Karnataka - Mysore   

A banker delves into the history of the Wadiyars

— Photo: M.A. Sriram

His story: Vikram Sampath with his book, which is slated for release on Monday.

MYSORE: A Citibank executive has authored an 800-page tome, “Splendours of Royal Mysore: The Untold Story of the Wodeyars”.

It took 28-year-old Vikram Sampath 15 years to collect anecdotes from members of the royal family and collate archival material from the palace to churn out what is definitely the first exhaustive account of the Wodeyars of Mysore.

Strange as it may seem the Wodeyar — or Wadiyar as it is known in official parlance — dynasty is reckoned to have had the longest reign among royal families in India if one were to discount the tendency to trace family lineage to mythological events. Yet, there is not a single historical account of the Mysore royal family despite the region’s contribution to the art and culture of the country.

Historically speaking, the Kingdom of Mysore, under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, is significant as the two challenged the might of the British after deposing the Wodeyars and usurping the throne. But while enough material is available on the Tiger of Mysore and his predecessor, Hyder Ali, the Wodeyars have been ignored. Vikram Sampath has made an effort to bridge the gap.

“I was intrigued by the comical portrayal of the Wodeyars in Sanjay Khan’s television serial ‘The Sword of Tipu Sultan’, which was telecast many years ago. I found it strange that this was against the popular perception that the people of Mysore and Karnataka have about the Wodeyars. Therefore, I began to search for alternative accounts to satisfy my curiosity,” says Mr. Sampath.

But as this electronics engineer from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, was to discover, there was nothing much he could rely on to tell the story. Lack of training in historical methodologies and the absence of ideological baggage helped him chart a new course. The author also has an MBA from the S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai.

The book has some very rare photographs and is full of anecdotes and information gleaned from interviews with various members of the royal family, including Srikantadutta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, according to Mr. Sampath, who maintains that his work is a critical account and not an exercise in praising the royal family.

“I have tried to steer a different path and break away from the conventional academic approach replete with dates and, instead, concentrated on the colourful personalities, the art and the culture that evolved during the period,” he says. The book sketches the regime of the Mysore royal family, complete with wars, palace intrigues, romance, valour and deceit.

Some of the beliefs associated with the Mysore family have been treated scientifically, says Mr. Sampath, who has traced the “curse of Alamelamma” to counter the ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ introduced by Lord Dalhousie under which kingdoms whose rulers did not have direct heir had to accede to the British empire.

The book, published by Rupa and Co., will be released here on Monday. The event will feature a concert where kritis of well-known Mysore composers will be rendered by Vidhushi Jayanthi Kumaresh.

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