“Only the people have changed, everything else remains the same. The rituals followed for the wedding of the late Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar 40 years ago were followed without change for Yaduveer’s marriage,” said Raja Chandra Urs, son-in-law of the last Maharaja of Mysore, Jayachamaraja Wadiyar.
He gave the example of “uyyaale utsava” (uyyaale means swing in Kannada), which would take place in the evening.
“The bride and groom will be seated on a giant swing, which will be pushed. This is part of every marriage in the palace, including mine,” he said.
Although the relevance of the Mysuru ‘royal’ family has changed over the years, its members continue to carry on the 600-year-old tradition of the Wadiyars.
Remembering Wadiyar
Mr. Raja Chandra, who had witnessed Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar’s wedding, said: “I wish the senior Wadiyar was alive. The grandeur would have been much more.”
M.L. Varchus Vin S.S. Raje Urs, nephew of Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, who is well-versed with the family’s history, said: “Not one change has been made to the wedding tradition. The elders discussed with the priests and accordingly, the rituals were planned.”
However, while the traditions have remained the same, the mood in the palace has changed over the years.
H.D. Rajagopal Urs (87), whose family has been associated with the palace for several decades, has seen 10 marriages at the palace in his lifetime.
“So much has changed since my grandfather’s time, when English durbars would be held for the residents,” he said. Only a select few, including close family members and high officials of the government, would be seated in the main hall earlier, he added.
Members of the Mysuru ‘royal’
family continue to carry forward the
600-year-old rituals
