title: Congress Poland

text: Polish remained an official language until the mid-1860s when it was replaced by Russian. This resulted in bilingual street signs and documents, however, the full implementation of Cyrillic script into the Polish language failed.


title: Congress Poland

text: The office of ""Namiestnik"" was introduced in Poland by the 1815 constitution of Congress Poland. The Viceroy was chosen by the King from among the noble citizens of the Russian Empire or the Kingdom of Poland. The Viceroy supervised the entire public administration and, in the monarch's absence, chaired the Council of State, as well as the Administrative Council. He could veto the councils' decisions; other than that, his decisions had to be countersigned by the appropriate government minister. The Viceroy exercised broad powers and could nominate candidates for most senior government posts (ministers, senators, judges of the High Tribunal, councilors of state, referendaries, bishops, and archbishops). He had no competence in the realms of finances and foreign policy; his military competence varied.


title: Congress Poland

text: The office of "namiestnik" or Viceroy was never abolished; however, the last "namiestnik" was Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg, who served from 1863 to his death in 1874. No "namiestnik" was named to replace him; however, the role of "namestnik"—viceroy of the former kingdom passed to the Governor-General of Warsaw—or, to be more specific, of the Warsaw Military District (, ).


title: Congress Poland

text: The governor-general answered directly to the Emperor and exercised much broader powers than had the "namiestnik". In particular, he controlled all the military forces in the region and oversaw the judicial systems (he could impose death sentences without trial). He could also issue "declarations with the force of law," which could alter existing laws.


title: Congress Poland

text: The "Administrative Council" () was a part of Council of State of the Kingdom. Introduced by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland in 1815, it was composed of 5 ministers, special nominees of the King and the Viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland. The Council executed the King's will and ruled in the cases outside the minister's competence and prepared projects for the Council of State.


title: Congress Poland

text: The administrative divisions of the Kingdom changed several times over its history, and various smaller reforms were also carried out which either changed the smaller administrative units or merged/split various subdivisions.


title: Congress Poland

text: Immediately after its creation in 1815, the Kingdom of Poland was divided into departments, a relic from the times of the French-dominated Duchy of Warsaw.


title: Congress Poland

text: On 16 January 1816 the administrative division was reformed, with the departments being replaced with more traditionally Polish voivodeships (of which there were eight), obwóds and powiats. On 7 March 1837, in the aftermath of the November Uprising earlier that decade, the administrative division was reformed again, bringing Congress Poland closer to the structure of the Russian Empire, with the introduction of guberniyas (governorate, Polish spelling ""). In 1842 the powiats were renamed okręgs, and the obwóds were renamed powiats. In 1844 several governorates were merged with others, and some others were renamed; five governorates remained.


title: Congress Poland

text: In 1867, following the failure of the January Uprising, further reforms were instituted which were designed to bring the administrative structure of Poland (now "de facto" the Vistulan Country) closer to that of the Russian Empire. It divided larger governorates into smaller ones, introduced the gmina (a new lower-level entity), and restructured the existing five governorates into 10. The 1912 reform created a new governorate – Kholm Governorate – from parts of the Sedlets and Lublin Governorates. It was split off from the Vistulan Country and made part of the Southwestern Krai of the Russian Empire.


title: Congress Poland

text: Despite the fact that the economic situation varied at times, Congress Poland was one of the largest economies in the world. In the mid 1800s the region became heavily industrialized, however, agriculture still maintained a major role in the economy. In addition, the export of wheat, rye and other crops was significant in stabilizing the financial output. An important trade partner of Congress Poland was Great Britain, which imported goods in large amounts.


title: Congress Poland

text: Since agriculture was equivalent to 70% of the national income, the most important economic transformations included the establishment of mines and the textile industry; the development of these sectors brought more profit and higher tax revenues. The beginnings were difficult due to floods and an intense diplomatic relationship with Prussia. It was not until 1822 when Prince Francis Xavier Drucki-Lubecki negotiated to open the Polish market to the world. He also tried to introduce appropriate protective duties. A large and profitable investment was the construction of the Augustów Canal connecting Narew and Neman Rivers, which allowed to bypass Danzig (Gdańsk) and high Prussian tariffs. Drucki-Lubecki also founded the Bank of Poland, for which he is mostly remembered.


title: Congress Poland

text: The first Polish steam mill was built in 1828 in Warsaw-Solec; the first textile machine was installed in 1829. Greater use of machines led to production in the form of workshops. The government was also encouraging foreign specialists, mostly Germans, to upkeep larger establishments, or to undertake production. The Germans were also relieved of the tax burden. This allowed to create one of the largest European textile centres in Łódź and in surrounding towns like Ozorków and Zduńska Wola. These small and initially insignificant settlements later developed into large and multicultural cities, where Germans and Jews were the majority in the population. With the abolition of border customs in 1851 and further economic growth, Polish cities were gaining wealth and importance. Most notably, Warsaw, being associated with the construction of railway lines and bridges, gained priority in the entire Russian market.


title: Congress Poland

text: Although the economic and industrial progress occurred rapidly, most of the farms, called "folwarks", chose to rely on serfs and paid workforce. Only a few have experimented by obtaining proper machinery and plowing equipment from England. New crops were being cultivated like sugar beet, which marked the beginning of Polish sugar refineries. The use of iron cutters and plows was also favoured among the farmers. During the January Uprising the occupying authorities sought to deprive peasant insurgents of their popularity among landed gentry. Taxes were raised and the overall economic situation of commoners worsened. The noblemen and landowners were, on the other hand, provided with more privileges, rights and even financial support in the form of bribery. The aim of this was to weaken their support for the rebellion against the Russian Empire.


title: Congress Poland

text: Congress Poland was the largest supplier of zinc in Europe. The development of the zinc industry took place at the beginning of the 19th century. It was mostly caused by the significant increase of demand for zinc mainly in industrialized countries of Western Europe.


title: Congress Poland

text: In 1899, Aleksander Ginsberg founded the company "FOS" ("Fabryka Przyrządów Optycznych"-"Factory of Optical Equipment") in Warsaw. It was the only firm in the Russian Empire which crafted and produced cameras, telescopes, objectives and stereoscopes. Following the outbreak of World War I the factory was moved to St. Petersburg.


title: Congress Poland

text: According to the Russian Empire Census of 1897, Congress Poland had a population of 9,402,253: 4,712,090 men and 4,690,163 women.


title: Congress Poland

text: a Sources agree that after the fall of the January Uprising in 1864, the autonomy of Congress Poland was drastically reduced. They disagree however on whether the Kingdom of Poland, colloquially known as Congress Poland, as a state, was officially replaced by Vistula Land ("Privislinsky Krai"), a province of the Russian Empire, as many sources still use the term Congress Poland for the post-1864 period. The sources are also unclear as to when Congress Poland (or Vistula land) officially ended; some argue that it ended when the German and Austro-Hungarian occupying authorities assumed control of the area during World War I; others, that it ended with the creation of the Kingdom of Poland in 1917; finally, some argue that it ended only with the creation of the independent Republic of Poland in 1918. Examples:


title: Arman Tsarukyan

text: Arman Nairovich Tsarukyan (; born October 11, 1996) is an Armenian and Russian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship(UFC). As of October 24, 2022, he is #9 in the UFC lightweight rankings.


title: Arman Tsarukyan

text: Tsarukyan made his professional debut in mixed martial arts on September 25, 2015 against Shamil Olokhanov and won by technical knockout in the first round. He lost his next fight against Alexander Belikh by first-round knockout. Arman continued fighting for mixed martial arts promotions in Russia and Asia, winning his next 12 fights with 9 finishes, including a first round submission victory against Belikh to avenge his first loss. He compiled a 13–1 record prior to signing a four-fight contract with the UFC.


title: Arman Tsarukyan

text: Tsarukyan made his UFC debut against Islam Makhachev, one of the main training partners of Khabib Nurmagomedov, on April 20, 2019 at . It was a fast-paced fight with high level wrestling exchanges, and Tsarukyan lost the fight via a unanimous decision. This fight earned him the "Fight of the Night" bonus.


title: Arman Tsarukyan

text: Tsarukyan faced Olivier Aubin-Mercier on 27 July 2019 at UFC 240 and won the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Arman Tsarukyan

text: Tsarukyan was expected to face Davi Ramos on April 11, 2020 at . Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was eventually postponed. The bout eventually moved to UFC Fight Night 172 on July 19, 2020. He won the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Arman Tsarukyan

text: Tsarukyan was expected to face Nasrat Haqparast on January 24, 2021 at UFC 257. However, on the day of the weigh ins, Haqparast pulled out of the fight citing an illness. As a result, the promotion negotiated a matchup between Tsarukyan and Matt Frevola. Subsequently, Tsarukyan forfeited 20% of his purse as a result of missing weight, which went to Frevola. Tsarukyan won the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Arman Tsarukyan

text: Tsarukyan faced Christos Giagos on September 18, 2021 at UFC Fight Night 192. He won the fight via technical knockout in round one. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.


title: Arman Tsarukyan

text: Tsarukyan faced Joel Álvarez on February 26, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 202. He won the bout via ground and pound TKO in the second round. The win also earned Tsarukyan his second consecutive "Performance of the Night" bonus award.


title: Arman Tsarukyan

text: Tsarukyan faced Mateusz Gamrot on June 25, 2022 at UFC on ESPN 38. He lost the closely contested fight via unanimous decision. 15 of 22 MMA media outlets scored the bout in favor of Tsarukyan. Both fighters earned the "Fight of the Night" award.


title: Arman Tsarukyan

text: Tsarukyan faced Damir Ismagulov on December 17, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 216. He won the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary alliance with British India. The British took Direct Control over the Princely State in 1831. It then became Mysore State (later enlarged and renamed to Karnataka) with its ruler remaining as Rajapramukh until 1956, when he became the first Governor of the reformed state.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The kingdom, which was founded and ruled for most part by the Hindu Wodeyar family, initially served as feudatories under the Vijayanagara Empire. The 17th century saw a steady expansion of its territory and during the rule of Narasaraja Wodeyar I and Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar, the kingdom annexed large expanses of what is now southern Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu to become a powerful state in the southern Deccan. During a brief Muslim rule, the kingdom shifted to a Sultanate style of administration Tipu Sultan renamed the kingdom as Sultanate E Khudadad meaning God Gifted Empire.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: During this time, it came into conflict with the Marathas, the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Kingdom of Travancore and the British, which culminated in the four Anglo-Mysore Wars. Success in the First Anglo-Mysore war and stalemate in the Second was followed by defeats in the Third and the Fourth. Following Tipu Sultan's death in the fourth war in the Siege of Seringapatam (1799), large parts of his kingdom were annexed by the British, which signalled the end of a period of Mysorean hegemony over South India. The British restored the Wodeyars to their throne by way of a subsidiary alliance and the diminished Mysore was transformed into a princely state. The Wodeyars continued to rule the state until Indian independence in 1947, when Mysore acceded to the Union of India.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Even as a princely state, Mysore came to be counted among the more developed and urbanised regions of India. This period (1799–1947) also saw Mysore emerge as one of the important centres of art and culture in India. The Mysore kings were not only accomplished exponents of the fine arts and men of letters, they were enthusiastic patrons as well, and their legacies continue to influence rocket science, music, and art even today.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Sources for the history of the kingdom include numerous extant lithic and copper plate inscriptions, records from the Mysore palace and contemporary literary sources in Kannada, Persian and other languages. According to traditional accounts, the kingdom originated as a small state based in the modern city of Mysore and was founded by two brothers, Yaduraya (also known as Vijaya) and Krishnaraya. Their origins are mired in legend and are still a matter of debate; while some historians posit a northern origin at Dwarka, others locate it in Karnataka. Yaduraya is said to have married Chikkadevarasi, the local princess and assumed the feudal title "Wodeyar" (), which the ensuing dynasty retained. The first unambiguous mention of the Wodeyar family is in 16th century Kannada literature from the reign of the Vijayanagara king Achyuta Deva Raya (1529–1542); the earliest available inscription, issued by the Wodeyars themselves, dates to the rule of the petty chief Timmaraja II in 1551.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The kings who followed ruled as vassals of the Vijayanagara Empire until the decline of the latter in 1565. By this time, the kingdom had expanded to thirty-three villages protected by a force of 300 soldiers. King Timmaraja II conquered some surrounding chiefdoms, and King "Bola" Chamaraja IV ("lit", "Bald"), the first ruler of any political significance among them, withheld tribute to the nominal Vijayanagara monarch Aravidu Ramaraya. After the death of Aravidu Aliya Rama Raya, the Wodeyars began to assert themselves further and King Raja Wodeyar I wrested control of Srirangapatna from the Vijayanagara governor ("Mahamandaleshvara") Aravidu Tirumalla – a development which elicited, if only "ex post facto", the tacit approval of Venkatapati Raya, the incumbent king of the diminished Vijayanagar Empire ruling from Chandragiri. Raja Wodeyar I's reign also saw territorial expansion with the annexation of Channapatna to the north from Jaggadeva Raya – a development which made Mysore a regional political factor to reckon with.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Consequently, by 1612–13, the Wodeyars exercised a great deal of autonomy and even though they acknowledged the nominal overlordship of the Aravidu dynasty, tributes and transfers of revenue to Chandragiri stopped. This was in marked contrast to other major chiefs "Nayaks" of Tamil country who continued to pay off Chandragiri emperors well into the 1630s. Chamaraja VI and Kanthirava Narasaraja I attempted to expand further northward but were thwarted by the Bijapur Sultanate and its Maratha subordinates, though the Bijapur armies under Ranadullah Khan were effectively repelled in their 1638 siege of Srirangapatna. Expansionist ambitions then turned southward into Tamil country where Narasaraja Wodeyar acquired Satyamangalam (in modern northern Erode district) while his successor Dodda Devaraja Wodeyar expanded further to capture western Tamil regions of Erode and Dharmapuri, after successfully repulsing the chiefs of Madurai. The invasion of the Keladi Nayakas of Malnad was also dealt with successfully. This period was followed by one of complex geo-political changes, when in the 1670s, the Marathas and the Mughals pressed into the Deccan.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Chikka Devaraja (r. 1672–1704), the most notable of Mysore's early kings, who ruled during much of this period, managed to not only survive the exigencies but further expanded territory. He achieved this by forging strategic alliances with the Marathas and the Mughals. The kingdom soon grew to include Salem and Bangalore to the east, Hassan to the west, Chikkamagaluru and Tumkur to the north and the rest of Coimbatore to the south. Despite this expansion, the kingdom, which now accounted for a fair share of land in the southern Indian heartland, extending from the Western Ghats to the western boundaries of the Coromandel plain, remained landlocked without direct coastal access. Chikka Devaraja's attempts to remedy this brought Mysore into conflict with the "Nayaka" chiefs of Ikkeri and the kings ("Rajas") of Kodagu (modern Coorg); who between them controlled the Kanara coast (coastal areas of modern Karnataka) and the intervening hill region respectively. The conflict brought mixed results with Mysore annexing Periyapatna but suffering a reversal at Palupare.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Nevertheless, from around 1704, when the kingdom passed on to "Muteking" ("Mukarasu") Kanthirava Narasaraja II, the survival and expansion of the kingdom was achieved by playing a delicate game of alliance, negotiation, subordination on occasion, and annexation of territory in all directions. According to historians Sanjay Subrahmanyam and Sethu Madhava Rao, Mysore was now formally a tributary of the Mughal Empire. Mughul records claim a regular tribute ("peshkash") was paid by Mysore. However, historian Suryanath U. Kamath feels the Mughals may have considered Mysore an ally, a situation brought about by Mughal–Maratha competition for supremacy in southern India. By the 1720s, with the Mughal empire in decline, further complications arose with the Mughal residents at both Arcot and Sira claiming tribute. The years that followed saw Krishnaraja Wodeyar I tread cautiously on the matter while keeping the Kodagu chiefs and the Marathas at bay. He was followed by Chamaraja Wodeyar VII during whose reign power fell into the hands of prime minister ("Dalwai" or "Dalavoy") Nanjarajiah (or Nanjaraja) and chief minister ("Sarvadhikari") Devarajiah (or Devaraja), the influential brothers from Kalale town near Nanjangud who would rule for the next three decades with the Wodeyars relegated to being the titular heads. The latter part of the rule of Krishnaraja II saw the Deccan Sultanates being eclipsed by the Mughals and in the confusion that ensued, Haider Ali, a captain in the army, rose to prominence. His victory against the Marathas at Bangalore in 1758, resulting in the annexation of their territory, made him an iconic figure. In honour of his achievements, the king gave him the title "Nawab Haider Ali Khan Bahadur".


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Haider Ali has earned an important place in the history of Karnataka for his fighting skills and administrative acumen. The rise of Haidar came at a time of important political developments in the sub-continent. While the European powers were busy transforming themselves from trading companies to political powers, the Nizam as the "subedar" of the Mughals pursued his ambitions in the Deccan, and the Marathas, following their defeat at Panipat, sought safe havens in the south. The period also saw the French vie with the British for control of the Carnatic—a contest in which the British would eventually prevail as British commander Sir Eyre Coote decisively defeated the French under the Comte de Lally at the Battle of Wandiwash in 1760, a watershed in Indian history as it cemented British supremacy in South Asia. Though the Wodeyars remained the nominal heads of Mysore during this period, real power lay in the hands of Haider Ali and his son Tipu.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: By 1761, Maratha power had diminished and by 1763, Haider Ali had captured the Keladi kingdom, defeated the rulers of Bilgi, Bednur and Gutti, invaded the Malabar in the south and conquered the Zamorin's capital Calicut with ease in 1766 and extended the Mysore kingdom up to Dharwad and Bellary in the north. Mysore was now a major political power in the subcontinent and Haider's meteoric rise from relative obscurity and his defiance formed one of the last remaining challenges to complete British hegemony over the Indian subcontinent—a challenge which would take them more than three decades to overcome.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: In a bid to stem Haidar's rise, the British formed an alliance with the Marathas and the Nizam of Golconda, culminating in the First Anglo-Mysore War in 1767. Despite numerical superiority Haider Ali suffered defeats at the battles of Chengham and Tiruvannamalai. The British ignored his overtures for peace until Haider Ali had strategically moved his armies to within five miles of Madras (modern Chennai) and was able to successfully sue for peace. In 1770, when the Maratha armies of Madhavrao Peshwa invaded Mysore (three wars were fought between 1764 and 1772 by Madhavrao against Haider, in which Haider lost), Haider expected British support as per the 1769 treaty but they betrayed him by staying out of the conflict. The British betrayal and Haider's subsequent defeat reinforced Haider's deep distrust of the British—a sentiment that would be shared by his son and one which would inform Anglo-Mysore rivalries of the next three decades. In 1777,


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Haider Ali's army advanced towards the Marathas and fought them at the Battle of Saunshi and came out victorious during the same year.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: By 1779, Haider Ali had captured parts of modern Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the south, extending the Kingdom's area to about 80,000 mi (205,000 km). In 1780, he befriended the French and made peace with the Marathas and the Nizam. However, Haider Ali was betrayed by the Marathas and the Nizam, who made treaties with the British as well. In July 1779,Haider Ali headed an army of 80,000, mostly cavalry, descending through the passes of the Ghats amid burning villages, before laying siege to British forts in northern Arcot starting the Second Anglo-Mysore War. Haider Ali had some initial successes against the British notably at Pollilur, the worst defeat the British suffered in India until Chillianwala, and Arcot, until the arrival of Sir Eyre Coote, when the fortunes of the British began to change. On 1 June 1781 Coote struck the first heavy blow against Haider Ali in the decisive Battle of Porto Novo. The battle was won by Coote against odds of five to one, and is regarded as one of the greatest feats of the British in India. It was followed up by another hard-fought battle at Pollilur (the scene of an earlier triumph of Haider Ali over a British force) on 27 August, in which the British won another success, and by the rout of the Mysore troops at Sholinghur a month later. Haider Ali died on 7 December 1782, even as fighting continued with the British. He was succeeded by his son Tipu Sultan who continued hostilities against the British by recapturing Baidanur and Mangalore.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: By 1783 neither the British nor Mysore were able to obtain a clear overall victory. The French withdrew their support of Mysore following the peace settlement in Europe. Undaunted, Tipu, popularly known as the "Tiger of Mysore", continued the war against the British but lost some regions in modern coastal Karnataka to them. The Maratha–Mysore War occurred between 1785 and 1787 and consisted of a series of conflicts between the Sultanate of Mysore and the Maratha Empire. Following Tipu Sultan's victory against the Marathas at the siege of Bahadur Benda, a peace agreement was signed between the two kingdoms with mutual gains and losses. Similarly, the treaty of Mangalore was signed in 1784 bringing hostilities with the British to a temporary and uneasy halt and restoring the others' lands to the status quo ante bellum. The treaty is an important document in the history of India, because it was the last occasion when an Indian power dictated terms to the British, who were made to play the role of humble supplicants for peace. A start of fresh hostilities between the British and French in Europe would have been sufficient reason for Tipu to abrogate his treaty and further his ambition of striking at the British. His attempts to lure the Nizam, the Marathas, the French and the Sultan of Turkey failed to bring direct military aid.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Tipu's successful attacks in 1790 on the Kingdom of Travancore, a British ally, was an effective victory for him, however it resulted in greater hostilities with the British which resulted in the Third Anglo-Mysore War. In the beginning, the British made gains, taking the Coimbatore district, but Tipu's counterattack reversed many of these gains. By 1792, with aid from the Marathas who attacked from the north-west and the Nizam who moved in from the north-east, the British under Lord Cornwallis successfully besieged Srirangapatna, resulting in Tipu's defeat and the Treaty of Srirangapatna. Half of Mysore was distributed among the allies, and two of his sons were held to ransom. A humiliated but indomitable Tipu went about re-building his economic and military power. He attempted to covertly win over support from Revolutionary France, the Amir of Afghanistan, the Ottoman Empire and Arabia. However, these attempts to involve the French soon became known to the British, who were at the time fighting the French in Egypt, were backed by the Marathas and the Nizam. In 1799, Tipu died defending Srirangapatna in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, heralding the end of the Kingdom's independence. Modern Indian historians consider Tipu Sultan an inveterate enemy of the British, an able administrator and an innovator.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Following Tipu's fall, a part of the kingdom of Mysore was annexed and divided between the Madras Presidency and the Nizam. The remaining territory was transformed into a Princely State; the five-year-old scion of the Wodeyar family, Krishnaraja III, was installed on the throne with chief minister ("Diwan") Purnaiah, who had earlier served under Tipu, handling the reins as regent and Lt. Col. Barry Close taking charge as the British Resident. The British then took control of Mysore's foreign policy and also exacted an annual tribute and a subsidy for maintaining a standing British army at Mysore. As Diwan, Purnaiah distinguished himself with his progressive and innovative administration until he retired from service in 1811 (and died shortly thereafter) following the 16th birthday of the boy king.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The years that followed witnessed cordial relations between Mysore and the British until things began to sour in the 1820s. Even though the Governor of Madras, Thomas Munro, determined after a personal investigation in 1825 that there was no substance to the allegations of financial impropriety made by A. H. Cole, the incumbent Resident of Mysore, the Nagar revolt (a civil insurrection) which broke out towards the end of the decade changed things considerably. In 1831, close on the heels of the insurrection and citing mal-administration, the British took direct control of the princely state. For the next fifty years, Mysore passed under the rule of successive British Commissioners; Sir Mark Cubbon, renowned for his statesmanship, served from 1834 until 1861 and put into place an efficient and successful administrative system which left Mysore a well-developed state.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: In 1876–77, however, towards the end of the period of direct British rule, Mysore was struck by a devastating famine with estimated mortality figures ranging between 700,000 and 1,100,000, or nearly a fifth of the population. Shortly thereafter, Maharaja Chamaraja X, educated in the British system, took over the rule of Mysore in 1881, following the success of a lobby set up by the Wodeyar dynasty that was in favour of rendition. Accordingly, a resident British officer was appointed at the Mysore court and a Diwan to handle the Maharaja's administration. From then onwards, until Indian independence in 1947, Mysore remained a Princely State within the British Indian Empire, with the Wodeyars continuing their rule.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: After the demise of Maharaja Chamaraja X, Krishnaraja IV, still a boy of eleven, ascended the throne in 1895. His mother Maharani Kemparajammanniyavaru ruled as regent until Krishnaraja took over the reins on 8 February 1902. Under his rule, with Sir M. Vishweshwariah as his Diwan, the Maharaja set about transforming Mysore into a progressive and modern state, particularly in industry, education, agriculture and art. Such were the strides that Mysore made that Mahatma Gandhi called the Maharaja a "saintly king" ("Rajarishi"). Paul Brunton, the British philosopher and orientalist, John Gunther, the American author, and British statesman Lord Samuel praised the ruler's efforts. Much of the pioneering work in educational infrastructure that took place during this period would serve Karnataka invaluably in the coming decades. The Maharaja was an accomplished musician, and like his predecessors, avidly patronised the development of the fine arts. He was followed by his nephew Jayachamarajendra whose rule continued for some years after he signed the instrument of accession and Mysore joined the Indian Union on 9 August 1947. Jayachamarajendra continued to rule as Rajapramukh of Mysore until 1956, when as a result of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, his position was converted into Governor of Mysore State. From 1963 until 1966 he was the first Governor of Madras State.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: There are no records relating to the administration of the Mysore territory during the Vijayanagara Empire's reign (1399–1565). Signs of a well-organised and independent administration appear from the time of Raja Wodeyar I who is believed to have been sympathetic towards peasants ("raiyats") who were exempted from any increases in taxation during his time. The first sign that the kingdom had established itself in the area was the issuing of gold coins ("Kanthirayi phanam") resembling those of the erstwhile Vijayanagara Empire during Narasaraja Wodeyar's rule.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The rule of Chikka Devaraja saw several reforms were effected. Internal administration was remodelled to suit the kingdom's growing needs and became more efficient. A postal system came into being. Far reaching financial reforms were also introduced. A number of petty taxes were imposed in place of direct taxes, as a result of which the peasants were compelled to pay more by way of land tax. The king is said to have taken a personal interest in the regular collection of revenues the treasury burgeoned to 90,000,000 "Pagoda" (a unit of currency) – earning him the epithet "Nine crore Narayana" ("Navakoti Narayana"). In 1700, he sent an embassy to Aurangazeb's court who bestowed upon him the title "Jug Deo Raja" and awarded permission to sit on the ivory throne. Following this, he founded the district offices ("Attara Kacheri"), the central secretariat comprising eighteen departments, and his administration was modelled on Mughal lines.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: During Haider Ali's rule, the kingdom was divided into five provinces ("Asofis") of unequal size, comprising 171 taluks ("Paraganas") in total. When Tipu Sultan became the "de facto" ruler, the kingdom, which encompassed (62,000 mi), was divided into 37 provinces and a total of 124 taluks ("Amil"). Each province had a governor ("Asof"), and one deputy governor. Each taluk had a headman called "Amildar" and a group of villages were in charge of a "Patel". The central administration comprised six departments headed by ministers, each aided by an advisory council of up to four members.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: When the princely state came under direct British rule in 1831, early commissioners Lushington, Briggs and Morrison were followed by Mark Cubbon, who took charge in 1834. He made Bangalore the capital and divided the princely state into four divisions, each under a British superintendent. The state was further divided into 120 taluks with 85 taluk courts, with all lower level administration in the Kannada language. The office of the commissioner had eight departments; revenue, post, police, cavalry, public works, medical, animal husbandry, judiciary and education. The judiciary was hierarchical with the commissioners' court at the apex, followed by the "Huzur Adalat", four superintending courts and eight "Sadar Munsiff" courts at the lowest level. Lewin Bowring became the chief commissioner in 1862 and held the position until 1870. During his tenure, the property "Registration Act", the "Indian Penal code" and "Code of Criminal Procedure" came into effect and the judiciary was separated from the executive branch of the administration. The state was divided into eight districts – Bangalore, Chitraldroog, Hassan, Kadur, Kolar, Mysore, Shimoga, and Tumkur.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: After rendition, C. V. Rungacharlu, was made the Diwan. Under him, the first Representative Assembly of British India, with 144 members, was formed in 1881. He was followed by K. Seshadri Iyer in 1883 during whose tenure gold mining at the Kolar Gold Fields began, the Shivanasamudra hydroelectric project was initiated in 1899 (the first such major attempt in India) and electricity and drinking water (the latter through pipes) was supplied to Bangalore. Seshadri Iyer was followed by P. N. Krishnamurti, who founded The Secretariat Manual to maintain records and the Co-operative Department in 1905, V. P. Madhava Rao who focussed on conservation of forests and T. Ananda Rao, who finalised the Kannambadi Dam project.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, popularly known as the "Maker of Modern Mysore", holds a key place in the history of Karnataka. An engineer by education, he became the Diwan in 1909. Under his tenure, membership of the Mysore Legislative Assembly was increased from 18 to 24, and it was given the power to discuss the state budget. The Mysore Economic Conference was expanded into three committees; industry and commerce, education, and agriculture, with publications in English and Kannada. Important projects commissioned during his time included the construction of the Kannambadi Dam, the founding of the Mysore Iron Works at Bhadravathi, founding of the Mysore University in 1916, the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering in Bangalore, establishment of the Mysore state railway department and numerous industries in Mysore. In 1955, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Sir Mirza Ismail took office as Diwan in 1926 and built on the foundation laid by his predecessor. Amongst his contributions were the expansion of the Bhadravathi Iron Works, the founding of a cement and paper factory in Bhadravathi and the launch of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. A man with a penchant for gardens, he founded the Brindavan Gardens (Krishnaraja Sagar) and built the Kaveri River high-level canal to irrigate in modern Mandya district.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: In 1939 Mandya District was carved out of Mysore District, bringing the number of districts in the state to nine.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The vast majority of the people lived in villages and agriculture was their main occupation. The economy of the kingdom was based on agriculture. Grains, pulses, vegetables and flowers were cultivated. Commercial crops included sugarcane and cotton. The agrarian population consisted of landlords ("vokkaliga", "zamindar", "heggadde") who tilled the land by employing a number of landless labourers, usually paying them in grain. Minor cultivators were also willing to hire themselves out as labourers if the need arose. It was due to the availability of these landless labourers that kings and landlords were able to execute major projects such as palaces, temples, mosques, anicuts (dams) and tanks. Because land was abundant and the population relatively sparse, no rent was charged on land ownership. Instead, landowners paid tax for cultivation, which amounted to up to one-half of all harvested produce.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The Kingdom of Mysore reached a peak in economic power under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, in the post-Mughal era of the mid-late 18th century.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Tipu Sultan is credited with founding state trading depots in various locations of his kingdom. In addition, he founded depots in foreign locations such as Karachi, Jeddah and Muscat, where Mysore products were sold. During Tipu's rule French technology was used for the first time in carpentry and smithing, Chinese technology was used for sugar production, and technology from Bengal helped improve the sericulture industry. State factories were established in Kanakapura and Taramandelpeth for producing cannons and gunpowder respectively. The state held the monopoly in the production of essentials such as sugar, salt, iron, pepper, cardamom, betel nut, tobacco and sandalwood, as well as the extraction of incense oil from sandalwood and the mining of silver, gold and precious stones. Sandalwood was exported to China and the Persian Gulf countries and sericulture was developed in twenty-one centers within the kingdom.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The Mysore silk industry was initiated during the rule of Tipu Sultan. Later the industry was hit by a global depression and competition from imported silk and rayon. In the second half of the 20th century, it however revived and the Mysore State became the top multivoltine silk producer in India.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: This system changed under the subsidiary alliance with the British, when tax payments were made in cash and were used for the maintenance of the army, police and other civil and public establishments. A portion of the tax was transferred to England as the "Indian tribute". Unhappy with the loss of their traditional revenue system and the problems they faced, peasants rose in rebellion in many parts of south India. After 1800, the Cornwallis land reforms came into effect. Reade, Munro, Graham and Thackeray were some administrators who improved the economic conditions of the masses. However, the homespun textile industry suffered while most of India was under British rule, with the exception of the producers of the finest cloth and the coarse cloth which was popular with the rural masses. This was due to the manufacturing mills of Manchester, Liverpool and Scotland being more than a match for the traditional handweaving industry, especially in spinning and weaving.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The economic revolution in England and the tariff policies of the British also caused massive de-industrialization in other sectors throughout British India and Mysore. For example, the gunny bag weaving business had been a monopoly of the Goniga people, which they lost when the British began ruling the area. The import of a chemical substitute for saltpetre (potassium nitrate) affected the Uppar community, the traditional makers of saltpetre for use in gunpowder. The import of kerosene affected the Ganiga community which supplied oils. Foreign enamel and crockery industries affected the native pottery business, and mill-made blankets replaced the country-made blankets called "kambli". This economic fallout led to the formation of community-based social welfare organisations to help those within the community to cope better with their new economic situation, including youth hostels for students seeking education and shelter. However, the British economic policies created a class structure consisting of a newly established middle class comprising various blue and white-collared occupational groups, including agents, brokers, lawyers, teachers, civil servants and physicians. Due to a more flexible caste hierarchy, the middle class contained a heterogeneous mix of people from different castes.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The early kings of the Wodeyar dynasty worshipped the Hindu god Shiva. The later kings, starting from the 17th century, took to Vaishnavism, the worship of the Hindu god Vishnu. According to musicologist Meera Rajaram Pranesh, King Raja Wodeyar I was a devotee of the god Vishnu, King Dodda Devaraja was honoured with the title "Protector of Brahmins" ("Deva Brahmana Paripalaka") for his support to Brahmins, and Maharaja Krishnaraja III was devoted to the goddess Chamundeshwari (a form of Hindu goddess Durga). Wilks ("History of Mysore", 1800) wrote about a "Jangama" (Veerashaiva saint-devotee of Shiva) uprising, related to excessive taxation, which was put down firmly by Chikka Devaraja. Historian D.R. Nagaraj claims that four hundred "Jangamas" were murdered in the process but clarifies that Veerashiava literature itself is silent about the issue. Historian Suryanath Kamath claims King Chikka Devaraja was a Srivaishnava (follower of Sri Vaishnavism, a sect of Vaishnavism) but was not anti-Veerashaiva. Historian Aiyangar concurs that some of the kings including the celebrated Narasaraja I and Chikka Devaraja were Vaishnavas, but suggests this may not have been the case with all Wodeyar rulers. The rise of the modern day Mysore city as a centre of south Indian culture has been traced from the period of their sovereignty. Raja Wodeyar I initiated the celebration of the Dasara festival in Mysore, a proud tradition of the erstwhile Vijayanagara royal family.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Jainism, though in decline during the late medieval period, also enjoyed the patronage of the Mysore kings, who made munificent endowments to the Jain monastic order at the town of Shravanabelagola. Records indicate that some Wodeyar kings not only presided over the "Mahamastakabhisheka" ceremony, an important Jain religious event at Shravanabelagola, but also personally offered prayers ("puja") during the years 1659, 1677, 1800, 1825, 1910, 1925, 1940, and 1953.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The contact between South India and Islam goes back to the 7th century, when trade between Hindu kingdoms and Islamic caliphates thrived. These Muslim traders settled on the Malabar Coast and married local Hindu women, and their descendants came to be known as "Mappillas". By the 14th century, Muslims had become a significant minority in the south, though the advent of Portuguese missionaries checked their growth. Haider Ali, though a devout Muslim, did not allow his faith to interfere with the administration of the predominantly Hindu kingdom. Historians are, however, divided on the intentions of Haider Ali's son, Tipu Sultan. It has been claimed that Tipu raised Hindus to prominent positions in his administration, made generous grants to Hindu temples and brahmins, and generally respected other faiths, and that any religious conversions that Tipu undertook were as punishment to those who rebelled against his authority. However, this has been countered by other historians who claim that Tipu Sultan treated the non-Muslims of Mysore far better than those of the Malabar, Raichur and Kodagu regions. They opine that Tipu was responsible for mass conversions of Christians and Hindus in these regions, either by force or by offering them tax incentives and revenue benefits to convert.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Prior to the 18th century, the society of the kingdom followed age-old and deeply established norms of social interaction between people. Accounts by contemporaneous travellers indicate the widespread practice of the Hindu caste system and of animal sacrifices during the nine-day celebrations (called "Mahanavami"). Later, fundamental changes occurred due to the struggle between native and foreign powers. Though wars between the Hindu kingdoms and the Sultanates continued, the battles between native rulers (including Muslims) and the newly arrived British took centre stage. The spread of English education, the introduction of the printing press and the criticism of the prevailing social system by Christian missionaries helped make the society more open and flexible. The rise of modern nationalism throughout India also affected Mysore.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: With the advent of British power, English education gained prominence in addition to traditional education in local languages. These changes were orchestrated by Lord Elphinstone, the governor of the Madras Presidency. His plan became the constitution of the central collegiate institution or University Board in 1841. Accordingly, a high school department of the university was established. For imparting education in the interior regions, schools were raised in principal towns which eventually were elevated to college level, with each college becoming central to many local schools ("zilla" schools). The earliest English-medium schools appeared in 1833 in Mysore and spread across the region. In 1858, the department of education was founded in Mysore and by 1881, there were an estimated 2,087 English-medium schools in the state of Mysore. Higher education became available with the formation of Bangalore Central College in Bangalore (1870), Maharaja's College (1879), Maharani's College (1901) and the Mysore University (1916) in Mysore and the St. Agnes College in Mangalore (1921).


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Social reforms aimed at removing practices such as sati and social discrimination based upon untouchability, as well as demands for the emancipation of the lower classes, swept across India and influenced Mysore territory. In 1894, the kingdom passed laws to abolish the marriage of girls below the age of eight. Remarriage of widowed women and marriage of destitute women was encouraged, and in 1923, some women were granted the permission to exercise their franchise in elections. There were, however, uprisings against British authority in the Mysore territory, notably the Kodagu uprising in 1835 (after the British dethroned the local ruler Chikkaviraraja) and the Kanara uprising of 1837. The era of printing heralded by Christian missionaries, notably Hermann Mögling, resulted in the founding of printing presses across the kingdom. The publication of ancient and contemporary Kannada books (such as the "Pampa Bharata" and the "Jaimini Bharata"), a Kannada-language Bible, a bilingual dictionary and a Kannada newspaper called "Kannada Samachara" began in the early 19th century. Aluru Venkata Rao published a consolidated Kannada history glorifying the achievements of Kannadigas in his book "Karnataka Gatha Vaibhava".


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Classical English and Sanskrit drama, and native Yakshagana musical theatre influenced the Kannada stage and produced famous dramatists like Gubbi Veeranna. The public began to enjoy Carnatic music through its broadcast via public address systems set up on the palace grounds. Mysore paintings, which were inspired by the Bengal Renaissance, were created by artists such as Sundarayya, Ala Singarayya, and B. Venkatappa.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The era of the Kingdom of Mysore is considered a golden age in the development of Kannada literature. Not only was the Mysore court adorned by famous Brahmin and Veerashaiva writers and composers, the kings themselves were accomplished in the fine arts and made important contributions. While conventional literature in philosophy and religion remained popular, writings in new genres such as chronicle, biography, history, encyclopaedia, novel, drama, and musical treatise became popular. A native form of folk literature with dramatic representation called Yakshagana gained popularity. A remarkable development of the later period was the influence of English literature and classical Sanskrit literature on Kannada.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Govinda Vaidya, a native of Srirangapatna, wrote "Kanthirava Narasaraja Vijaya", a eulogy of his patron King Narasaraja I. Written in "sangatya" metre (a composition meant to be rendered to the accompaniment of a musical instrument), the book describes the king's court, popular music and the types of musical compositions of the age in twenty-six chapters. King Chikka Devaraja was the earliest composer of the dynasty. To him is ascribed the famous treatise on music called "Geetha Gopala". Though inspired by Jayadeva's Sanskrit writing "Geetha Govinda", it had an originality of its own and was written in "saptapadi" metre. Contemporary poets who left their mark on the entire Kannada-speaking region include the brahmin poet Lakshmisa and the itinerant Veerashaiva poet Sarvajna. Female poets also played a role in literary developments, with Cheluvambe (the queen of Krishnaraja Wodeyar I), Helavanakatte Giriyamma, Sri Rangamma (1685) and Sanchi Honnamma ("Hadibadeya Dharma", late 17th century) writing notable works.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: A polyglot, King Narasaraja II authored fourteen Yakshaganas in various languages, though all are written in Kannada script. Maharaja Krishnaraja III was a prolific writer in Kannada for which he earned the honorific "Abhinava Bhoja" (a comparison to the medieval King Bhoja). Over forty writings are attributed to him, of which the musical treatise "Sri Tatwanidhi" and a poetical romance called "Saugandika Parinaya" written in two versions, a "sangatya" and a drama, are most well known. Under the patronage of the Maharaja, Kannada literature began its slow and gradual change towards modernity. Kempu Narayana's "Mudramanjusha" ("The Seal Casket", 1823) is the earliest work that has touches of modern prose. However, the turning point came with the historically important "Adbhuta Ramayana" (1895) and "Ramaswamedham" (1898) by Muddanna, whom the Kannada scholar Narasimha Murthy considers "a Janus like figure" of modern Kannada literature. Muddanna has deftly handled an ancient epic from an entirely modern viewpoint.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Basavappa Shastry, a native of Mysore and a luminary in the court of Maharaja Krishnaraja III and Maharaja Chamaraja X, is known as the "Father of Kannada theatre" ("Kannada Nataka Pitamaha"). He authored dramas in Kannada and translated William Shakespeare's "Othello" to "Shurasena Charite". His well-known translations from Sanskrit to Kannada are many and include "Kalidasa" and "Abhignyana Shakuntala".


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Under Maharaja Krishnaraja III and his successors – Chamaraja X, Krishnaraja IV and the last ruler, Jayachamaraja, the Mysore court came to be the largest and most renowned patron of music. While the Tanjore and Travancore courts also extended great patronage and emphasised preservation of the art, the unique combination of royal patronage of individual musicians, founding of music schools to kindle public interest and a patronage of European music publishers and producers set Mysore apart. Maharaja Krishnaraja III, himself a musician and musicologist of merit, composed a number of "javalis" (light lyrics) and devotional songs in Kannada under the title "Anubhava pancharatna". His compositions bear the pen name ("mudra") "Chamundi'" or '"Chamundeshwari'", in honour of the Wodeyar family deity.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Under Krishnaraja IV, art received further patronage. A distinct school of music which gave importance to "raga" and "bhava" evolved. The Royal School of Music founded at the palace helped institutionalise teaching of the art. Carnatic compositions were printed and the European staff notation came to be employed by royal musicians. Western music was also encouraged – Margaret Cousins' piano concerto with the Palace Orchestra marked the celebrations of Beethoven's centenary in Bangalore. Maharaja Jayachamaraja, also a renowned composer of Carnatic "kritis" (a musical composition), sponsored a series of recordings of Russian composer Nikolas Medtner and others. The court ensured that Carnatic music also kept up with the times. Gramophone recordings of the palace band were made and sold commercially. Attention was paid to "technology of the concert". Lavish sums were spent on acquiring various instruments including the unconventional horn violin, theremin and calliaphone, a mechanical music player.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The Mysore court was home to several renowned experts ("vidwan") of the time. Veena Sheshanna, a court musician during the rule of Maharaja Chamaraja X, is considered one of the greatest exponents of the veena. His achievements in classical music won Mysore a premier place in the art of instrumental Carnatic music and he was given the honorific "Vainika Shikhamani" by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. Mysore Vasudevacharya was a noted musician and composer in Sanskrit and Telugu from Mysore. He holds the unique distinction of being patronised by four generations of Mysore kings and rulers and for being court musician to three of them. H.L. Muthiah Bhagavatar was another musician-composer who adorned the Mysore court. Considered one of the most important composers of the post-Tyagaraja period, he is credited with about 400 compositions in Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil under the pen name "Harikesha". Among violinists, T. Chowdiah emerged as one of the most accomplished exponents of the time. He is known to have mastered the seven-stringed violin. Chowdiah was appointed court musician by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV in 1939 and received such titles as "Sangeeta Ratna" and "Sangeeta Kalanidhi". He is credited with compositions in Kannada, Telugu and Sanskrit under the pen name "Trimakuta".


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The architectural style of courtly and royal structures in the kingdom underwent profound changes during British rule – a mingling of European traditions with native elements. The Hindu temples in the kingdom were built in typical South Indian Dravidian style – a modest version of the Vijayanagara building idiom. When in power, Tipu Sultan constructed two places namely Lal Mahal Palace (later destroyed after the siege of Serirangpatnam in 1799) and Summer palace and famous Masjid e Aala in Srirangapatna, his capital. However, it is the city of Mysore that is best known for its royal palaces, earning it the nickname "City of Palaces". The city's main palace, the Mysore Palace, is also known as the Amba Vilas Palace. The original complex was destroyed by fire and a new palace was commissioned by the Queen-Regent and designed by the English architect Henry Irwin in 1897. The overall design is a combination of Hindu, Islamic, Indo-Saracenic and Moorish styles, which for the first time in India, used cast iron columns and roof frames. The striking feature of the exterior is the granite columns that support cusped arches on the portico, a tall tower whose finial is a gilded dome with an umbrella ("chattri") on it, and groups of other domes around it. The interior is richly decorated with marbled walls and a teakwood ceiling on which are sculptures of Hindu deities. The Durbar hall leads to an inner private hall through silver doors. This opulent room has floor panels that are inlaid with semi-precious stones, and a stained glass roof supported centrally by columns and arches. The marriage hall ("Kalyana mantapa") in the palace complex is noted for its stained glass octagonal dome with peacock motifs.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The Lalitha Mahal Palace was built in 1921 by E. W. Fritchley under the commission of Maharaja Krishnaraja IV. The architectural style is called "Renaissance" and exhibits concepts from English manor houses and Italian palazzos. The central dome is believed to be modelled on St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Other important features are the Italian marble staircase, the polished wooden flooring in the banquet and dance halls, and the Belgian cut glass lamps. The Jaganmohan Palace was commissioned in 1861 and was completed in 1910. The three-storeyed building with attractive domes, finials and cupolas was the venue of many a royal celebration. It is now called the Chamarajendra Art Gallery and houses a rich collection of artefacts.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The Mysore University campus, also called "Manasa Gangotri", is home to several architecturally interesting buildings. Some of them are in European style and were completed in the late 19th century. They include the Jayalakshmi Vilas mansion, the Crawford Hall, the Oriental Research Institute (built between 1887 and 1891) with its Ionic and Corinthian columns, and the district offices ("Athara Kutchery", 1887). The Athara Kutchery, which initially served as the office of the British commissioner, has an octagonal dome and a finial that adds to its beauty. The maharaja's summer palace, built in 1880, is called the Lokaranjan Mahal, and initially served as a school for royalty. The Rajendra Vilas Palace, built in the Indo-British style atop the Chamundi Hill, was commissioned in 1922 and completed in 1938 by Maharaja Krishnaraja IV. Other royal mansions built by the Mysore rulers were the Chittaranjan Mahal in Mysore and the Bangalore Palace in Bangalore, a structure built on the lines of England's Windsor Castle. The Central Food Technical Research Institute (Cheluvamba Mansion), built in baroque European renaissance style, was once the residence of princess Cheluvambaamani Avaru, a sister of Maharaja Krishnaraja IV. Its extensive pilaster work and mosaic flooring are noteworthy.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Most famous among the many temples built by the Wodeyars is the Chamundeshwari Temple atop the Chamundi Hill. The earliest structure here was consecrated in the 12th century and was later patronised by the Mysore rulers. Maharaja Krishnaraja III added a Dravidian-style gopuram in 1827. The temple has silver-plated doors with images of deities. Other images include those of the Hindu god Ganesha and of Maharaja Krishnaraja III with his three queens. Surrounding the main palace in Mysore and inside the fort are a group of temples, built in various periods. The Prasanna Krishnaswamy Temple (1829), the Lakshmiramana Swamy Temple whose earliest structures date to 1499, the Trinesvara Swamy Temple (late 16th century), the Shweta Varaha Swamy Temple built by Purnaiah with a touch of Hoysala style of architecture, the Prasanna Venkataramana Swami Temple (1836) notable for 12 murals of the Wodeyar rulers. Well-known temples outside Mysore city are the yali ("mythical beast") pillared Venkataramana temple built in the late 17th century in the Bangalore fort, and the Ranganatha temple in Srirangapatna.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: Tipu Sultan built a wooden colonnaded palace called the Dariya Daulat Palace ("lit", "garden of the wealth of the sea") in Srirangapatna in 1784. Built in the Indo-Saracenic style, the palace is known for its intricate woodwork consisting of ornamental arches, striped columns and floral designs, and paintings. The west wall of the palace is covered with murals depicting Tipu Sultan's victory over Colonel Baillie's army at Pollilur, near Kanchipuram in 1780. One mural shows Tipu enjoying the fragrance of a bouquet of flowers while the battle is in progress. In that painting, the French soldiers' moustaches distinguish them from the cleanshaven British soldiers. Also in Srirangapatna is the Gumbaz mausoleum, built by Tipu Sultan in 1784. It houses the graves of Tipu and Haider Ali. The granite base is capped with a dome built of brick and pilaster.


title: Kingdom of Mysore

text: The first iron-cased and metal-cylinder rocket artillery were developed by Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali, in the 1780s. He successfully used these metal-cylinder rockets against the larger forces of the British East India Company during the Anglo-Mysore Wars. The Mysore rockets of this period were much more advanced than what the British had seen, chiefly because of the use of iron tubes for holding the propellant; this enabled higher thrust and longer range for the missile (up to range). After Tipu's eventual defeat in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War and the capture of the Mysore iron rockets, they were influential in British rocket development, inspiring the Congreve rocket, which was soon put into use in the Napoleonic Wars.


title: Unicellular organism

text: A unicellular organism, also known as a single-celled organism, is an organism that consists of a single cell, unlike a multicellular organism that consists of multiple cells. Organisms fall into two general categories: prokaryotic organisms and eukaryotic organisms. All prokaryotes are unicellular and are classified into bacteria and archaea. Many eukaryotes are multicellular, but some are unicellular such as protozoa, unicellular algae, and unicellular fungi. Unicellular organisms are thought to be the oldest form of life, with early protocells possibly emerging 3.8–4.0 billion years ago.


title: Unicellular organism

text: Although some prokaryotes live in colonies, they are not specialised cells with differing functions. These organisms live together, and each cell must carry out all life processes to survive. In contrast, even the simplest multicellular organisms have cells that depend on each other to survive.


title: Unicellular organism

text: Most multicellular organisms have a unicellular life-cycle stage. Gametes, for example, are reproductive unicells for multicellular organisms. Additionally, multicellularity appears to have evolved independently many times in the history of life.


title: Unicellular organism

text: Some organisms are partially unicellular, like "Dictyostelium discoideum". Additionally, unicellular organisms can be multinucleate, like "Caulerpa", "Plasmodium", and Myxogastria.


title: Unicellular organism

text: Primitive protocells were the precursors to today's unicellular organisms. Although the origin of life is largely still a mystery, in the currently prevailing theory, known as the RNA world hypothesis, early RNA molecules would have been the basis for catalyzing organic chemical reactions and self-replication.


title: Unicellular organism

text: Compartmentalization was necessary for chemical reactions to be more likely as well as to differentiate reactions with the external environment. For example, an early RNA replicator ribozyme may have replicated other replicator ribozymes of different RNA sequences if not kept separate. Such hypothetic cells with an RNA genome instead of the usual DNA genome are called 'ribocells' or 'ribocytes'.


title: Unicellular organism

text: When amphiphiles like lipids are placed in water, the hydrophobic tails aggregate to form micelles and vesicles, with the hydrophilic ends facing outwards. Primitive cells likely used self-assembling fatty-acid vesicles to separate chemical reactions and the environment. Because of their simplicity and ability to self-assemble in water, it is likely that these simple membranes predated other forms of early biological molecules.


title: Unicellular organism

text: Prokaryotes lack membrane-bound organelles, such as mitochondria or a nucleus. Instead, most prokaryotes have an irregular region that contains DNA, known as the nucleoid. Most prokaryotes have a single, circular chromosome, which is in contrast to eukaryotes, which typically have linear chromosomes. Nutritionally, prokaryotes have the ability to utilize a wide range of organic and inorganic material for use in metabolism, including sulfur, cellulose, ammonia, or nitrite. Prokaryotes are relatively ubiquitous in the environment and some (known as extremophiles) thrive in extreme environments.


title: Unicellular organism

text: Bacteria are one of the world's oldest forms of life, and are found virtually everywhere in nature. Many common bacteria have plasmids, which are short, circular, self-replicating DNA molecules that are separate from the bacterial chromosome. Plasmids can carry genes responsible for novel abilities, of current critical importance being antibiotic resistance. Bacteria predominantly reproduce asexually through a process called binary fission. However, about 80 different species can undergo a sexual process referred to as natural genetic transformation. Transformation is a bacterial process for transferring DNA from one cell to another, and is apparently an adaptation for repairing DNA damage in the recipient cell. In addition, plasmids can be exchanged through the use of a pilus in a process known as conjugation.


title: Unicellular organism

text: The photosynthetic cyanobacteria are arguably the most successful bacteria, and changed the early atmosphere of the earth by oxygenating it. Stromatolites, structures made up of layers of calcium carbonate and trapped sediment left over from cyanobacteria and associated community bacteria, left behind extensive fossil records. The existence of stromatolites gives an excellent record as to the development of cyanobacteria, which are represented across the Archaean (4 billion to 2.5 billion years ago), Proterozoic (2.5 billion to 540 million years ago), and Phanerozoic (540 million years ago to present day) eons. Much of the fossilized stromatolites of the world can be found in Western Australia. There, some of the oldest stromatolites have been found, some dating back to about 3,430 million years ago.


title: Unicellular organism

text: Clonal aging occurs naturally in bacteria, and is apparently due to the accumulation of damage that can happen even in the absence of external stressors.


title: Unicellular organism

text: Hydrothermal vents release heat and hydrogen sulfide, allowing extremophiles to survive using chemolithotrophic growth.


title: Unicellular organism

text: Archaea are generally similar in appearance to bacteria, hence their original classification as bacteria, but have significant molecular differences most notably in their membrane structure and ribosomal RNA. By sequencing the ribosomal RNA, it was found that the Archaea most likely split from bacteria and were the precursors to modern eukaryotes, and are actually more phylogenetically related to eukaryotes. As their name suggests, Archaea comes from a Greek word "archaios," meaning original, ancient, or primitive.


title: Unicellular organism

text: Some archaea inhabit the most biologically inhospitable environments on earth, and this is believed to in some ways mimic the early, harsh conditions that life was likely exposed to. Examples of these Archaean extremophiles are as follows:


title: Unicellular organism

text: Methanogens are a significant subset of archaea and include many extremophiles, but are also ubiquitous in wetland environments as well as the ruminant and hindgut of animals. This process utilizes hydrogen to reduce carbon dioxide into methane, releasing energy into the usable form of adenosine triphosphate. They are the only known organisms capable of producing methane. Under stressful environmental conditions that cause DNA damage, some species of archaea aggregate and transfer DNA between cells. The function of this transfer appears to be to replace damaged DNA sequence information in the recipient cell by undamaged sequence information from the donor cell.


title: Unicellular organism

text: Eukaryotic cells contain membrane bound organelles, such as mitochondria, a nucleus, and chloroplasts. Prokaryotic cells probably transitioned into eukaryotic cells between 2.0 and 1.4 billion years ago. This was an important step in evolution. In contrast to prokaryotes, eukaryotes reproduce by using mitosis and meiosis. Sex appears to be a ubiquitous and ancient, and inherent attribute of eukaryotic life. Meiosis, a true sexual process, allows for efficient recombinational repair of DNA damage and a greater range of genetic diversity by combining the DNA of the parents followed by recombination. Metabolic functions in eukaryotes are more specialized as well by sectioning specific processes into organelles.


title: Unicellular organism

text: The endosymbiotic theory holds that mitochondria and chloroplasts have bacterial origins. Both organelles contain their own sets of DNA and have bacteria-like ribosomes. It is likely that modern mitochondria were once a species similar to "Rickettsia", with the parasitic ability to enter a cell. However, if the bacteria were capable of respiration, it would have been beneficial for the larger cell to allow the parasite to live in return for energy and detoxification of oxygen. Chloroplasts probably became symbionts through a similar set of events, and are most likely descendants of cyanobacteria. While not all eukaryotes have mitochondria or chloroplasts, mitochondria are found in most eukaryotes, and chloroplasts are found in all plants and algae. Photosynthesis and respiration are essentially the reverse of one another, and the advent of respiration coupled with photosynthesis enabled much greater access to energy than fermentation alone.


title: Unicellular organism

text: Protozoa are largely defined by their method of locomotion, including flagella, cilia, and pseudopodia. While there has been considerable debate on the classification of protozoa caused by their sheer diversity, in one system there are currently seven phyla recognized under the kingdom Protozoa: Euglenozoa, Amoebozoa, Choanozoa "sensu" Cavalier-Smith, Loukozoa, Percolozoa, Microsporidia and Sulcozoa. Protozoa, like plants and animals, can be considered heterotrophs or autotrophs. Autotrophs like "Euglena" are capable of producing their energy using photosynthesis, while heterotrophic protozoa consume food by either funneling it through a mouth-like gullet or engulfing it with pseudopods, a form of phagocytosis. While protozoa reproduce mainly asexually, some protozoa are capable of sexual reproduction. Protozoa with sexual capability include the pathogenic species "Plasmodium falciparum", "Toxoplasma gondii", "Trypanosoma brucei", "Giardia duodenalis" and "Leishmania" species.


title: Unicellular organism

text: Ciliophora, or ciliates, are a group of protists that utilize cilia for locomotion. Examples include "Paramecium", "Stentors", and "Vorticella". Ciliates are widely abundant in almost all environments where water can be found, and the cilia beat rhythmically in order to propel the organism. Many ciliates have trichocysts, which are spear-like organelles that can be discharged to catch prey, anchor themselves, or for defense. Ciliates are also capable of sexual reproduction, and utilize two nuclei unique to ciliates: a macronucleus for normal metabolic control and a separate micronucleus that undergoes meiosis. Examples of such ciliates are "Paramecium" and "Tetrahymena" that likely employ meiotic recombination for repairing DNA damage acquired under stressful conditions.


title: Unicellular organism

text: The Amebozoa utilize pseudopodia and cytoplasmic flow to move in their environment. "Entamoeba histolytica" is the cause of amebic dysentery. "Entamoeba histolytica" appears to be capable of meiosis.


title: Unicellular organism

text: Unicellular algae are plant-like autotrophs and contain chlorophyll. They include groups that have both multicellular and unicellular species:


title: Unicellular organism

text: Unicellular fungi include the yeasts. Fungi are found in most habitats, although most are found on land. Yeasts reproduce through mitosis, and many use a process called budding, where most of the cytoplasm is held by the mother cell. "Saccharomyces cerevisiae" ferments carbohydrates into carbon dioxide and alcohol, and is used in the making of beer and bread. "S. cerevisiae" is also an important model organism, since it is a eukaryotic organism that's easy to grow. It has been used to research cancer and neurodegenerative diseases as well as to understand the cell cycle. Furthermore, research using "S. cerevisiae" has played a central role in understanding the mechanism of meiotic recombination and the adaptive function of meiosis. Candida spp. are responsible for candidiasis, causing infections of the mouth and/or throat (known as thrush) and vagina (commonly called yeast infection).


title: Unicellular organism

text: Most unicellular organisms are of microscopic size and are thus classified as microorganisms. However, some unicellular protists and bacteria are macroscopic and visible to the naked eye. Examples include:


title: World Chess Championship 2023

text: The World Chess Championship 2023 is an upcoming chess match, taking place from 7 April to 30 April 2023 to determine the new world chess champion. The incumbent champion Magnus Carlsen decided not to defend his title against Ian Nepomniachtchi, the winner of the Candidates Tournament 2022. Therefore, Nepomniachtchi will play the second-place finisher in the Candidates, Ding Liren, in the World Chess Championship match. This would be the first world chess championship since 1948 in which the incumbent champion would not participate (not including the 1993–2005 FIDE championships).


title: World Chess Championship 2023

text: To keep his title, Magnus Carlsen would be required to defend it against a pre-determined challenger. In December 2021, soon after his 2021 championship win against Ian Nepomniachtchi, Carlsen stated that he was lacking motivation and might not defend his title unless the challenger were Alireza Firouzja, who had risen to number two in the world rankings in 2021 at the age of 18. In April 2022, Carlsen added that he was unlikely to play, with no mention of any potential opponent.


title: World Chess Championship 2023

text: As the Candidates tournament concluded in early July 2022, FIDE and Carlsen were in talks regarding the championship and its format, with FIDE hoping Carlsen could give an answer by July 20. On July 20, Carlsen announced that he would not defend his title.


title: World Chess Championship 2023

text: This means Carlsen will lose the title of world champion. Hence, the 2023 world championship match will be between Ian Nepomniachtchi (winner of the 2022 Candidates Tournament) and Ding Liren (runner-up in the 2022 Candidates Tournament).


title: World Chess Championship 2023

text: On October 31, 2022, FIDE announced that Ding Liren had received the official invitation to participate in the 2023 world chess championship, as Carlsen had formally confirmed his decision not to defend his title in writing.


title: World Chess Championship 2023

text: The challengers are Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren, who qualified as the winner and runner-up, respectively, in the Candidates Tournament 2022, which began on June 16 and ended on July 5, 2022. Nepomniachtchi had previously challenged world champion Carlsen in the previous World Chess Championship 2021.


title: Crab mentality

text: Crab mentality, also known as crab theory, crabs in a bucket (also barrel, basket, or pot) mentality, or the crab-bucket effect, is a way of thinking best described by the phrase "if I can't have it, neither can you". The metaphor is derived from a pattern of behavior noted in crabs when they are trapped in a bucket. While any one crab could easily escape, its efforts will be undermined by others, ensuring the group's collective demise. As such, the crab mentality shares some features in common with a similar phenomenon of human behavior called tall poppy syndrome.


title: Crab mentality

text: The analogous theory in human behavior is that members of a group will attempt to reduce the self-confidence of any member who achieves success beyond the others, out of envy, jealousy, resentment, spite, conspiracy, or competitive feelings, to halt their progress.


title: Crab mentality

text: Crab mentality affects performance in an organization as humans behave in similar manner as the crabs particularly within social teams. The detrimental impact of crab mentality on performance was quantified by a New Zealand study in 2015; students in the study scored an average of 18% higher on exams when steps were taken to ensure their anonymity in published rankings, thereby mitigating the possibility of peer bullying.


title: The Who discography

text: The Who have been with several labels over the years. In the United Kingdom and elsewhere outside North America, they were signed originally to Brunswick Records. In 1966, they moved to Polydor Records and took the rights to their Brunswick recordings with them. They created and moved to Track Records the following year with distribution by Polydor. They left Track in 1974 and returned to Polydor directly, remaining with the label ever since.


title: The Who discography

text: In North America, they were originally on Decca Records. They moved to Atco Records for one single in 1966 before returning to Decca later that year. In 1972 the US Decca label was absorbed into MCA Records. The band changed North American labels again in 1981, to Warner Bros. Records. The label released "Face Dances" and "It's Hard" and their singles, before the Who disbanded. In later years, MCA would acquire the US rights to the Warner Bros. albums. In 2003, MCA Records (now under common ownership with Polydor, under Universal Music Group) was folded into Geffen Records. Geffen now controls the US rights to the Who's catalogue up through "It's Hard". Their 2006 comeback album, "Endless Wire", was released through Universal Republic in the US.


title: Paint It Black

text: "Paint It Black" is a song recorded in 1966 by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it is a raga rock song with Indian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European influences and lyrics about grief and loss. London Records released the song as a single on 7 May 1966 in the United States, and Decca Records released it on 13 May in the United Kingdom. Two months later, London Records included it as the opening track on the American version of the band's 1966 studio album "Aftermath", though it is not on the original UK release.


title: Paint It Black

text: Originating from a series of improvisational melodies played by Brian Jones on the sitar, all five members of the band contributed to the final arrangement, although only Jagger and Richards were credited as songwriters. In contrast to previous Rolling Stones singles with straightforward rock arrangements, "Paint It Black" has unconventional instrumentation including a prominent sitar, the Hammond organ, and castanets. This instrumental experimentation matches other songs on "Aftermath". The song was influential to the burgeoning psychedelic genre as the first chart-topping single to feature the sitar, and widened the instrument's audience. Reviews of the song at the time were mixed and some music critics believed its use of the sitar was an attempt to copy the Beatles, and others criticized its experimental style and doubted its commercial potential.


title: Paint It Black

text: "Paint It Black" was a major chart success for the Rolling Stones, at eleven weeks (including two at number one) on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, and 10 weeks (including one atop the chart) on the "Record Retailer" chart in the UK. Upon a re-issue in 2007, it reentered the UK Singles Chart for 11 weeks. It was the band's third number-one single in the US and sixth in the UK. The song also topped charts in Canada and the Netherlands. It received a platinum certification in the UK from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and from Italy's Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI).


title: Paint It Black

text: "Paint It Black" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018, and "Rolling Stone" magazine ranked the song number 213 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2011, the song was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of "The Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll". Many artists have covered "Paint It Black" since its initial release. It has been included on many of the band's compilation albums, and several film soundtracks. It was played on several Rolling Stones tours.


title: Paint It Black

text: In 1965, popularity of the Rolling Stones increased markedly with a series of international hit singles written by lead singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. This success attracted the attention of Allen Klein, an American businessman who became their US representative in August while Andrew Loog Oldham, the group's manager, continued in the role of promoter and record producer. One of Klein's first actions on the band's behalf was to force Decca Records to grant a $1.2 million royalty advance to the group, bringing the members their first signs of financial wealth and allowing them to purchase country houses and new cars. Their October–December 1965 tour of North America was the group's fourth and largest tour there up to that point. According to the biographer Victor Bockris, through Klein's involvement, the concerts afforded the band "more publicity, more protection and higher fees than ever before".


title: Paint It Black

text: By this time, the Rolling Stones had begun to respond to the increasingly sophisticated music of the Beatles, in comparison to whom they had long been promoted by Oldham as a rougher alternative. With the success of the Jagger-Richards-penned singles "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (1965), "Get Off of My Cloud" (1965) and "19th Nervous Breakdown" (1966), the band increasingly rivalled the musical and cultural influence of the Beatles. The Stones' outspoken, surly attitude on songs like "Satisfaction" alienated the Establishment detractors of rock music, which music historian Colin King explains, "only made the group more appealing to those sons and daughters who found themselves estranged from the hypocrisies of the adult world – an element that would solidify into an increasingly militant and disenchanted counterculture as the decade wore on".


title: Paint It Black

text: "Paint It Black" came at a pivotal period in the band's recording history. The Jagger/Richards songwriting collaboration was producing more original material for the band, culminating in the sessions for "Aftermath" (1966) where, for the first time, the duo penned every track on the album. Brian Jones, overshadowed by Jagger and Richards, grew bored attempting to write songs, and with conventional guitar melodies. To alleviate his boredom, he explored Eastern instruments, specifically the Indian sitar, with a view to bolstering the musical texture and complexity of the band's sound. A multi-instrumentalist, Jones could develop a tune on the sitar in a short time; he had a background with the instrument largely from his studies under Harihar Rao, a disciple of Ravi Shankar. Following a discussion with the Beatles' lead guitarist George Harrison, who had recently recorded the sitar on "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" in October 1965, Jones arranged basic melodies with the instrument that morphed over time into that featured in "Paint It Black".


title: Paint It Black

text: Jagger and Richards wrote "Paint It Black" while on tour with the Stones in Australia in Early 1966, following the first group of sessions for "Aftermath" the previous December. Initially, the first group of sessions were to be released as an album by themselves, then titled "Could You Walk on the Water?" In mid-January 1966, the British press announced that a new Rolling Stones LP carrying that title would be released on 10 March. In "Rolling with the Stones", Wyman refers to the announcement as "audacity" on Oldham's part. A Decca spokesman said the company would not issue an album with such a title "at any price"; Oldham's idea upset executives at the company's American distributor, London Records, who feared the allusion to Jesus walking on water would provoke a negative response from Christians.


title: Paint It Black

text: The title controversy embroiled the Stones in a conflict with Decca, delaying the Stones' next studio album's release from March to April 1966. The delay, however, gave the Stones more time to record new material for the upcoming album, which had now been retitled "Aftermath". Upon their return from Australasia, it was one of the new songs worked on for the revised new album. Notably, "Paint It Black" was recorded as the Stones had begun to take more time recording their material. Referring to the atmosphere of the Stones' sessions at the time, Richards told "Beat Instrumental" magazine in February 1966: "Our previous sessions have always been rush jobs. This time we were able to relax a little, take our time." Sound engineer Dave Hassinger recorded the song on 6 and 9 March 1966 at RCA Studios in Los Angeles. Andrew Loog Oldham produced the track, as with all of the Stones' recordings until 1967. Both the single's US and UK B-sides were also recorded on these dates, as were a majority of album tracks for "Aftermath".


title: Paint It Black

text: "Paint It Black" follows a simple verse form that lacks a refrain. It starts with five consecutive 16-bar verses before relaxing into a chanted section and finishing in a frantic coda. The song was written originally as a standard pop arrangement in a minor key similar to "The House of the Rising Sun", which Jagger humorously compared to "songs for Jewish weddings". The Stones were dissatisfied with this version and considered scrapping the song altogether. During a session break, Bill Wyman twiddled with a Hammond organ in search of a heavier bass sound; Wyman's playing inspired the uptempo and Eastern pentatonic melody. The sitar was brought into the mix when Harihar Rao walked into the studio with one in hand. Soon after the recording session, Richards felt the track's conclusion was over-recorded and that it could have been improved.


title: Paint It Black

text: Wyman was later critical of Oldham listing Jagger and Richards as songwriters to the exclusion of the rest of the Stones. He felt "Paint It Black" should have been credited to the band's pseudonym, Nanker Phelge, rather than Jagger–Richards, since the song originated from a studio improvisation by Jones and Watts and himself, Jones providing the melody line. In the view of pop historian Andrew Grant Jackson, "Paint It Black" bears a strong resemblance to the Supremes' 1965 hit "My World Is Empty Without You", which used "a foreboding minor key with harpsichord and organ".


title: Paint It Black

text: In a 1995 interview, commenting on the musical styles found on "Aftermath", Jagger described "Paint It Black" as "this kind of Turkish song". According to music scholar James E. Perone, although the introductory sitar passage is played in an Indian fashion, "the rhythmic and melodic feel of the Eastern-sounding phrases actually call to mind the Middle East more than India". Jagger's droning and slightly nasal singing complement the motif Jones plays on the sitar. Wyman's heavy bass, Charlie Watts' low-pitch drumming and Richards' bolero-driven acoustic guitar outro drive "Paint It Black". Commentators and reviewers have classified "Paint It Black" as raga rock, psychedelia, and psychedelic rock. Perone named "Paint It Black" as one of the Stones' 1966 songs that acts an explicit attempt to transcend the blues-based rock and roll conventions of the Stones' previous songs, along with other "Aftermath" songs such as "Stupid Girl", "Lady Jane", and "Under My Thumb".


title: Paint It Black

text: Using colour-based metaphors, the song's lyrics describe the grief suffered by someone stunned by the sudden and unexpected loss of a partner, leading to what author Tony Visconti terms "a blanket worldview of desperation and desolation, with no hint of hope." The lyrics have also given rise to alternative interpretations scholars consider less likely, ranging from a bad trip on hallucinogens to the Vietnam War. Perone noted in 2012 that the lyrical content – a character "so entrenched in his depression and rage that he has lost all hope" – establishes a rough concept for "Aftermath"s American edition, the following songs offering insight into "the darkness of his psyche" and possible reasons for its darkness. Perone argues the resulting connections among the songs on "Aftermath" lend it a conceptual unity which, although not sufficient for it to be considered a concept album, allows for the record to be understood "as a psychodrama around the theme of love, desire and obsession that never quite turns out right". As Perone explains:The individual songs seem to ping-pong back and forth between themes of love/desire for women and the desire to control women and out-and-out misogyny. However, the band uses musical connections between songs as well as the subtheme of travel, the use of feline metaphors for women and other lyrical connections to suggest that the characters whom lead singer Mick Jagger portrays throughout the album are really one and perhaps stem from the deep recesses of his psyche."The Village Voice" music critic Robert Christgau described "Paint It Black" as an example of the Stones development as artists. According to Christgau, the texture of the Stones' blues-derived hard rock is "permanently enriched" as Jones "daub[s] on occult instrumental [colours]". Christgau praised Mick Jagger specifically for his influence on the Stones' artistic identity on their 1966 material, describing him as lyricist "whose power, subtlety and wit are unparalleled in contemporary popular music", and additionally suggested that Jagger and Richards rank second as composers of melody in rock, behind only John Lennon and Paul McCartney.


title: Paint It Black

text: London Records released "Paint It Black" as a single in the US on 7 May 1966; Decca Records released it on 13 May in the UK. "Paint It Black"s UK B-side was "Long, Long While", a song that was not released on any of the band's studio albums. Richie Unterberger of "AllMusic" later described "Long, Long While" as an underappreciated song, with a "considerably different" tone than most of the band's work, and commented that it was better than many of the tracks the Stones selected for their studio albums. Upon its original release, the song was credited to "Jagger-Richard", as Andrew Loog Oldham advised Keith Richards to use the surname Richard professionally on the Stones releases during the 1960s. Later releases of the song have changed the credit to "Jagger-Richards".


title: Paint It Black

text: In the US, "Stupid Girl" was chosen as its US B-side. Both songs were included in the American release of "Aftermath", with "Paint It Black" being a new addition when compared to the earlier british edition "Paint It Black" became "Aftermath"s opening track, replacing "Mother's Little Helper", while "Stupid Girl" remained as the second track on the album. Its delayed North American release allowed pirate radio stations to play the single up to two weeks before the album appeared. The song was originally released as "Paint It, Black", the comma being an error by Decca, which stirred controversy over its racial interpretation. The Stones performed "Paint It Black" live on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on 11 September.


title: Paint It Black

text: Due to "Paint It Black" not appearing on the UK edition of "Aftermath" and being released as a non-album single, its first album release in the UK came on the UK edition of the compilation "Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass)" (1966), however the album was not released with the song as part of its track listing in the US. The first release of the song on a compilation album in the US came on "Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)" (1969),


title: Paint It Black

text: Later compilations by the Rolling Stones featuring "Paint It Black" include "Hot Rocks 1964–1971" (1971), "" (1989), "Forty Licks" (2002), and "GRRR!" (2012). Live recordings are on the concert albums "Flashpoint" (1991), "Live Licks" (2004), "Shine a Light" (2008), "Hyde Park Live" (2013), and "" (2016).


title: Paint It Black

text: Initial reaction to "Paint It Black" was mixed. Some music critics found the addition of the sitar to be simply a case of the band copying the Beatles. In his book "Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones", Paul Trynka comments on the influence of Harrison's sitar playing on the Beatles' song "Norwegian Wood" from the "Rubber Soul" album and draws parallels with Jones' droning sitar melody on "Paint It Black". Responding to claims that he was imitating the Beatles, Jones replied: "What utter rubbish", comparing the argument to saying that all groups using a guitar copy each other merely by using the instrument. Jonathan Bellman, an American musicologist, agreed with Jones, writing in a 1997 issue of "The Journal of Musicology" that the events are an example of concurrent musical and instrumental experimentation. Jones' sitar part on the track influenced the development of a whole subgenre of minor-key psychedelic music.


title: Paint It Black

text: Lindy Shannon of the "La Crosse Tribune" felt "Paint It Black", the Byrds' "Eight Miles High" and the Beatles' "Rain" were straying from the "commercial field" and instead "going into a sort of distorted area of unpleasant sounds". Staff at "Melody Maker" lauded the track, calling it "a glorious Indian raga-riot that will send the Stones back to number one". Writing for "Disc and Music Echo", Penny Valentine praised Jagger's singing, writing that it was "better than ever" but was critical of the track's sitar. "Guitar Player"s Jesse Gress cited "Paint It Black" as originating the 1960s ragarock craze. In a review for "New Musical Express" (NME), Keith Altham considered "Paint It Black" the band's best single since "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" was released the previous year. A reviewer for "Billboard" predicted that "Aftermath" would become another hit for the band, citing "Paint It Black" as the focal point of this hard rock album and praising Oldham's production. "The Herald News" considered the song a "top record... for teeners", and in "The Sunday Press" Nancy Brown described it as a "pulsating, blues-soaked romantic tear-jerker". In the "San Francisco Examiner", Ralph J. Gleason lauded the song for its "hypnotizing tone" and "same qualities of ambiguity and obscurity as some of the previous Stones hits". In April 1967, while hosting the television documentary "", Leonard Bernstein praised the song for its "arab café" sound, and cited it as an example of contemporary pop music's ability to evoke disparate moods through instrumentation.


title: Paint It Black

text: In a retrospective review, Richie Unterberger of "AllMusic" called the song an "eerily insistent" classic that features some of "the best use of sitar on a rock record", and in another "AllMusic" review wrote it is "perhaps the most effective use of the Indian instrument in a rock song". Writing on the song's 50th anniversary in 2016, Dave Swanson of "Ultimate Classic Rock" considered the song, like its parent album "Aftermath", to be a major turning point in artistic evolution for the band, noting: "Paint It, Black' wasn't just another song by just another rock group; it was an explosion of ideas presented in one neat three-minute package." In 2017, ranking "Aftermath" as one of the best albums of the 1960s, Judy Berman of "Pitchfork" described the song as "rock's most nihilistic hit to date". David Palmer, editor of "the Cullman Times", wrote that the "attitude" songs on "Aftermath" – particularly "Paint It Black" – influenced the nihilistic outlook of punk music. "Stereogum" critic Tom Breihan praised the song as a strong example of the band's brand of "swirling doom-blues", and praised its heavy sound and dark lyrics as very ahead of its time for 1966.


title: Paint It Black

text: "Paint It Black" inspired almost four hundred covers. It has placed on many "best songs" lists including those by "Rolling Stone", "Vulture" magazine, "NME", and "Pitchfork". The Recording Academy inducted the song into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018. It is ranked number 213 on "Rolling Stone"'s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and according to Acclaimed Music it is the 115th most celebrated song in popular music history.


title: Paint It Black

text: In the UK, "Paint It Black" peaked at number one on the "Record Retailer" chart during a 10-week stay, becoming the Rolling Stones' sixth UK number one. Seven days after its UK release, "Paint It Black" had sold 300,000 advance copies; the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) later certified it platinum. In 2007, the song entered the UK Singles chart at number 70 for an 11-week stint. In Germany, "Paint It Black" peaked at number two on the "Musikmarkt" Hit-Parade; the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) certified the 2018 re-issue gold. The single was a top five hit in other European countries, peaking at number two in Austria, Ireland, and Norway; number three in Belgium; and number four in Spain. After its 1990 reissue, "Paint It Black" charted at number 61. The single's 2007 re-issue charted at number 49 on the Official German Charts and its 2012 re-issue charted number at 127 in France.