Today, each time a Bangalorean switches on a light or turns on the tap, he connects in some way to the Mysore maharajas. Perhaps, the best eulogy for the visionary rule of the Wodeyars came from C. Rajagopalachari, the first Indian and last governor-general of independent India. In an address to the newly formed government of the independent Mysore state, he said: “Successive and able administrators under His Highness’ predecessors have built this province to an enviable degree of progress and glory. My colleagues in national agitation have taken over, I feel, a very high responsibility. It is not easy to maintain the State and keep it up to the level it had reached through the talent, industry, devotion and patriotism of previous administrators… If I were here, I would not sleep happily.”
Vikram Sampath is the author ofSplendours of Royal Mysore: The Untold Story of the Wodeyars. Write to lounge@livemint.com
Tags - Find More Articles On: