Month: October 2026

In The News, My Take

The Maharajas of Mysuru

The crowds thronged to Mysuru (present day Mysore in Karnataka, India ) last week for the Dasara Festival as they do every year. The grand finale was the procession of elephants- the Jamboo Savari- headed by the lead elephant carrying in his howdah Goddess Chamundeshwari, patron of the region. The weight of the howdah is said to be about 750 kgs. To me, as I am sure to many old timers, it was heartwarming to see pictures of the young Maharaja, His Highness Yaduveer Krishnadatta Wadiyar, his wife Her Highness Trishikha Kumari,and their two young sons, Adyaveer aged 8 and Yugadhyaksh, aged 2. This caught the imagination of the public as Yaduveer is the great grandson of the last reigning Maharaja of Mysore, His Highness Jayachamrajendra Wadiyar.

In the midst of all the celebration, old timers like me remembered the story of curse on the Wadiyars of Mysore. Legend has it that ages ago, in 1612, the king of Mysore conquered the neighbouring state of Srirangapatnam. To escape capture and give up her famous jewels, the ruler’s wife Allamelamma, jumped into the Cauvery river with her jewels on her. While jumping to her death, she pronounced three curses that came remarkably true. She said the area around Talakad will become barren- which it soon did. The second curse was the whirlpools will dominate the area where she jumped- which happens even now. The third curse is the subject of our post. She cursed that the ruling Wadiyars then called Wodeyars of Mysore would never have a male heir.

In the days of Royalty, Mysore was one of the richest and largest kingdoms in undivided India. Allamelamma’s curse appears to have come true. Generation after generation of Wodeyar Maharajas either did not have children or did not have male heirs. Consequently, many Kings or Queens who ruled the Mysore kingdom, were forced to adopt successors from their close relatives. Interestingly, the Maharaja was childless in alternate generations!

The last such case was as recent as 2015 when Her Highness Pramoda Devi, the surviving Maharani of Mysore chose to adopt Yaduveer to succeed her husband His Highness Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, as the titular Maharaja of Mysore. He was the nephew of the Maharaja and was studying in Boston when his life changed dramatically through this decision. He married Trishikha Kumari of the royal family of Dungapur in Rajasthan. As a great fan of cricket, I can’t but add that her great uncle Raj Singh Dungarpur, was a cricketer himself who later became a well know cricket administrator in India.

The Maharajas of Mysore were able and enlightened rulers. It is generally considered that Mysore was one of the best administered Kingdoms amongst the pre-Independence Princely States. The city of Bangalore (now Bengaluru) gained considerably from the munificence of the Maharaja of Mysore. He donated land for the now prestigious Indian Institute of Science and was a major patron of the arts. India became independent in 1947 and a Republic in 1950. In keeping with the treaties signed with the Government of India by the Princely States ( as they were then called) the Maharajas, Nawabs, Rajas, etc continued to be titular rulers of the states and received a privy purse. In 1971, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi abolished the Privy Purse and Royalty as we knew it till then was abolished. In some parts of the country this was welcomed as the rulers had looked after themselves more than the people they ruled. In others, like Mysore, for example, this move was tinged with sadness. The rulers of Mysore had done so much over generations for the people of their kingdom. In the old days, and I daresay till recently, it was common in many houses in Mysuru to have a portrait of the Maharaja. If you want to read more about the history of the Wodeyars, do read “Splendours of Royal Mysore” by Vikram Sampath.

But coming back to the present, it is heartening to see the young family of the Maharaja of Mysore. One school of thought holds that finally Allamelamma’s curse has been broken after more than 400 years. Another holds that the curse may still be in force as the present Maharaja is not the biological son of his predecessor. Be that as it may, we who respect the Mysore Royal Family pray that Goddess Chamundeshwari blesses him and his family with a long life and every happiness.

In The News, My Take

Will India’s future be decided on the streets?

Are we heading for a time when political parties and other pressure groups getting supporters to the streets to fight for their causes will become the order of the day?

The 12 years of the National Democratic Front (NDA) Government rule under Prime Minister Narendra Modi since 2014 has been largely built around stability. Old timers like me who have seen Governments come and go, coalitions made and broken welcomed the era of long term stability. In this regard, this article by Harish Salve a former Solicitor General of India, is informative. Besides, the economy showed great promise by rising as it did over the last decade. It is established beyond doubt that public infrastructure has changed beyond imagination. The ruling dispensation seems to enjoy the support of the majority of people if you go by the number of elections won and lost by them. It is foolish to assume that there is no Opposition worth the name.The Indian National Congress (INC) the principal Opposition won in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana on their own and Keralam, with their allies.

Recently, Bharat Bhushan wrote in The Deccan Herald that Rahul Gandhi’s new protest playbook redefines the grammar of dissent. He writes, ” A political protest is no longer about a mass gathering at one site but a confrontation that creates dramatic optics, captured on camera, and spread online.” The key word that caught my attention was “confrontation”. More often than not, in India, confrontation on the roads leads to a chain of violence and destruction of public property. Frequently, violence results in injuries to many on both sides at times even fatally. Needless to say, political violence is not new to India. The politics in West Bengal for example has been characterized by violence for many decades. In the old days, violence acts reinforced the myth of ” might is right ‘. Poll violence, stealing of ballot papers and ballot boxes following elections were common place in states like Bihar for example.

We remember the events of July 20, 2026. There was violence when an unplanned march to the Parliament followed a protest meeting at Jantar Mantar organized by the Cockroach Janata Party. (CJP). This resulted in injuries to protestors, police personnel and the public at large. Ajaz Ashraf writes in Frontline, , ” On July 20, the CJP made history by breaking the climate of fear that had kept citizens off the streets under the Modi regime. It showed that organised public protest is possible and politically effective.” Accusations flew thick and thin from both sides. Many protestors, including women were hurt, so too were policemen who faced mob fury especially if they were caught isolated.

Possibly, the Leader of the Congress and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha , Rahul Gandhi realized that the cockroach approach may just work for him too. In the last few days, there has been tension in some parts of Delhi, India’s capital city. There were dramatic scenes too- which leaves us wondering what is to come next. Rahul Gandhi was seen pushing a woman constable in an inappropriate way. Certainly such conduct is and not in keeping with his high stature, especially when recently he lectured on the need to ” smash patriarchy”. Also, his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, MP from Wayanad in Kerala was seen strongly elbowing a woman police constable during the protest.

The right to protest is enshrined in our Constitution. However, if it leads to violence as it invariably seems to be the case, one wonders where this new “playbook of dissent ” will lead to. A former leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and later an influential member of the National Advisory Council during the previous Congress/UPA regime, Yogendra Yadav said, “Future of democracy in India will be settled on the streets and not in parliament or through elections. We saw a glimpse of it on July 20.”

So, is this going to be the way issues will be dealt with in the near future? Is the future of India going to be shaped not in the courts or in Parliament but on the streets? The next test will be on October 10 when the CJP has called for a protest in Delhi once again. With the Government refusing permission for the Cockroach Janata Party to hold this protest, we will have to wait and see what happens.