Princely Coorg and Chikka Veera Rajendra, it’s last Rajah
Scenic beauty of Coorg 1990 O ften I have felt that we Indians in general and Keralites in particular know little, literally and figuratively, about our own neighbours. Coorg, Kodagu (or Kodaimala nadu ) often referred to as the Scotland of India was one of our neighbouring independent princely states during the British Raj. Madikeri is the capital of the present day district of Coorg in Karnataka. The history of the Coorg Rajahs is delineated in the Rajendraname, a work compiled by order of Dodda Vira Rajendra Wodeyar, the hero of Coorg history, and the Coorg beau ideal of a warrior king. It comprises a period of 175 years, from 1633 to 1807. The life and times of Chikka Veerarajendra, the last Raja of Coorg makes very interesting reading and many of the incidences could beat the hell out of the stories of some Hollywood thrillers. I recall my visit to Madikeri twenty years back when I and my wife stayed there for a week for rest and recuperation enjoying the climate, the food and w...