Mysore grieves death of its last Wodeyar prince
Updated: December 11
Mysore, Dec 11 (IANS): A pall of gloom descended on this city of palaces over the death of its last prince, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar, Tuesday in Bangalore, about 140 km from here.
Thousands of grieving people from the old Mysore region have been flocking into the city since early Wednesday for a last glimpse of their prince whose body was kept in the wedding hall of Amba Vilas Palace for public viewing amid tight security.
Wodeyar's end came at a private hospital following a cardiac arrest while resting after lunch in his Bangalore Palace at the city centre.
The body of the 60-year-old scion will be accorded a state funeral in the royal graveyard - Manuvanan - around a km away from the palace and the last rites will be performed by a nephew (sister's son) of Wodeyar, who did not have a offspring.
"Wodeyar's body was brought to the royal palace from Bangalore around 1.30 a.m. and placed in the hall at 3 a.m. in a glass casket to allow the public pay homage to our prince till afternoon," a palace official told IANS.
With the state government declaring a public holiday for its offices and educational institutions and a two-day state mourning as a mark of respect to Wodeyar, normal life was affected in the state's cultural capital. Shops, hotels and markets in Mysore remained shut and streets were deserted as people kept away from public transport or commuting.
About 1,000 police personnel, including senior officials, were deployed at the palace and the royal graveyard to maintain law and order and regulate the heavy rush of people at both the venues.
"The Chamundeshwari temple atop the hills on the city's outskirts has been closed for the day as per the age-old custom and will be whitewashed to clean the eerie atmosphere associated with death and reopen Thursday," the official said.
Visit to the majestic palace, including its durbar and museum, by tourists and common folk has been banned by the palace board and all the four gates around it will remain shut till further orders.
A huge portrait of Wodeyar was kept at vantage points inside the palace to enable the staff of the royal board pay their floral tributes.
As the 26th descendant of the six centuries old Woodier dynasty, Srikantadatta was the only son of the last Mysore Maharaja (king) Jayachamarajendra and Tripurasundaramanni and fourth in line with three elder and two younger sisters.
Eldest sister - Gayathridevi passed away a few years ago, other four sisters of the scion - Meenakshidevi, Kamakshidevi, Indrakshidevi and Vishalakshidevi live here and in Bangalore.
Ealier Report: December 10
Srikanta Datta Wodeyar passes away in Bangalore
Bangalore: Dec 10 (PTI): Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wodeyar, scion of the erstwhile Mysore royal family and the last descendant of the Wodeyar dynasty, died of severe cardiac arrest at a private hospital here today.
Sixty-year old Wodeyar, who had been ailing in recent months, was brought to a private hospital in an unconscious state and doctors' attempts to resusitate him failed, a senior hospital official said.
"He was brought around 2 pm. For one and a half hours Dr Ranaganth Naik and four others tried to revive him. But by 3.30 pm. he was declared dead," Dr Madan Kumar, Administrator, Vikram Hospital, told PTI.
The mortal remains of Wodeyar would be cremated at Mysore tomorrow, Home Minister K J George told reporters outside the hospital, adding, the state government has declared a two-day state mourning.
Wodeyar, the only son of Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, the last ruling Maharaja of Mysore, and his second wife, Maharani Tripura Sundari Ammani Avaru, succeeded his father as the head of his dynasty in September 1974.
He had remained the titular head of the erstwhile royalty during the famous Dasara festivities after succeeding as heir to his father in 1974 that left him with a palace but without a kingdom.
Married to a distant cousin, Pramoda Devi, the couple have no children.
Wodeyar wore many hats. He had served as Lok Sabha member for four terms representing Mysore constituency from Congress and lost once as BJP nominee and the other time as Congress candidate.
Passionate about cricket, he was only recently elected as President of Karnataka State Cricket Association in a hotly contested election that saw the combine led by him trounce candidates of the group backed by Srinath and Anil Kumble.
Wodeyar was also a Fashion Designer and promoted Mysore Silk Sarees under his brand name called “Royal Silk of Mysore”. He was also a hotelier, art collector and investor.
The Wodeyar dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from 1399 to 1947. The last king of the dynasty was Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, who ruled from 1940 until Indian independence in 1947 when he acceded his Kingdom to the dominion of India, but continued as the Maharaja until India became a Republic in 1950.
For Mysoreans, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar had remained a Maharaja and they believed that though he lived like a royal, he did not think like one.
"... I live like a maharaja without technically or legally being one,” Wodeyar, arguably one of the richest scions of a royal family in the country, had said in an interview.
Minister for health U T Khadar who visited Vikram hospital condoled the demise of the Mysore scion.