Srikantadatta Odeyar, last scion of former Mysore royal family, dies

nrupatunga

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Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar, scion of the erstwhile Mysore royal family dies
Srikantadatta 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.

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.

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.
Thus ends the Odeyar era. :sad::tsk::shocked: Odeyar's were one of the most progressive royals. The amount of public works they have done is not measurable. The people of erstwhile mysore kingdom regions can never forget the contributions and the developmental works done by the mysore royals.:hail::hail::hail: Mysore and other regions it seems have had a self- shutdown.

@parijataka @Tolaha
 
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nrupatunga

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Re: Srikantadatta Odeyar, last scion of former Mysore royal family, di

The Odeyar's also have a link wrt defence. It was they who donated land in bengaluru for establishing HAL in 1940's.
 

parijataka

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Re: Srikantadatta Odeyar, last scion of former Mysore royal family, di

RIP Srikantadatta.
 

parijataka

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Re: Srikantadatta Odeyar, last scion of former Mysore royal family, di

A folk tale well known in Karnataka about how Alamelamma cursed the Wadiyars to be child less and how alternate generations of Wadiyar kings had to adopt a child.

Curse haunting royal family

While the next successor to Srikantadatta Wadiyar remains uncertain, the myth of the 'curse of Alamelamma' has started doing rounds.

Legend has it that Alamelamma, who was the second wife of Tirumalaraja, a feudatory of Vijayanagara empire, was behind the curse, due to which every alternate generation of Wadiyars goes childless and is forced to adopt an heir.

Though the legend has not been verified historically, the 'curse of Alamelamma' springs up whenever the Mysore Maharaja goes without an heir. Alamelamma is said to have cursed the Wadiyars, soon after Raja Wadiyar attacked Srirangapatna, a part of Vijayanagara Empire. After the conquest, Alamelamma was unable to enter Srirangapatna and remained in the adjoining village of Malangi."ˆ


Alamelamma was in possession of precious jewels, which caught the eye of Raja Wadiyar, who ordered his soldiers to bring him the jewels. Alamelamma, however, refused to part with the jewels, save a pearl nose ring.

Triveni Urs, professor, Mangalore University, specialising in the history of Mysore dynasty, said that Alamelamma realised that the jewels would be forcefully taken from her, grabbed the jewels and ran away.

She reached a cliff overlooking River Cauvery and realised that soldiers were still in her pursuit. She decided to plunge herself into the river, while making a point to curse the Wadiyars.

"Talakadu Maralagali, Malangi Maduvagali, Mysooru Arasarige Makkalagadirali" (May Talakadu be filled with sand, Malangi become a whirlpool and may Mysore kings never beget children) was the curse, Urs said.

Though the fable has little historical ground, alternate generations of Wadiyars continued to have no children, thereby no heirs to the dynasty, forcing them to adopt.

For instance, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, one of the most celebrated Wadiyar kings, had no children and chose his nephew Jayachamaraja Wadiyar as his heir.

Srikantadatta was born to Jayachamaraja Wadiyar and was later declared the heir. However, Srikantadatta Wadiyar has no children, leaving a question mark on who the next heir will be and renewing the fable of Alamelamma's curse.
 

Vishwarupa

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Srikantadatta Wadiyar passes away

Vikram Hospital Managing Director S.B. Vikram told "The Hindu" that Mr. Wadiyar had suffered a cardiac arrest around noon at his residence after which he was rushed to the hospital.

The scion of the Mysore royal family, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar (60), died of cardiac arrest at a private hospital here on Tuesday. Wadiyar was stated to have been restless around noon at his residence and he was rushed to hospital. "We tried to resuscitate him, but in vain. The death was confirmed around 2.30 p.m.," said Vikram Hospital authorities, where he was admitted.

The former Member of Parliament, who had represented Mysore four times in the Lok Sabha from 1984, was recently elected president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). It was stated that he was fine and had gone about his morning routine as usual. "We were informed by his family that he was feeling uneasy and wanted to rest. When they sensed all was not well with him, they rushed him to hospital. He must have suffered the heart attack at that point of time," a doctor who attended on him said.

Mr. Wadiyar, a diabetic, had undergone a liposuction procedure in another private hospital some years ago. Subsequently, he had developed septicaemia and renal problems following complications of the liposuction procedure. S.B. Vikram, managing director of Vikram Hospital, said he had been treated last month for septicaemia and had gone home fit and fine.

Born in 1953, Mr. Wadiyar was the only son of Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, the last of the Maharajas of Mysore. Married to Pramoda Devi of the erstwhile princely State of Mysore, the couple were childless. He had five sisters; one of them, Gayathri, died young. Four other sisters were at the hospital along with several relatives of the Wadiyar family. In consultation with the family, the State government made arrangements to shift the body from Bangalore to Mysore.

Minister for Home K.J. George told presspersons the last rites would be conducted with full State honours. Sources said Wadiyar's elder sister's son, Kantaraj Urs, is likely to perform the last rites on Wednesday. The Mysore Deputy Commissioner said the funeral will be held at "Madhu Vana".

Srikantadatta Wadiyar passes away - The Hindu

RIP to Maharaja...He is the one who made Mysore Dasara world famous & because of his family we have KRS dam( Irrigation to drinking water to Mysore & Bangalore region).

Sad day for Karnataka.
 

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