Mysore Palace still awaits restoration of glass ceiling
Damaged glass ceiling of Durbar hall & Kalyana Mantap of the Palace awaits restoration.
By : shilpa p.
Update: 2013-11-16 09:10 GMT
Mysore: Although more than a year has passed since the painted glass in the ceiling of the Durbar hall and Kalyana Mantap at the Mysore Palace was found damaged, the palace board has not made any headway in repairing it as yet.
The broken "artistic glass" has temporarily been replaced with transparent glass, but rain seeps through it to the ground below as it is not water-tight. The authorities have covered the ceilings with a tarpaulin to prevent this, but in the process have blocked the refraction of light which created a beautiful effect through the glass.
Keen to restore the ceiling to its original shape, the board has decided to use some of the Rs 25 crore released for restoration work on the palace on the occasion of its 100th year anniversary.
Three artists came forward with samples of their work in response to the expression of interest .They were presented to a panel of experts including Director of Regional Conservation Laboratory, B. V. Kharbade, Deputy Director of the Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage, Dr J. V. Gayathri and Professor of Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Mysore, Prof N. S. Rangaraju.
After much discussion the panel members chose an artist from Kerala, Manikantan to do the job, but his financial estimate did not meet with their approval and it was later decided to contact an expert from England, Alfred Fissure, as the artistic glass , which is as old as the palace itself, was originally brought from Britain to Mysore.
The problem: Fissure hasn't arrived yet. When contacted, Mysore Palace Board Deputy Director, Subramanya, said Fissure had been contacted but had not yet responded to the offer.