Chapter 1, Page 2

With the car finally parked at the right location, which was a beautiful clearing among a few trees, we decided to inspect the premises before checking in. We sauntered towards the entrance taking in all sights and sounds, walking past a cottage that was turned into a kitchen for the restaurant; a nice sit-out garden with those decorative lights that are common during the navratri festival and islands of tables and chairs to dine on, strewn around the garden. We walked on, till we at last reached the entrance to the hotel, an enormous door with intricate carvings. My first feeling was that of confusion; I distinctly remember thinking to myself, ”Did we just enter a hotel or a museum?”. The place was preserved in what appeared to be its palatial glory. The tables, the sofa, the painting on the wall, nay, every item that we laid eyes on, was preserved so well; the best way that I can describe it is that it was so fresh and yet so ancient at the same time and I was instantly transported into a setting from the early 16th century Mysore, interspersed with modern amenities such as computers and wifi. Before we checked into our room we began exploring the hotel; we walked past a grand hall with exquisite furniture, a piano that looked as old as the building itself, into a cafe called “The Malgudi Cafe”. As we were walking through, I noticed a desk on the left inside a small room, attended to by what appeared to be a lady in uniform; so I presumed this must be the reception. I walked up to the desk to check us in, while my wife continued to explore the premises. I completed the formalities (I was right for a change, about that being the reception) and walked back to find my wife in deep conversation with a dignified senior lady. It turns out that the hotel once belonged to the sisters of one of the Wodeyar kings and was known as the Chitaranjan palace.  It changed hands overtime, first to a film studio, where many films were shot till a fire broke out and the studio shut down. The ownership was then transferred to the NGO under whose possession it currently remains. The NGO restored the palace and converted it into a hotel to give us common folk a glimpse of the royal life. The proceeds of the room rent are then distributed to a charity.

With the check in formalities complete, we followed the bellboy carrying our luggage towards our room. He took us back from where we came and turned left just before the entrance to reveal a majestic stairway. The stairway was made of wooden steps that exuded a quiet noble elegance which was endearing and frightening at the same time. We followed his lead, as our footsteps echoed across the high ceilings of the palace and made our way to the landing before we reached the first floor to find an enormous mirror and our rather large reflections staring back at us. I must confess, I found this rather unsettling. On we climbed and made our way to the first floor to find an old white cradle in front of us where presumably, the royal scions were once placed and entertained. We followed the bellboy as he turned right, into a corridor of sorts, to find a small table with a vase and some fresh roses placed at the corner wall in contrast to the ancient surroundings. We walked through the corridor to reveal a dining hall and I for one squinted my eyes to check if they were deceiving me; for we saw a dining table with no end in sight, it appeared to extend beyond the physical dimensions. It took me a while before I realized what was going on. The enormous oval dining table with beautiful royal chairs arranged around it, was placed between two walls with large mirrors. The two wall length mirrors gave the impression that the table extended to beyond the walls, quite a singular effect. Like the palace of illusions, every aspect of this place was built to inspire awe and magnificence, you know, the