Chamaraja Wadiyar X. It was renovated in 2012.

The University of Mysore also built a clock tower in 2015, on its Manasagangotri campus, to commemorate the centenary of its establishment.