The centenary anniversary of the birth of the last Maharaja of Mysore, Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar (1919-1974), has kicked off in the erstwhile kingdom, in a renewed burst of royalty that is both reverential and revealing.
Public events, art shows, flower shows, etc have all sprung up in memory of the 25th king—45 years after his passing, 48 years after the abolition of the princely title, 69 years after the integration of the princely States in India.
There have also been music shows to commemorate the Maharaja, who is widely credited with composing a number of songs in both Carnatic and Hindustani traditions.
Writing in The Telegraph, Calcutta, the former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi—who inaugurated the birth centenary celebrations in Mysore—doffs his hat to Wodeyar’s skills to compose music but gives an old rumour, that the Maharaja was merely claiming somebody else’s work as his own, fresh oxygen.
The extraordinary novelist, R.K. Narayan, has this to say of Jayachamarajendra:
“The so-called compositions of the Mysore Maharaja were actually composed by Vasudevachar. The Maharaja would call Vasudevachar and say I want these phrases from the Devi Ashtottram and the composer would do his bidding”.
Unconditional admirer as I am of Narayan as a writer and human being, I have to say that his assessment of the composer-King is certainly entertaining but unfair.
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When the prince was born…
I consider myself a anti-royalist though I do cherish the boyhood memories of the grandeur that marked Dasara in the palace during my boyhood days of the 1950s.
The fact remains that the rulers of Mysuru and Thiruvithamkoor (e.g. Shri Swathi Thirunal, and now Rama Varma) remained somewhat more intellectual, and progressive compared to most of their contemporary. Establishing a representative assembly (of which my grandfather was a member) should be admired in the context from which it emerged. As to Shri Jayachamaraja Wodeyar, he refused to head the Princes Concorde to fight the abolition of privy purses even though his privy purse was the highest.
My uncle retired as a deputy secretary in Karnataka. He was a vociferous reader, and pursued music with great musicologists such as Shriyuths Ralapalli Ananthkrishna Sharma, Chennakeshavaiah, H. Yoganarasimham et al. He served as Maharaja’s private secretary for 13 years in pre-independent India. He was extremely discrete and very reticent about the palace and the Maharaja.
In 1971, I asked my uncle about the authenticity of Maharaja’s musical scholarship. He pointed out that there were some musicians who courted him with works that were composed by them but were attributing them to Wodeyar as a nazar (offering). But that, he said should not take away the credit for composing many of his own kritis.
In all likelihood, Sri R.K. Narayan was referring to yet another rumor that circulated at that time. Shri Muttahai Bhagavathar was a court musician, and he composed over one hundred kris mostly on Devi and apparently these were the by products derived from Ashttottaras and Sahasranamam for Chamundi.
In 1970, The Hindu invited Shri. H. Yoganarasimham (another uncle of mine) to write a piece on Shri Vasudevachar. I took dictation from him as he was frail. Without naming Bhagavathar, the article shared a criticism that certain prolific musician of the court created kritis through permutations and combinations of rhyming names of Devi! The Hindu promptly asked my uncle to delete the unsubstantiated rumor.
The truth may lie somewhere in between. That is why, I found the objection raised by The Hindu in 1970 as a testament to its high professional standards in journalism.