The members of the Wadiyar family were extended a formal invitation to participate in the Dasara celebrations to be held from October 13 to 22, as per the revised dates finalised by the authorities.
Pramoda Devi Wadiyar and her adopted son Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar were felicitated with a traditional shawl and Mysuru Petha by Revenue Minister V.Srinivas Prasad. Ms. Wadiyar acknowledged the invitation for the State-sponsored Dasara and wished it well. She said that the private Dasara of the family will also be held as scheduled at the Amba Vilas Palace. The khas durbar (which did not take place last year) and other paraphernalia associated with the events will be held as per traditions, she said.
Mr. Yaduveer, who had a symbolic coronation as the new ‘maharaja’ early this year, is familiarising himself with the traditions and the customs at the palace. He said this was his first Dasara and hence he was excited about the events. It is customary for the Dasara Committee to extend an invitation to the Wadiyars and the gesture is an acknowledgement of their contribution to the popularisation of the festival, which has been held in Mysuru since 1610.
Though it began at Srirangapatana when Raja Wadiyar ascended the throne and decreed that Dasara be celebrated on a grand scale, the events shifted to Mysuru after the transfer of capital to the present city, following the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799 in the fourth Anglo-Mysuru war.
Since then there has been no break and is a continuation of a hoary tradition inherited by the Wadiyars from the rulers of the Vijayangar emperors. But its grandeur reached its zenith during the era of Krishnaraja Wadiar IV (1902-1940) .
After the abolition of the privy purse the royal Dasara became a private affair till the State revived the festival in the 1970s.
