“Let Talakad become sand,
Let Malingi become a whirlpool,
Let the Mysore Kings
fail to beget sons”
This is the Curse of Talakad. According to the legend, the curse was uttered 400 years ago by the wife of the defeated Viceroy of the Vijayanagar Empire on Raja Wodeyar of Mysore. People believe that the curse is real and that it still stands until now. Looking at the evidence at Talakad, Malingi and the Wodeyar genealogy, one is tempted to believe the curse: the ancient city of Talakad is completely buried under sand hills; Malingi is situated dangerously close to the churning waters of the Kaveri river and the Wodeyar genealogy has shown a strange pattern over the last 400 years.
The Curse of Talakad is no ordinary legend. It ties two natural events with a genealogical part that has predicted a sequence of future events right to this day. The documentary puts together all the evidence –archaeological, geological and historical– about the events at Talakad and Malingi as well as the historical facts about the Wodeyar genealogy. Some startling historical information from archival records and old travelogues give us clues that helped us solve the mystery of the Curse of Talakad… or almost.
- Direction: SASHI SIVRAMKRISHNA
- Production: KaBOoKa Research & Documentaries
