Unlike Gidwani’s work, The Splendour of Royal Mysore is not fictionalised although it is replete with anecdotes. It is a historically-inclined account of the Wodeyars who ruled the region called Mysore (1399-1950). Although Sampath provides a detailed list of references and bibliography, diehard historians are likely to take issue with him. However, his introduction makes explicit the intention (to make history interesting) and the approach (by making observations on understanding and misunderstanding history) and, in a sense, covers his back on that front.

Since I am not a historian or a historical critic, I cannot vouch for the book’s authenticity, nor can I judge how much of the Wodeyars’s untold story is being told, but the author’s approach seems trustworthy and is largely engaging. Starting with examining folklore and the oral tradition and their relationship with ‘history’, Sampath leads the reader through various sources of documented information to look not only at the Wodeyars but at the times, setting the history of Mysore of every period against the larger canvas of the region. The telling of the Wodeyar story is punctuated by Sampath’s own observations and questions and even if at times these border on the naïve, they succeed in putting so-called facts in perspective by encouraging the reader to question their origin and their intent, by analysing information and by sifting them with a rational mind.

For instance, referring to a story about the prince of Dwaraka, Yaduraya, who is believed to have had a dream to go south of the Vindhyas and who, after overhearing a conversation between two washerwomen, then goes on to become an influential ‘historical character’, Sampath observes: “…a rational mind would always argue about the story of Yaduraya… How could a man from Gujarat understand the dialect of local washerwomen? Does it then not imply that Yaduraya was … a local himself or a second-generation migrant to Mahisuru? … If we take a rational look at the turn of events that led to the foundation of the dynasty and discount all the myths of dreams and divine dispensation, isn’t it intriguing that the leading lady of the principality decided to confide in a stranger her family secrets?”

There is plenty of this kind of questioning in the book and while it is thought-provoking, it can get ingenuous. However, overall, the thrust is information affirming and Sampath takes care to put things in perspective. Take the instance of Tipu Sultan, one of the better known names in Indian history. “In our zeal to construct stereotypes, why must we project ‘secular’ and ‘progressive’ as synonyms or ‘religious’ and ‘backward’ as synonyms?” the author asks. “The ruler could be religious and progressive.” Here he veers close to being naive when he points out, “…he was not overtly religious — a cause for resentment among many devout Muslims. He could have lined the whole of Mysore with mosques and madrasas. But barring a few, hardly any mosques were built. At the same time, barring two temples in the whole of Mysore, there were hardly any temples left untouched by him.”

A tighter editing hand was definitely needed to smooth out inconsistencies in style and lift the occasional dullness. At 728 pages, Splendour cannot be read in bed or taken on a journey. Sometimes the plethora of information is so confusing the reader has to ‘sit down and study’ the book. But I enjoyed the listing of the many names of Chamarajendra Wodeyar X at his coronation on September 23, 1868, a story in itself: “Srimatsamasta Bhoomandala Mandanaaya Mana Nikhila Deshaavatamsa Karnataka Janapada Sampadhishtana Vikalakalanidhi Kulakramagatha Rajakshitipala Pramukha Nikhila Rajadhiraja Maharaja Chakravarthigal Mandalaanubhootam…” and on for some 50 more honorifics before concluding with a victory chant. There are photographs too, but it’s curious how so many of the early Wodeyars seem to look so much like each other!

There are vignettes of the kind of hold women had on their ruler-husbands, references to less-talked about regions and people such as the Kodagus, and plenty of examples of human behaviour, including the Wodeyar practice of chopping off the noses of their enemies with sledgehammers. Or Haidar Ali’s style statement: “Tuesdays and Fridays were the stipulated days for his elaborate shaves. No one dared to disturb him while he was busy with this, usually till about noon. For some strange reason, after assuming kingship, he preferred his head to be completely hairless. The shave would begin from a tonsure to shaving of his facial hair – beard, moustache, eyelashes and eyebrows. This caused his sharp features to seem all the more prominent!”

Recommended reading, I would say. You can choose the bits you want to skip.

More Stories on : Books | Browser's Corner | Karnataka

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page