Royal invitees in full attendance

Barring a few, all members of the erstwhile royal family and their relatives attended the coronation ceremony of Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar as the 27th king (titular) at the Palace in Mysuru on Thursday.

The eldest among them was Puttaratnammani, the nonagenarian mother of Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, wife of royal scion the late Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar. Surendra Singh, 84, and Hansadevi, 83, parents of Gajendra Singh, the brother-in-law of Srikantadatta Wadiyar, were among the other older relatives of the Wadiyars.

Gajendra Singh is married to Vishalakshi Devi, the younger sister of Srikantadatta and daughter of the last ruler of Mysuru, Jayachamaraja Wadiyar.

Surendra Singh belongs to Jodhpur Marwad family in Rajasthan and is the custodian of Auwa fort. However, they now reside with Gajendra Singh’s family on a portion of the Bengaluru Palace premises.

Singh senior told Deccan Herald, “I am witnessing the second such ceremony after the coronation of the Maharaja of Jodhpur in May 1952.”

Chaduranga Kantharaja Urs, son of the late Gayatri Devi (the eldest sister of Srikantadatta), who was tipped to succeed Srikantadatta, was conspicuous by his absence. However, his sisters and brothers-in-law were in full attendance, savouring every bit of the ceremony. Prominent among them was Tripurasundari Devi and her husband Swarup Anand Gopalraj Urs, the biological parents of Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar. The other sisters were Deepamalini Devi and her husband Jaideep Bhale Rao and Keerthimalini Devi and her husband Shailesh Kumar. Varchasvi Vin Srikanta Siddalingaraje Urs, the only son of Meenakshi Devi, the second elder sister of Srikantadatta, who passed away on May 7, attended the ceremony along with his family. The rest of the sisters and brothers-in-law of the late royal scion, Kamakshi Devi and Atmanya Dev, Indirakshi Devi and Rajachandra and Vishalakshi Devi and Gajendra Singh were present.

Shri Jay Devaraj Urs, the registrar of the University of Mysore, former education department officer B S Sridhar Raje Urs, also a relative of the Wadiyars, were among the other prominent invitees.

Deputy Commissioner C Shikha, Police Commissioner B Dayananda, SP Abhinav Khare, Mysuru City Corporation Commissioner C G Betsurmath, Mysuru Urban Development Authority Commissioner S Palaiah represented the district administration. Meanwhile, actor Sowcar Janaki also made it to the ceremony.

“I am happy to adorn the throne after coronation. Will not forget the encouragement of Mysureans and will continue with the Palace tradition, treading the path of my ancestors.” This was how Yaduveer Krishnaraja Chamaraja Wadiyar reacted after the ceremony.