Chaduranga misses the bus

Even as doubts over the issue of a successor to Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar was cleared following the announcement of the name of Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs by Pramodadevi Wadiyar on Thursday, the discontent within the family seems to have been addressed.

Though a majority of the close kin of Srikantadatta were present during the media briefing as a show of unity, Chaduranga Kantharaj Urs, the nephew of Srikantadatta remained conspicuous by his absence.

From the death-related rituals of Wadiyar to the ‘Pattada Kaththi’ puja at ‘khasagi durbar’ (private durbar) during Dasara, Chaduranga was in the lead. In the absence of a natural heir, Chaduranga performed the rituals by lighting the pyre of Srikantadatta on December 11, a day after his death. Since then, Chaduranga was touted as the successor to Wadiyar.

Incidentally, Yaduveer is the nephew of Chaduranga. Yaduveer’s mother Tripurasundari Devi is the eldest sibling of Chaduranga. His other sisters include Deepamalini Devi and Keerthimalini Devi.

On Thursday, when reporters posed a question on Chaduranga’s absence, Pramoda Devi Wadiyar said, “The reason is already known to everybody.” Continuing, she said he didn’t respond when he was invited (to be present during the media briefing). She denied that the name of Chaduranga’s son was also being considered to be the successor.

Barring Chaduranga, a majority of the members of the family were present during the media briefing. It included Srikantadatta’s sisters Kamakshi Devi and Indrakshi Devi.