SRIRANGAPATNA: Though the Mandya district administration has released funds for celebrating Dasara at the fort town of Srirangapatna on the banks of the Cauvery, the monuments of the Wadiyars, who made the town their capital for 189 years, lie in neglect. As a result, there is little awareness about the Wadiyars’ rich contribution to the town.The birth places of many of the 25 kings of the Mysore royal family, the ruins of Kempananja Ammani cemetery and that of Kasa Chamraja Wadiyar, have turned eye sores.The Wadiyars, who made Sriranagapatna their capital from 1610 to 1799, built the three-layered forts. Thimmanna Habbara, Raja Wodeyar and Ranadheera Kanteerava each built a layer at Jaladurga, naturally protected by the river around the Srirangaptana island.Though Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan ruled Srirangapatna for 37 years after the Wadiyars moved their capital to Mysore, the Wadiyars had already the developed Sri Ranganathaswamy temple, constructed an armoury, the Bangaradoddi Nala for drinking water in Srirangapatna and constructed bridges and water gates under the supervision of Dewan Poornaiah and others.The Wadiyars celebrated Navarathri from the Palace opposite the Ranganathaswamy Temple, now a park, and took out processions with cultural troupes and palace soldiers to Kiranggur village to offer Banni puja. The king and royal family participated in Dasara, sitting on a horse in the Vijayadashmi procession.Researchers feel that besides cultural events for Darasa, the government must name junctions in the town after Maharajas, educate people about the 90 monuments and protect inscriptions at monuments, including Wellesley Bridge.Researcher Sathyanarayana said portraits of all the 25 kings should be exhibited during Dasara and a heritage walk introduced.He called for conservation of known and unexplored monuments and to establish a research and information disseminating centre to attract tourists to the town considered to be a treasure trove of monuments.
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