Lakhs pay homage to last scion of Mysore royal family

Wodeyar,60,died of a cardiac arrest at a private hospital in Bangalore Tuesday.

The body was brought in a flower-bedecked palanquin from Amba Palace to the cremation point,Manuvana,with five Dasara elephants and a cavalry of 13 horses of the Mysore police leading the last journey of the “prince”.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah,his ministerial colleagues,former prime minister H D Devegowda,former chief minister and KJP president B S Yeddyurappa,among others,attended the funeral.

Earlier,an inconsolable Maharani Pramoda Devi paid last respects to her husband at Amba Vilas Palace,where the body was kept for public homage. His sisters Meenakshi Devi,Kamakshi Devi,Indrakshi and Vishalakshi were also there.

About 1,000 police personnel had been deployed at the palace and Manuvana to maintain law and order and regulate the heavy rush of people,who had also come from neighbouring districts.

The body was brought to Amba Vilas Palace from Bangalore at around 1.30 am and placed in the wedding hall at 3 am in a glass casket to allow the public to pay homage till afternoon.

The government declared a public holiday and a two-day state mourning as a mark of respect to Wodeyar,whose passions ranged from stately cars to cricket and who was one of the richest royals in the country. He was a four-time Lok Sabha member.

The cultural capital of Mysore remained shut. Visit to the majestic Mysore palace by tourists and common folk was banned.

Wodeyar,the only son of Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar,the last ruling maharaja of Mysore,succeeded his father as the head of his dynasty in September 1974. The Wodeyar dynasty ruled the kingdom of Mysore from 1399 to 1947,the last king being Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar,who ruled from 1940 until Independence in 1947 when he acceded his kingdom to the dominion of India but continued as the maharaja until India became a republic in 1950.