Every generation owes to the people of past generations in no small measure all the good things of life including ways of life, infrastructure in public domain that has endured to this day, texts that spell the grand rules for harmony in society, art forms such as music, sense of fellow-feeling towards other members of society, integrity of family vastly different from its contemporary feature and so on. While chroniclers bestow recognition to a few in the past generations for their contributions in sustaining the aforementioned good things as makers, their achievements have been made possible by others who have to remain unsung and unhonoured. Makers of Mysuru are in the same class with the Wadiyars, with their dynasty’s emergence dating back to the beginning of 14th century, (1399 to be exact), standing out. However, pages of history, mercifully, also include names of many others who stand out as legends, some attaining immortality by virtue of their extraordinary achievement in various fields of human endeavour. Even in this class, the Dewans of the erstwhile Princely State of Mysore have earned name and fame as makers of the State in general and Mysore in particular.

Talking of Mysore’s glorious past has been a highly  pleasing pastime for the region’s elderly fraternity with their fading memory of the glimpses of monarchy that ended with the birth of independent India. The young members of the present generation have neither a frame of mind to hear the chronicles that made Mysore a model State nor feel it a rewarding experience.

Mercifully, some elements of Mysuru’s past refined culture have been kept intact by Mysureans, including music sabhas, dance schools and centres of learning about classic literary works of giants of the field. The reality of inept upkeep of parks, playgrounds, public buildings, roads and water bodies that had made Mysore of the past a virtual heaven on earth is there for all to see, triggering the feeling of helplessness as the breakers of Mysuru are having their sway. The influx of people into the city during the reign of Wadiyars was marked by patronage to many among them who enriched the city’s image unlike those who took residence in the city during later years. This latter mass of non-Kannadigas cannot be missed for their role in the city’s socio-economic metamorphosis as it were.

Now that the hassles of commuting between Bengaluru and Mysuru are changing in both comfort of journey and time needed for each trip, Mysuru is on the cusp of hosting double its present headcount in foreseeable future. The dream of making Mysuru into Mysore of the past amounts to crying in wilderness. The future generations of Mysureans have to grin and bear it.