This is a photograph of Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace. Can you see the three men at the end of the garden path? They give you a sense of just how tall those wooden pillars are. From here, the arches frame what looks like one great open hall. The palace actually has two storeys, and Tipu held audiences from the balconies upstairs.
His father, Hyder Ali, began building the palace inside Bangalore Fort in 1781. Tipu completed it in 1791. The courtyard apparently once had a fountain and a flower garden, and traces of paint and gilding survive on the palace walls and ceilings. An inscription describes it as an ‘Abode of Happiness’ and the ‘Envy of Heaven’. I wonder what that garden in bloom must have been like!
The palace later became the British administration’s secretariat. Its officials worked here until 1868, when they moved to the Attara Kacheri, the red building opposite Vidhana Soudha that now houses the Karnataka High Court.
What I like about Project 365 is that I get to piece together Bangalore’s history one picture at a time. And I get to do it with Ashok, who helps me decide what to photograph next. This has become our little adventure.
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