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It has been one year since the last scion of Mysuru royal family Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar passed away, leaving a void with no male heirs to succeed him. Wadiyar passed away on December 10, 2013 at the Bangalore Palace.
The void remains with the Dasara celebrations which fell in the interim of the year-long mourning, passing off sans fanfare. This year’s Dasara during September-October was a sombre affair for the royal family. It was narrowed down to religious rites, carried out by Wadiyar’s nephew Chaduranga Kantharaj Urs. He has been assigned the task of retaining the over 400-year tradition of the Wadiyar family that has descended from the period of Raja Wadiyar in 1610.
Despite the grief, the rituals were supervised by Wadiyar’s wife Pramoda Devi. Wadiyar had always made it sure to celebrate the Dasara festivities keeping in with royal tradition and grandeur that befitted a prince.
However, Pramoda Devi did a commendable job by meticulously planning every detail of the tradition that was passed down over the four centuries and ensured that nothing was missing.
Nearly three months after Dasara, the annual ceremonies of the late Wadiyar followed. Pramoda Devi and other members of the royal family took part in the ceremonies at the Mysuru Palace for three days from November 29. The first year’s rites were conducted according to Hindu calendar. The rituals were again performed by Chanduranga Kantharaj Urs, who was supervised by Pramoda Devi.
On the eve of Dasara, Pramoda Devi had explained her intricate situation in naming a successor in the backdrop of the palace properties caught in a prolonged legal battle for 38 years.
She had said she would also not like to pass on the burden to the successor. Hence, she had pleaded for the return of the property to the royal family, thus putting an end to the legal fight, an appeal which has remained unfulfilled by the state government till now.
The situation for naming a successor may not be imminent now because of Chaduranga Kantharaj Urs. Both during Dasara celebrations and annual ceremonies, he had stood in.
However, the issue of a successor is still a big question.
