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When someone says Mysuru, the only thought in my head is the majestic Mysore Palace and the zoo. So, you can well imagine my surprise when I was told that I had to write about ‘30 heritage sites across Mysuru’. My travel writing assignment required me to research and write about these buildings, their history, architecture and the impact they have had on society. I also had to photograph these places and capture them at their very best. Honestly, I was pretty sure the folks had it wrong because I had never heard of most of the places on this list and I don’t think too many others had too. Well, spoiler alert, let’s just say the city of Mysuru was full of surprises. As I arrived in Mysuru on this sleepy Sunday morning, I had a solid plan on how I would go about visiting all these buildings in a single day. A friend joined me on my quest, completely unaware of the amount of walking involved. The first place we decided to visit was the famous Cauvery Emporium. Did you know, this was the first branch to be opened in India. Here, we spotted several beautiful handicraft items, one of which was a 3-foot tall elephant carved in wood and ivory, costing a whopping 75000 USD! Yes, you read that right! Our visit there was cut short though, as photography isn’t allowed inside the showroom. Interestingly, we found several street hawkers who set up shop on the footpath just outside the showroom, selling souvenirs, jewelry, old Indian coins, and other metal trinkets. It was interesting to stop by and see what they had in store. Less than half a kilometer away was the Devaraja market. Being from Bangalore, I was used to the super crowded market scenes, especially during the weekends. As we stepped into the market, I braced myself for a bustling market. Surprisingly, this one was rather empty! We happily walked through every part of the market, soaking in the interesting sights, sounds, and smells. As we walked out of the main gate we were welcomed by the Dufferin Clock Tower. This was a sight to behold! The tower stands all alone here, surrounded by a wide, circular, cobbled floor. The clear blue sky accentuated the blue detailings of the tower. From here, we moved to the legendary palace of Amba Vilas, Here, the Jayamarthaanda Gate is a must-see. Standing here gives you a view of the entire palace facade. We were lucky enough to spot some of the Dasara elephants. These elephants are usually brought to the palace for the grand celebrations of ‘Mysore Dasara Habba’. From here, we went on to explore the other list of places on our list. An interesting feature that I noticed during the course of the day was the style and architecture across these buildings. It occurred to me that most of the older buildings in Mysuru had a similar architecture, with the high roofs, tall pillars, and the pale yellow and white paints. This added to the coherent feel of the city, where, a tall, majestic structure lies everywhere you look. The newer buildings can be easily distinguished by their modern, compact structures and brighter colors. The city was under the rule of the Wodeyars for approximately 500 years and most of the heritage buildings, built by them, continue to retain their glory after decades. Even today, the love and respect that the people of Mysuru continue to have for the erstwhile kings is evident. The city celebrates them by having a number of monuments and buildings built in their honor. We ended our little expedition at the Lansdowne building. It was sad to see the sorry state of the building that, in its heyday, was a major commercial complex. Thankfully, it is now under renovation, and will soon be reopened in all its glory. After a long, tiresome day, I headed back to Bangalore. As I got home, the fitness app on my phone tells me that I have walked over 28000 steps! Woah!