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Mysuru Mayor Appears On A Wall As 'King' Ahead Of Dasara Celebrations

Royal mistake.
Procession on Dasara festival Military guardsmen marching at Mysore Palace Karnataka, India.
santhosh_varghese via Getty Images
Procession on Dasara festival Military guardsmen marching at Mysore Palace Karnataka, India.

The mayor of Mysuru, the heritage city in Karnataka that was hailed as India's cleanest in 2015 and 2016 respectively, has landed in trouble, thanks to a wall painting ahead of the annual Dasara celebrations.

Timed with the Dusshera festival in the North, the yearly ritual in Mysuru is commemorated with pomp and splendour, with processions being taken from the royal palace in the city. Mayor MJ Ravi Kumar personally goes out on horseback to supervise the city is adequately cleaned and in order for such a major event.

However, ahead of this year's festivities, an alleged misstep by a painter commissioned to decorate a wall in the city has landed Ravi Kumar in trouble.

According to a report in Bangalore Mirror, a local artist was asked to paint images of the kings of Mysuru on a wall near Gayathri Circle. While undertaking this task, he also depicted the mayor on horseback led by a soldier, royal fashion, leading to outrage among the public. Although the mayor denied giving any orders to such an effect, the residents disagreed, seeing it as a motivated step by Ravi Kumar.

Under Ravi Kumar's watch, Mysuru was crowned the cleanest city in India for two consecutive years. During his time, the city has seen some unique civic ventures such as the institution of the Wall of Kindness, which is meant to collect donations from civilians for the aid of the poor and the needy.

The offending image on the wall was later painted over with the words "Welcome to Mysuru Dasara".

Although monarchy in Mysuru ended with the abolition of princely states as India became independent, the public holds the Wodeyar dynasty, which ruled it from 1399 till 1947, in high regard. Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja is the 27th and present titular Maharaja of Mysore and head of the former Wodeyar rulers.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.