The Summer Residence of Tipu Sultan

Pragya Nagar

The Summer Residence of Tipu Sultan

Long before the British conceived of summer and winter palaces to acclimatise themselves to the humid climate in India, Tipu Sultan, the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore, was already constructing his summer residence in Bangalore. The elaborate palace now stands as a quaint edifice in the heart of the city.

The Summer Palace of Tipu Sultan; Source: Pintrest

Kempe Gowda, a ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, founded Bangalore in 1537 and declared it as his second capital by building a mud fort there. After the fall of Vijayanagara, it came into the possession of the Raja of Mysore, who gifted the fort of Bangalore and its adjoining areas to one of his most trusted military commanders, Hyder Ali, as a reward for his successful military campaigns.

In 1761, Hyder Ali reconstructed the fort wall with stone in an oval shape, about a kilometre in length, with eight gates and a palace complex. After his death in 1782, his son Tipu Sultan completed the construction of the palace complex in 1792. What remains of this today is just one part of the fort wall (Delhi Gate), Kote Venkataswamy temple, and one of the palaces of the summer palace complex.

Located less than a mile from Lalbagh, one of the most famous botanical gardens in Bangalore, the summer palace of Tipu Sultan sits quite unassumingly. While construction on Lalbagh was started in 1760 by Hyder Ali, work on the palace began in 1781. A Farsi inscription on the entrance wall declares this palace as the “abode of happiness” and the “envy of heaven.”

The palace functioned as a summer retreat as well as an administrative unit overlooking the territory. Following Tipu Sultan's death in 1799, it was temporarily held by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar III; however, the British administration quickly took over this palace and used it as their secretariat from 1831 to 1868.

The palace has a symmetrical plan, with two stories laid on a low stone platform with audience chambers at the front and back. Four stairs at each corner lead to the upper storeys. The central portion is a large hall with a chamber at each of its four corners (known as a zenana). An enclosed room at the base of the palace is now a museum.

In 1951, the Archaeological Survey of India took over the property and declared it a national monument. The palace's magnificent frontage of fountains and flowering trees has now given way to manicured green lawns surrounded by beds of seasonal flowers. At present, the palace today stands as a testament to a past that was at once bloody and glorious.

The walls and ceilings were once said to be decorated with frescoes, with delicate white flowers on a brick-red background and borders of a frieze of gold flowers and leaves on a white base. Only traces of all this remain. The palace's grandeur is enhanced by the sheer number of enormous fluted pillars. These are made of teak wood with stone bases. Multi-foil arches and brackets spring from the pillars, which is typical of Indo-Islamic architecture. The tallest pillars are distinguished by capitals that resemble inverted eight-petal lotuses.

The museum on the ground floor of the palace provides several insights into the life of the sultan and the palace. Apart from narrating the sultan's tale, it also showcases a selection of remarkable artefacts, such as Mysorean rockets, a replica of Tipu's Tiger, and his magnificent throne.

There is a fascinating story behind Tipu Sultan's throne. He had vowed to sit on a throne studded with gold and diamonds only after defeating the British army. However, after the sultan was defeated and killed in the battle, the British dismantled and sold parts of the throne since the entire throne was too costly to buy in its entirety.

The Summer Palace influenced famous painters such as Robert Home and James Hunter, who painted the palace and its surroundings. The sketches encapsulate the ethos and provide a glimpse into the grandeur of the palace and the life around the once-thriving city center.