The forgotten glories of Srirangapattana

one British soldier. Thank-
M EERA I YER visits some of
Srirangapattana’s lesser known
tourist spots including Thomas
Inman’s dungeons,Water Gate
and the war memorial.
the most infamous traitors
and arecanut groves to reach
fully, we were spared such an
event and could admire the
spotlessly-maintained mau-
soleum in leisure.
Royal graves
The imposing dome of
the mausoleum glowed or-
ange in the setting sun, con-
Daulat, this humble spot is
in Indian history. Would his-
tory have been any different
had he not withdrawn Tipu’s
troops from their posts that
fateful day in 1799 and then
signaled the all-clear to the
waiting British army?
A few metres from Tipu’s
mausoleum and its throngs
of magnificent pillars sup-
Thomas Inman’s dungeons –
a smaller, bleaker version of
Col Baillie’s dungeons. Hap-
pily, the roof above contrasts
splendidly with the gloom
below. The glorious views,
the lack of tourists and the
spot’s isolation from the
hubbub of the main fort
tana’s appeal. Intrepid ex-
given a miss by most visi-
tors.
A small path leads down
to the quiet river, adjacent to
the towering fort walls now
partly covered with wild
shrubbery. An old man and
his wife were washing
clothes in the Cauvery and
porting a roof two stories
above, grudgingly described
by the British as “very hand-
some.” We have to take their
word for it as the palace was
later destroyed by Col
Wellesley.
Now fenced off, all that re-
mains for us to peer at
plorers are rewarded with
the thrill of discovering for-
gotten bits of history amidst
untamed patches of green-
ery.
Here, you can find
derelict structures that re-
semble Tipu’s famous ar-
mouries that stored rockets

S
rirangapattana has
been much in the news
these days, what with
the Karnataka government
proposing to set up a Sriran-
gapattana tourism circuit
and seeking World Heritage
Site status for it. So we decid-
ed to revisit the capital of
Tipu Sultan, Tiger of
Mysore with a mission to
discover places in neither
guides’ nor tourists’ itiner-
aries. But we allowed our-
selves the exception of the
Gumbaz, the elegant mau-
soleum of Tipu and his par-
ents, Hyder Ali and
Fakhrunissa.
It was a hot summer day
when we visited. Dark
Tipu’s tomb
with graves
of his kin in
the foreground.
clouds swirled threateningly
in the sky and I was remind-
ed of an account of the
events of May 5, 1799. The
British had finally felled
their dreaded enemy, Tipu
Sultan, the previous day. But
a fearful thunderstorm
struck during Tipu’s funer-
al, sparking disquiet in even
the most rational British
minds. Furious winds and
lightning strikes killed
scores that night and left
scenes of desolation such as
seldom seen. “All language is
inadequate to describe its
horrors. Rather than be ex-
posed to such another scene,
I would prefer the front of a
hundred battles,” shuddered
trasting pleasingly with the
gleaming black granite pil-
lars of the corridor. On one
wall are Persian verses de-
scribing Tipu’s martyrdom
and above the two ivory-in-
laid ebony doorways leading
to the burial chamber are
verses from the Koran. In-
side, the room is painted
with Tipu’s favourite motif,
tiger stripes.
The royal graves are all
covered with satin and
strewn with fresh flowers. In
the corridor and garden are
graves of several relatives
and attendants, including
that of Mir Sadiq, Tipu’s
trusted Diwan and one of
lay our first destination, an-
other mausoleum, but one
that receives no footfalls. In
a small enclosure overrun
with bushes and brambles is
the quietly graceful mau-
soleum of Colonel Baillie.
The Colonel had com-
manded the British army in
the famous battle of Pollilur
in 1780 and had been utterly
vanquished by Tipu and Hy-
der Ali. Baillie’s relatives
erected the memorial some
years after Tipu’s death, ac-
knowledging his defeat at
the hands of a “superior”
enemy. The poignant mau-
soleum today lies aban-
doned and unprotected.
The unfortunate Col Bail-
lie was captured after the
disastrous defeat and was
supposedly held prisoner in
one of Tipu’s subterranean,
arched, brick and mortar
dungeons in Srirangapat-
tana fort, now ironically
named Col Baillie’s dun-
geons. A cannon that lies
somewhat incongruously in
the middle of this is proba-
bly the most photographed
relic in Srirangapattana.
Dark dungeons
Not far is a second prison
used for Maratha prisoners,
Thomas Inman’s dungeons,
possibly the least visited and
least known historical spot
in the fort. A small path past
a Ganapati temple leads
through a patch of banana
make it an ideal spot to gaze spared us nary a glance as through the gates are some and munitions. You can
calmly into eternity. we splashed about excitedly crumbling walls, their size walk along the fort’s ram-
Our next destination was in the cool water. the merest hint of the parts to see the damage in-
the spot where Tipu was I wondered if this was grandeur of the past. flicted by cannons during
killed. According to some, how calm the river had been As is often the case in Sri- the 1799 siege.
he died at Hoally gate, an when the British forded it rangapattana, past glory You can wander off the
archway that was demol- that momentous May. Was it rubs shoulders with quotidi- path to discover dilapidated
ished to make way for a fate that the monsoon broke an life – outside the gates of gateways leading to nooks
road. here the day after the fort the ruined palace are trees where nature runs wild.
Col Wellesley, who took fell, when rising water levels decorated with cowpats. Or you can sit on the fort
over after Tipu’s death, made the river unfordable? Our final destination in walls and savour the soli-
erected a plaque to com- A short distance from Srirangapattana was the tude as you watch the occa-
memorate the spot where Water Gate was the Lal Ma- Obelisk, situated at the west- sional fisherman cross the
Tipu’s body was found, a hal, one of Tipu’s palaces, fa- ern tip of the island fort. Cauvery in his coracle. Inex-
stark memorial that now lies mous for its sophisticated Built in 1907 by the British, plicably devoid of tourists,
fenced off. But according to underground piping, its it is a simple war memorial with spectacular views of
other contemporary paint- zenana, the four tigers kept listing the soldiers who died the two branches of the Cau-
ings and accounts, Tipu died chained near its entrance, in the final victory over very, the area has all the ro-
at Water Gate, an unassum- and most of all for its ornate Tipu. Steeped in history, this mance and mystery of en-
ing archway that leads to the durbar hall, with three rows spot typifies Srirangapat- chanted ruins.
Cauvery. Pics by author
Today, only an inconspic-
uous sign indicates Tipu The Obelisk.
died near here. This then is
possibly the spot where
British troops finally
breached the fort’s ramparts
on 4th May 1799.
Tipu himself had rushed
to the spot to repulse the at-
tack. In the ensuing melee,
Tipu was shot twice. Ex-
hausted, he collapsed near
the archway, and in a final
clash with an enemy soldier,
the Tiger of Mysore was
shot and died.
Water Gate today is quite
devoid of any traces of its
role in history. In the rush to
see Srirangapattana’s more
famous sights including the
Ranganathaswamy temple,
Jama Masjid and Dariya