Naada Habba Dasara may be held as per schedule, contrary to popular perception that there may be a break due to the year-long mourning by members of the Wadiyar family, following the death of the last scion Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar in December.
Sources close to the royal family told The Hindu that the palace did not have a tradition of “soothaka” or mourning period, and all rituals and traditions were being conducted. “People are aware of Sharana Navaratri that is celebrated during September-October. But there are four Navaratris celebrated in the palace. This includes the Vasantha Navaratri soon after Ugadi in April; Ashada Navarati during June-July which concluded on Monday; Sharana Navaratri popularly called Dasara and the Shishira Navaratri that is held during January-February. All the other Navaratris have been held in the palace after the demise of Srikantadatta Wadiyar and hence there is no reason why religious traditions may not be observed for Sharana Navaratri, which is the most important of all,” said the sources.
When the last Maharaja of Mysore passed away in September 1972, the coronation of Srikantadatta Wadiyar took place soon after and Dasara traditions were held in October without a break. Since Srikantadatta Wadiyar was the direct heir of the last maharaja, there was no legal wrangling over ascension and hence transition was smooth, the sources added.
The moot question is who will succeed Srikantadatta Wadiyar, as Pramoda Devi Wadiyar has said there was uncertainty caused because of the palace acquisition bill which had hampered an early decision on the succession. Another source associated with the royal family said the religious rituals and traditions would be observed by one of the male members selected by Ms. Wadiyar while the act of “ascending the throne”, which is part of the Khasgi or private durbar held during Dasara, may not take place.
