Lalitha Mahal Palace centenary to be an austere affair

Shilpa P. | NT

It is the time for centenary celebrations of one of the jewels of Mysuru, heritage structure, the majestic Lalitha Mahal Palace, which has the panoramic Chamundi hills in the background.

Owing to Covid-19 pandemic, the Jungle Lodges and Resorts (JLR) limited which is managing the Lalitha Mahal Palace hotel in Mysuru is planning to keep the celebrations simple.

And also they have not been able to take up any major works to upgrade its facilities and services to mark the centenary celebrations, since there is no major allocation from State government, though they had allotted Rs 25 crore to mark centenary celebrations of Mysuru Palace in 2014.

And, even JLR has not been able to take up any minor works to mark celebrations, since the inflow of guests and revenue has been affected, owing to pandemic situation in the past two years.

According to JLR Managing Director Mr Manoj Kumar, IFS, they are planning to restrict centenary celebrations to a small event to unveil the bust of late King of Mysore dynasty Sri Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar infront of Palace. JLR Chaiperson Appanna is planning to invite Chief Minister Mr Basavaraj Bommai and tourism minister Mr Anand singh to unveil the bust of the King. The date is not yet finalized for the event, he said.

Owing the covid pandemic situation, the occupancy of Lalit Mahal Palace hotel from April 2020 to March 2021 was just 0.22 per cent, and it incurred the loss of Rs 41 lakh during the same period. And even from April 2021 to January 2022, the occupancy has been 46.41 per cent, according to the hotel sources.

While earlier there was a plan to upgrade the facilities and services at Lalitha Mahal at the cost of Rs 100 crore it has been scaled down. Manoj Kumar said, “As of now we have sought Rs 5 crore from State Government to take up some minor maintenance works related to electric, plumbing lines and also to plug some minor leakages in some small portion of ceiling of Lalitha Mahal. We will take those works after consulting heritage experts without hampering its heritage value. Due to Covid pandemic situation, all the properties of JLR including Lalitha Mahal saw Rs 7 crore less of revenue and Rs 1 crore net loss last financial year alone. We have not removed any staff and paid their salaries even during the lockdown. So we have not been able to take up any additional work related to upgrading the facilities at Lalitha Mahal,” he said.

According to noted heritage expert Eechanur Kumar, the foundation stone for the Lalitha Mahal Palace, was laid in 1921 during the reign of late Maharaja of Wadiyar dynasty Sri Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar. And it was completed within two years. The palace was designed by Frichiley, a Mumbai based architect in Indo Saracenic and Renaissance style of architecture. It was built to treat and accommodate Viceroys, British officers and any guests. And it was handed over to Government in 1956 by last Maharaja of Mysore dynasty Sri Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, he said.

Currently Lalitha Mahal Palace functions as a 4-star hotel, and it is being managed by the Jungle lodges and resorts limited of tourism department, with 117 staff including professional chefs. It has 52 suites including the royal Viceroy suit, which offers the royal experience of Princely living in Palace ambience.

Besides royal ball room for the conferences, banquet hall, front lawn and swimming pool lawns for weddings and other social functions, they also offer packages for film shootings and even pre wedding photo shoots.