Goa's last King Wadiyar dead
PANJIM: Raja Savai Veer Sadashiv Rajendra Basavling
Wodeyar, Goa's last king who later became feudatory of Portuguese,
passed away at Belgaum on March 19. He was a direct descendant of the
Vijayanagar empire rulers of Belgaum. Popularly known as Raje Saundekar, the
King of Sonda, a historic place 10 kms from Sirsi in Karnataka, was
cremated at Nagzar-Curti, Ponda on March 20. The Kingdom of "Sonda"
consisted of the talukas of Ponda, Sanguem, Canacona and Quepem before the
Saundekars clinched a pact with the Portuguese in January 1764. The kings
lived for some time in a palatial house at Goalim Moula before shifting
to Nagueshim. He was 72, they said. The mortal remains of Wodeyar were
brought to Shiv Tirth palace, his residence in Nagueshi from Belgaum
for the last rites. Before the cremation, Prasanna Kumar was sworn in as
the new king in the palace in a colourful ceremony by his mother,
Umaraje Vadeyar in the afternoon at a packed audience, which spilled into
the compound of the Nagueshim palace and beyond, watched in rapt
attention. (GT)