India, Feb. 16 -- For over eight centuries, the silhouette of Chamundi Hill has defined the horizon of Mysuru. To the casual tourist, it is a scenic viewpoint and a place of temples and the demon's statue; to the devotee, it is the sacred abode of the Divine Mother Chamundeshwari; and to the historian, it is a stone library detailing the rise and fall of dynasties.

Standing 1,063 metres above sea level, this 800-million-year-old geological formation is the crowning beauty of the South-East Mysuru. Yet today, this ancient sentinel is at a crossroads.

As urban sprawl climbs its slopes and concrete replaces its canopy, the Hill finds itself caught between the demands of modern tourism and the desperate need for ecological preservation.

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