Mysore Palace gate, Wadiyar's statue facing aviary debris threat

Ravindra Gundu Rao, an expert in restoring heritage structures of Mysuru, cautions about the damage to structures from pigeon droppings

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The gate to the Mysuru Palace and the statue opposite the gate are facing a threat of an avian kind – aviary debris.

Balarama Gate, one of the side entrances to the palace, has attractive artwork, cusped arches and paintings on its walls that attract visitors who come either to worship in the temples at the entrance or enter the fort to see the palace when it is brilliantly lit up.

Of late, some bird enthusiasts have begun feeding large amounts of seeds, cereals or grams to pigeons and crows that flock in front of the gate opposite the marble statue of Chamaraja Wadiyar that has artwork and a golden dome, besides the life-size statue of the Maharaja. The presence of hundreds of pigeons and their feeding and flying of course offers a great sight. But, either the bird lovers or those who enjoy the sight are unaware of the damage that these birds are causing to the two aesthetic structures here.

Ravindra Gundu Rao, an expert in restoring heritage structures of Mysuru, has cautioned about the damage to the iconic structures from the pigeon droppings. He says, “The intentions of the bird enthusiasts may be good. But these lovely avian friends' droppings on the lime mortar canopies of the Balarama gate causes irreversible damage to the art work, canopy, cusped arches of the fort wall sections as well as to the square.”

“Zoologists/chemists/heritage restorers around the world know of the highly corrosive nature of the pigeon droppings which is known to have corroded the highly inert lead sheets of St. Peter's dome in London. It is true that such practices of feeding pigeons is practiced in many European/Indian cities, but usually in and around stone masonry structures which are more resistant to the corrosion compared to lime mortar and marble. While birds like tall historical building, we should not be inviting problems," Rao, a School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, and University of York, UK expert, who has restored many heritage structures including palaces, cautions.

The heritage conservationist said that it was best to shift the noble activity of feeding the birds to the nearby Mirza Park or Kuppanna Park and save our buildings. The Mysuru City Corporation and the Department of Archaeology should immediately take note of the brewing problem and counsel promoters of the activity at once, he told Business Standard.

“Mysuru has many heritage structures. But we all know the price we have to pay seeing how we have failed to restore them,” he rues, citing the Lansdowne Buildings, Devaraja Market, K R Hospital, Chamarajendra Technical Institute (CAVA) building among others as examples that “we may simply loose, helplessly".

He cites how heritage structures abroad, like in Paris, have been precisely preserved and restored the original, keeping the minutest detail intact (paving pattern, materials. even landscape materials, lamp posts et al by conservation professionals.