Chamaraja Wodeyar
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Maharaja Chamaraja Wadiyar[1] IX[2] (Wodeyar) (1863-94) was the Maharaja of Mysore between 1881 and 1894.
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[edit] Adoption and accession
Chamaraja was born at the old palace in Mysore on February 22, 1863, as the third son of Sardar Chikka Krishnaraj Urs, of the Bettada-Kote branch of the ruling clan. His father died about a week before Chamaraja's birth. His mother, Rajkumari Sri Puta Ammani Avaru, was the eldest daughter of Krishnaraja Wadiyar III, the then Maharaja of Mysore. Following the failure of heirs male, Krishnaraja Wadiyar decided to adopt as heir his grandson, Chamaraja. This was done on June 18, 1865 and was recognized by the British government of India on 16 April 1867.
Krishnaraja Wadiyar III died on 27 March 1868, and Chamaraja Wadiyar ascended the throne at the royal palace, Mysore, on September 23, 1868. However, since 1831, the kingdom of Mysore had been under the direct administration of the British Raj, who had deposed Krishnaraja Wadiyar on allegations of misrule. Later, the privy council of the United Kingdom ordered the reversal of the British East India Company's decision to annex Mysore. By the "Rendition of 1881," the princely state of Mysore was reconstitited and restored to the Wadiyar dynasty. Chamaraja Wadiyar was groomed by the British to take charge of the administration. He was handed the reigns of governance in 1881.
[edit] Reign
Chamaraja Wadiyar was the 23rd Maharaja of Mysore. Although his reign proved to be a brief one, he left an indelible mark on the Kingdom of Mysore and thereby on the present day Indian state of Karnataka.
He instituted the Representative Assembly of Mysore state in 1881. This was the first modern, democratic legislative institution of its kind in princely India. He sponsored the famous journey of Swami Vivekananda to Chicago in 1894. He gave primacy to women's education and founded the Kannada Bashojjivini School. He gave a fillip to the industrialisation of the Kingdom of Mysore by instituting several industrial schools and conducting the annual Dasara Industrial Exhibition. He facilitated the founding of Agricultural Banks to help finance farmers and initiated Life Insurance for government employees.
Many of the most famous landmarks of Mysore and Bangalore owe their existence to him. Prominent among these are:
- Bangalore Palace
- Lalbagh Glass House
- Oriental Research Institute
- Maharaja College, Mysore
- Maharaja's Sanskrit School
- Government Office
- Lansdown Bazaar
- Dufferin Tower
- Mysore Zoo
- Fern Hill Palace (Ooty).
[edit] Patronage
Chamaraja Wadiyar was a great patron of arts and music, his court boasted of artists like Veena Subbanna, Veena Seshanna, K. Vasudevacharya, Veena Padmanabiah, Mysore Karigiri Rao and Bidaram Krishnappa among others.
The Maharaja was a violin virtoso himself and used to provide accompaniment daily to Veena Subbanna's vocal and Veena Sheshanna's veena performances. His favourite kriti's included "Sujana Jeevana" and "Lavanya Rama." He was also a connaisseur of Javali's (Kritis and Javalis are genres of Carnatic music).
[edit] Family
In May 1878, Chamaraja Wadiyar married Vani Vilasa Sannidhana Kempananja Ammani Avaru, daughter of an Arasu of Kalale, a prominent nobleman of Mysore state. They had four sons and three daughters, of whom the following survived to adulthood:
- Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV, succeeded his father as Maharaja of Mysore.
- Prince Kanthirava Narasimharaja Wadiyar, father of Jayachamaraja Wodeyar
- Princess Jayalakshmi Ammani, (1881-1924), married in 1897, her youngest maternal uncle, Sardar Kantaraj Urs, KCIE, CSI, sometime Dewan of Mysore.
- Princess Krishnaraja Ammani, (1883-1904), married in 1896, Col. Devaraj Urs, CIE, MVO, an army officer and the Arasu of Bagle in Mysore state. The sanitorium in Mysore is named after her.
- Princess Chaluvaja Ammani (1886-1934), married in 1900, Sardar M. Lakshmikanta Raj Urs, a nobleman of Mysore state. Cheluvamba Mansion in Mysore, which presently houses the CFTRI, was built as her residence. There is also a maternity hospital and park named after her.
Chamaraja Wodeyar died of diphtheria, in Calcutta, on December 28, 1894, aged 31. He was succeeded by his 10-year-old son, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. His wife, Vani Vilasa Devi, served as regent of Mysore during the minority of their son.
[edit] Notes
- ^ In this article, the Mysore Royal family surname has been spelt as Wadiyar instead of Wodeyar, as this is the way the family spell it.
- ^ Some historians refer to him as Chamaraja Wadiyar X (instead of IX) due some uncertainty in the order of lineage. The historian Hayavadana Rao, who has done extensive research on the subject, has favoured referring to him as Chamaraja Wadiyar IX.
