Trust with coordination did you know

MYSORE: Did you know when Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar was coronated as the Mysore Maharaja, or the timeline of Mysore Palace's construction? Also, did you know that Kalayana Mantap in the celebrated palace hosted the coronation of his successor Jayachamaraja Wadiyar?As the Mysore Palace completes a century, the opulent monument's varied footprints in history make for an interesting reading. Officially declared as completed during 1911-12, the palace cost Rs 41.50 lakh to the Mysore administrators, almost double the cost when the project was initiated in 1897 (after the wooden palace was damaged in a fire accident). Interestingly, when the project was taken up, Maharani Vani Vilas was in charge of the administration of the erstwhile Mysore state. She took the lead in building the monument. After the fall of Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan at Srirangapanta in 1799, the Mysore royal family returned to rule the state with Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar assuming power. He took charge on June 30, 1799, but his coronation didn't take place in the wooden palace. According to 'Mysore Gazetteer', "special preparations were made for the function. An open pandal was erected and a numerous concourse of people gathered at the place to witness the ceremony". The spot, according to the 1930 work, "was not far away from the Palace". However, the maharaja lived in the wooden palace."The wooden palace was an old structure of great extent, separated by open courts, in the Indo-Saracenic style," historian T P Issar has written in his monumental work on Mysore -- 'The Royal City' -- quoting from a report of 1890 published in 'Indian Engineering'. The report notes that the wooden palace's interior was richly decorated, while the exterior was quite commonplace. When Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar died on March 27, 1868, Chamaraja Wadiyar, who was a minor, was proclaimed as his successor and was installed on September 23, 1868. However, he took over the reins of the administration on March 25, 1881, when he was installed as the maharaja at the old palace (which gutted in 1897, some three years after his death). The fire mishap occurred during a royal wedding, but Maharani Vani Vilas didn't waste much time in commencing the work on the new palace. The important brief was that combustible materials should be avoided for building the new palace.While the new palace was taking shape, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar turned 18, after which he was formally installed as the maharaja (in 1902). But since the palace was under construction, his coronation was held at a special pavilion attached to Jagan Mohan Palace. The pavilion was built two years earlier -- during the wedding of the maharaja. "The maharaja was installed on the throne on August 8, 1902, in the pavilion attached to the Jagan Mohan Palace at Mysore," historian Hayavadana Rao notes in 'Mysore Gazetteer'. Many of the events attached to the Mysore royal family, including Dasara durbars, were held at Jagan Mohan Palace since the palace was not available. However, the durbar moved back to the palace in 1910.After his demise in 1940, when Jayachamaraja Wadiyar ascended the throne on September 8, 1940, the ornate Kalyana Mantap within the precincts of the new palace hosted the much-venerated event.