Srikantadatta Wodeyar, last scion of former Mysore royal family, dies in Bangalore

Bangalore: Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar, scion of the erstwhile Mysore royal family and the last descendant of the Wodeyar dynasty, died of severe cardiac arrest at a private hospital here on Tuessday.

Sixty-year old Wodeyar, who had been ailing in recent months, was brought to a private hospital in an unconscious state and doctors' attempts to resusitate him failed, a senior hospital official said.

"He was brought around 2 pm. For one and a half hours Dr Ranaganth Naik and four others tried to revive him. But by 3.30 pm, he was declared dead," Dr Madan Kumar, Administrator, Vikram Hospital, told PTI.

The mortal remains of Wodeyar would be cremated at Mysore on Wednesday, Home Minister K.J. George told reporters outside the hospital, adding, the state government has declared a two-day state mourning.

The Karnataka government has declared a holiday for schools and colleges on Wednesday as a mark of respect to the scion.

Wodeyar, the only son of Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, the last ruling Maharaja of Mysore, and his second wife, Maharani Tripura Sundari Ammani Avaru, succeeded his father as the head of his dynasty in September 1974.

He had remained the titular head of the erstwhile royalty during the famous Dasara festivities after succeeding as heir to his father in 1974 that left him with a palace but without a kingdom.

Married to a distant cousin, Pramoda Devi, the couple have no children.

Wodeyar wore many hats. He had served as Lok Sabha member for four terms representing Mysore constituency from Congress and lost once as BJP nominee and the other time as Congress candidate.

Passionate about cricket, he was only recently elected as President of Karnataka State Cricket Association in a hotly contested election that saw the combine led by him trounce candidates of the group backed by Srinath and Anil Kumble.

Wodeyar was also a Fashion Designer and promoted Mysore Silk Sarees under his brand name called 'Royal Silk of Mysore'. He was also a hotelier, art collector and investor.

The Wodeyar dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from 1399 to 1947. The last king of the dynasty was Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, who ruled from 1940 until Indian 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

For Mysoreans, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar had remained a Maharaja and they believed that though he lived like a royal, he did not think like one.

"... I live like a maharaja without technically or legally being one,” Wodeyar, arguably one of the richest scions of a royal family in the country, had said in an interview.