The Mysuru Palace Ambari dispute has taken a conciliatory turn after royal family member Pramoda Devi Wadiyar said the family is ready to hold talks with the Karnataka government and will not allow the disagreement to continue until the next Dasara. She also clarified that the payment made for the Ambari is an honorarium for its use in government publicity, not rent.
Speaking to reporters at the palace premises on Wednesday, Wadiyar said the government uses the Ambari for publicity after taking it for the Dasara celebrations. She said the payment was made because the family’s property is being used for promotional purposes, including Dasara publicity material and ticket sales for the Jamboo Savari procession from outside the Mysuru Palace.
Wadiyar said the amount should be understood as royal payment or an honorarium rather than a rental charge. Her clarification comes amid a broader disagreement over the use and control of ceremonial assets associated with Mysuru Dasara, one of Karnataka’s largest public cultural events.
She further said the royal family’s continued residence in the Mysuru Palace is based on an existing court order. It should not, she said, be treated as government generosity or a special concession extended to the former royal family. The Mysuru Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Act, 1998, applies only to the palace, she said, and does not affect other properties included in the list of private assets of the Maharaja of Mysuru.
Wadiyar also stated that the throne and the Ambari had remained in the family’s possession and continued to do so. She said the family could approach the court if religious rituals conducted within the palace premises were obstructed. At the same time, she said the family had maintained restraint despite difficulties and did not intend to disrupt government programmes. She appealed for similar cooperation so that the family’s own programmes were not affected.
Addressing an earlier public disagreement, Wadiyar said she had not blamed the government during her previous press conference but had pointed out confusion caused by the police and offered suggestions. She described the government’s Dasara programme as a cultural celebration and said the chariot festival at Chamundi Hill was also connected to Dasara.
She said that large crowds can make it difficult for many devotees to have darshan at Chamundi Hill. Her suggestion was that the procession be held on the day of the chariot festival so that religious observances on Vijayadashami and Ayudha Puja could be conducted more smoothly.
Wadiyar welcomed Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s statement that any difficulty would be examined and resolved through discussions. She said she was ready to meet the Chief Minister and ministers and would not pursue the matter out of hostility. The next step identified in her statement is dialogue between the royal family and the state government over the disputed arrangements and the conduct of related Dasara and palace activities.
