1. Renaming the Tipu Express as Wodeyar Express achieves two goals at the same time. On one hand it derecognizes a blood-thirsty tyrant and on the other hand it recognizes the true kings of Mysore.
2. Many other scholars have gone deep into how Tipu was a bloodthirsty tyrant and how he killed Brahmins and Hindus indiscriminately including the horrible massacre of the Brahmins at Melukote. I won’t be adding anything more to it.
3. But Mysore is quintessentially a Wodeyar city. The glory of the Wodeyars is everywhere in the city. Almost every second building is an imitation of the Mysore palace. The imprint of the royal family is seen in the civil and cultural institutions in the city.
4. Wodeyars functioned as the typical Hindu kings, taking care of the city like one would of one’s children. The feeling that it is their city is palpable there with their imprint seen everywhere.
5. The influence of the kings who take the city as their primary responsibility can be seen in the aesthetic quotient of Mysore. It is not like a government developed lifeless city. It has a soul, and it is because the kings take it to be their dharma to take care of the city.
6. More cities and towns should be named on the communities, families, kings and Hindu institutions who took care of these places in place of and in spite of the State.
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