The Maharajas of Mysore had an immense influence on Tumkur which was a part of Old Mysore province. They kings, till Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, encouraged education while the scion of the royal family Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar encouraged the sports.
The kings donated land to educational institutions and also to some industries for progress.
As a mark of it their contribution, some residential layouts were named after Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV who ruled over the Mysore province from 1894 to 1940. In Tumkur, the District Central Library and the Town Hall, now converted as city MLA’s office, are also named after the king.
“Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar inaugurated the Siddaganga High School on B H Road in 1940s and had also called on Shivakumara Swamiji then”, Siddaganga Math AO Vishwanathaiah recalled.
His son Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadeyar’s connection was different as he would always identify himself with the sports and recreational clubs.
He would frequent Tumkur since 1980 when he had taken part in the State-level Kho-Kho championship conducted by the Young Challengers Club.
During the KSCA elections in 2008, he visited Dasarighatta near Tiptur and sought the predictions from the soothsayer deity Sri Chowdeshwari.
During the last KSCA elections, the Occasional club, also elected, threw weight behind him.
The mentor of the club, 87-year-old Dr C Jayarama Rao told Express that Wadiyar had a great vision for cricket.
“He had recently asked me to find a land to construct a stadium in Tumkur,” he recalled.
The Pills and the Dry Fruits
The local journalists had an opportunity to interact with him during his visit in 2008 to take part in the silver jubilee of the City Club. He spoke casually. Later the journalists peeped inside his car to be surprised to see a heap of dry fruits and a box of pills beside it as well.