ABSTRACT
The architectural beauty and the remains of the lavish lifestyles that the Indian maharajas once enjoyed divert everyone attention from the fact that the palaces were once influential political institutions in their own right. In the case of Mysore, the palace was still the centre of state administration until the British took over the state administration in 1831. The separation of the palace and its government, however, was never a clear-cut or irreversible process. This chapter elucidates this complex process, especially to disentangle the relationship between the state and the palace. It examines that despite its decorative façade, the palace played a significant role in re-interpreting and re-articulating traditional kingly cultural and social activities within colonial modernity. The palace was the very centre of the gift-giving economy, which was largely discouraged by the British but remained an important feature of local communities. The actors, including women, in this ritualised economy sometimes resisted British intervention by taking 'traditionalist' stances.
