A Mysuru heritage walk organised by the Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage and the Tourism Department brought senior citizens and young residents to several historic buildings on Thursday, while filmmaker B. Suresh warned that real-estate activity and demolition machinery must not destroy the city’s architectural and cultural legacy.
The walk began at Rangacharlu Memorial Hall and covered the Dodda Gadiyara, the 10th Chamaraja Wadiyar Circle, the Amba Vilas Palace, the 4th Krishnaraja Wadiyar Circle, the Chikka Gadiyara, Devaraja Market, K.R. Hospital, Mysuru Medical College, the Ayurvedic College, the Chamarajendra Technical Institute, Cauvery Emporium and Gandhi Circle before concluding at the starting point.
Addressing participants at the launch, Suresh said care was needed to protect the houses of senior writers and artists, including R.K. Narayan, Kuvempu and Tarasu, as well as other heritage buildings in the city. He said the priority should not be limited to expanding tourism, but should also include conserving Mysuru’s heritage.
The warning places the city’s historic buildings within a wider urban-development pressure. The report specifically referred to the risk posed by real-estate interests and JCB operations to old structures and cultural properties. It did not identify any particular building as facing demolition or disclose a new conservation order.
Speakers during the walk also discussed Mysuru’s historical evolution. According to records cited at the event, the settlement was earlier known as Irumaiyuru, meaning the place of buffaloes. It later became Mahishapura through cultural transformation and eventually came to be known as Mysuru.
Professor Selvapillai Iyengar, head of the Department of Ancient History and Archaeology at the Karnataka State Open University, historian Professor N.S. Rangaraju and lecturer L.N. Swamy provided information about the heritage buildings along the route. Their participation connected the public walk with the academic study of the city’s history and architecture.
The Heritage Department also announced the results of two public competitions. In the house-to-house doll-display competition, Gajalakshmi Nagaraj won the first prize, Geetha Srihari secured the second and Saraswathi Kiran received the third prize. In the ‘Selfie with Heritage Building’ competition, Meena Krishna Kumar won first place, Anuditha came second and Purushottam Chakravarthy stood third.
Heritage Department Commissioner Devaraju distributed cash prizes to the winners. Deputy Director C.N. Manjula and Archaeological Conservation Engineer T. Tarakesh were among the officials present, along with K.P. Gurumallappa. The event concluded after the heritage walk and the prize distribution, with the organisers using public participation to draw attention to Mysuru’s historic buildings and cultural sites.
