Opinion Mysore flashback

Dasara in Mysore has always been celebrated in royal style. Traditionally, the scion of the Wodeyar family has led the procession, complete with elephants, regalia and much worshipping of the royal sword. But this year, the lamps of Dasara are flickering. The Mysore royal family, left without a titular successor after the death of Srikantadatta Wodeyar, cannot supply the necessary scion. The naming of an heir, apparently, is contingent on the result of a property dispute between the state government and the royal family. Now the Karnataka administration has hinted at a possible replacement — a government official to lead the ranks.

It might be hard to reconcile the sarkari world of files and triplicates with the pomp of the Dasara procession. But if the bureaucracy wants to summon the requisite oomph, it need look no further than its own colonial past. District collectors in British India held court in various parts of their fiefdom, instilling awe among the masses. The foppish babus of 19th-century Calcutta, many of whom were part of a burgeoning Indian bureaucracy, could match the best royal extravagances. It is only since Independence that the Indian bureaucracy has been reduced to mere fussy protocol, forgetting its more glamorous past.

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Democracy has not been good for the royal mystique either. In the old days, a property dispute would have been settled by the clash of swords and derring do. These days, the royals have to go to courts, and wait for judgments along with other commoners. More than one royal has succumbed to the mundane process of elections. Some of them even have jobs. The good old feudal spirit is no longer the preserve of the royalty.