As children we were very excited to either drive down for a darshan of Nandi on top of Chamundi hills or climb down the steps to reach Nandi. We would be greeted by a big seated bull in black. The carvings on the bull is very beautiful. We would also crawl under a leg of the Nandi for good luck!
In 2017, the black Nandi turned white to our utter dismay! How could we relate to this new avtar of our much loved Nandi!? Probably it will take a while to get used to the original colour of Nandi. No doubt the carvings are now more visible.
Due to the deposit of oil over the years, the Nandi statue had become black and the archaeological department cleaned the statue using high-power water jets. This process removed the deposits that had accumulated over it since decades.
The monolithic statue of Nandi is at least 350 years old. It was sculpted during the period of Dodda Devaraja Wodeyar who ruled from 1659 to 1673. The Nandi statue is 4.9m tall and 7.6m long and carved out of a single piece of black granite. It is a major tourist attraction.
Black or white, our love and devotion towards the Nandi is unwavering.
Place statistics:
Type of place: Heritage statues
Situated: KARP Mounted Police Headquarters, Mysuru
Distance: 10 Kms from Suburb bus station, 13 Kms from Railway station
Transport: Well connected by road and steps. There are buses to Chamundi hills from Mysuru bus stand.
Facilities: Many small eateries are available. Rest rooms are available. Mysuru city has many hotels to suit all budgets
