Travancore Royal Family Skips Temple Entry Proclamation Anniversary Event
Illness Cited Amidst Controversy Over "Queen" Titles
The former Travancore royal family withdrew from an event commemorating the 87th anniversary of the Temple Entry Proclamation after a public uproar about pamphlets labelling them as "queens" and their usage of salutations that were formerly exclusive to royalty.
Due to an undisclosed illness, Gauri Parvathi Bai and Gauri Lakshmi Bai, who were supposed to attend the function and light the ceremonial lamp, chose not to go.
The Travancore Devaswom Board, which oversees Hindu temples in southern Kerala, arranged the ceremony to commemorate the signing of the Temple Entry Proclamation on November 12, 1936, by the then-Maharaja Sree Chitra Thirunal Balarama Varma.
K. Ananthagopan, head of the Travancore Devaswom Board, said reporters on Monday that the two sisters had reported feeling "indisposed" and had thus opted not to attend the function.
The board's director of culture and archeology, G. Madhusoodhanan Nair, did not attend the ceremony either, since it was he who disseminated the pamphlet attributing the Temple Entry Proclamation to Balarama Varma and referring to his two descendants as “HH” (for Her Highness) and “queens”.
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