JOIN USMany-hued legacy of a statesman
The title and the cover picture set the expectations. The king in western attire and three pens in his pocket do well to indicate the unorthodoxy of his persona.
Strongly influenced by his mother, an exceptional pianist, and grandmother, father and uncle, he was meticulously groomed to lead. Though he intended to pursue music under the mentorship of Sergei Rachmaninoff, a legendary pianist of Switzerland, he instead inherited the responsibility and became the king of Mysore. The Maharaja of Mysore Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar (JCW, 1919-1974) was a thought leader, with diverse interests in classical music, philosophical literature, history, political science, economics, and African affairs; he envisaged path-breaking initiatives and institutions for the community, state, country and the world, seeking to eliminate binaries and constructing knowledge beyond boundaries.
Under his leadership, consultative, well-researched processes informed most decisions. His principle was “to strengthen the rural infrastructure, to irrigate sustainably, to industrialise with guard and to reform with purpose.” One of JCW’s significant successes was putting in place systems that would mitigate food shortages and prevent large-scale famine. Under his leadership, the revenue system and land issues were studied extensively, consultations were carried out and The Mysore Tenancy Act of 1952 was formulated.
Expansive knowledge
He introduced five-year plans, fuel forests, sericulture, silviculture, and hydroelectricity projects. He was only 21 years old when he saw the opportunity in Hindustan Aircraft Limited (HAL), India’s first aircraft manufacturing company that would advance aerospace research. HAL stays relevant to this day. JCW founded many institutions and offered the buildings of the royal family to house them. The Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI) was started at the Cheluvamba mansion. The National Tuberculosis Institute (NTI) was started at Avalon, the residence of JCW’s sister.
He sanctioned a 10-acre property to the Raman Research Institute (RRI). Also were envisioned and established The first All India Institute for Speech and Hearing and the Jayachamarajendra Institute of Indian Medicine.
He was part of many institutions, including the Sangeet Natak Academy, Mysore, and the Central Board for Wildlife. Ranganathittu was designated a sanctuary during his time. He introduced courses on archaeology, geography, and the School of Music at Mysore University. He curated the only translation of 10,552 mantras of the Rigveda Samhita to Kannada for easy readability. He had an expansive knowledge of western classical music, developed ragas based on Western tonal vocabulary, wrote Carnatic compositions for western instruments and owned a vast record collection. He gave new life to the Philharmonia Concert Society in London.
Music and philosophy were his most significant pursuits, but he also explored any issue that crossed his path, like touring Scandinavian countries to study border disputes, initiating the study of African elephants, and influencing the education system to achieve a balance between the ancient and the contemporary. His journey, as captured in this book, from being made the Maharaja of Mysore, followed by Maharaja of the Dominion of India, to a Rajapramukh in Greater Mysore to later the Governor of Mysore is a chronicle of his firm interest in administration. He had to reconfigure his life several times, and take up responsibilities that did not sync with the life of an artist, living in a turbulent time for Mysore and India. And specifically for him, being the last Maharaja, he had to anticipate life after the throne.
His purpose, contribution and unwavering following of his calling remained unaffected even during the transition to independent India, despite dwindling financial resources. He walked the extra mile to fulfil the dreams of others.
His real companions — his music, books and his knowledge never deserted him. As one reads the book, one realises what a visionary JCW was! His stand was beyond the binary of Eastern and Western, of anything that was slotted or stereotyped. His life was unsequenced and non-linear and his contributions countless. The musically inclined would take away much more from this book. The biography is written like a research report and could do with some tight editing and proofreading, but a great consolidation nonetheless.