Ethnography
By Madhavi Desai CEPT
The frontages of the houses were beautifully adorned, with colonial influences evident in columns, pediments, capitals, arches, and cast-iron grilles. Intricately carved zarookhas (projected balconies) integrated indigenous architectural elements. Each floor of the façade featured contrasting designs, and houses—particularly in Siddhpur—were painted in varying pastel shades to break visual monotony. Raised on a high plinth, the main door was accessed via a short flight of stairs, not unlike a stoop.
By Caleb Simmons
Mysore’s association with a buffalo myth dates back to the latter half of the first millennium. The Wodeyar kings reinvented this myth in the seventeenth century by associating the local female deity with the Pauranic legend of the Goddess slaying Mahisha, the buffalo demon. This foundational myth concerning the Goddess and the city has remained in the popular psyche ever since (pp. 29-30).