By R.G. Singh, Secretary, Ramsons Kala Pratishtana
We all have heard about the Order of the British Empire (OBE), where the British monarchy confers awards to civilians who have contributed in the field of arts, sports, science, etc. Similarly our Wadiyars too had a Royal ‘Order of the Gandaberunda’ and Star of Mysore recalls this princely honour as 2017 marks 125 years of the institution of Order of Gandaberunda. The Order of Gandaberunda was instituted by His Highness Sri Sir Chamarajendra Wadiyar, the 23rd Maharaja in 1892 to confer recognition of (1) meritorious service rendered by public servants, (2) voluntary acts of private philanthropy and (3) services rendered for the cause of learning. Between 1892 and January 26, 1950 around 304 individuals were given this Order. The ‘Palace Annual Gradation Lists’ in the State Archives mentions a few such awardees. Now the reason we recall this princely honour in this special edition of Star of Mysore is because 2017 marks 125 years of the institution of Order of Gandaberunda (Figure 1).
