By Gouri Satya, Sr.Journalist The old city of Mysore was famous for its Keris, Agraharas and Mohallas. The Keris and Agraharas were built by the Maharajas, chiefly during the reign of Krishnaraja Wadiyar III. The Mohallas comprised Keris and Agraharas. Nazarbad, Lashkar, Mandi Mohallas on the Northern side and the Fort Mohalla or Khille Mohalla on the opposite Southern side of the old Fort existed even prior to Krishnaraja Wadiyar III, though they were not parts of Mysuru city. The city, as such, was within the Fort walls. This Fort no longer exists and the present one stands in its place. As known well, Nazarbad Mohalla was formed by Tipu Sultan, with an intention to build a new city, alternative to Mysore. It was built on Basavana Thittu, a high ground, by around 1799. The small Fort was named Nazarbad. But, he could not complete its construction. A portion of the Nazarbad Fort still exists on the Mysore-Bangalore Road, near the Mysore Central Jail. When the capital was moved to Mysore, after Tipu’s death and the fall of Srirangapatna to the British Army, the Wadiyar’s family too was shifted to Mysore and they were accommodated in a small bungalow temporarily built in Nazarbad. The Dasara procession of Krishnaraja Wadiyar III, starting from the then Palace in Mysore City, was reaching the Maharaja’s Bungalow at Nazarbad where a Raja Sabha (Durbar) was being held in the Chandra Shala Hall in that house, before the procession returning back to the Palace.
