Victoria Gouramma

As I was wrapping up Chitra Divakaruni’s “The Last Queen” I ran across an interesting historical figure – Victoria Gouramma. One could decipher the intermingling of religions with this name. As it happens and continues to happen in India such names imply conversion from the Hindu faith to other faiths. Kindled by curiosity, I did some reading, and this is the story of Victoria Gouramma.

Gouramma was the daughter of Chikavira Rajendra who was the last ruler of Coorg (Kodagu) in South India.  In April 1834, the East India Company annexed his Kingdom and exiled him. From Coorg, he migrated to Banaras where he lived on an annual allowance of 12,000 British Pounds for 18 years. Determined to get his kingdom back he traveled to London in 1853 with his daughter Gouramma. He was unsuccessful in getting is kingdom back and died in 1859.

Gouramma was eighteen when he died, and the British kept her under the care of Major Drummond and his wife who had earlier accompanied the king during his trip from India. Gouramma was baptized to Christianity in 1952 and died prematurely in 1864 at the age of twenty-three.

Chikavira Rajendra himself was a devout Hindu and when Gouramma was converted to Christianity, he was alive. One wonders why did he allow this to happen?

Gouramma was a contemporary of Maharajah Dilip Singh who was also exiled in England at that time. Initially, Queen Victoria tried to have Dilip Singh marry Gouramma, but Dilip Singh refused. Eventually, Gouramma married another Englishman who was 30 years older than her and had a daughter, Edith Victoria Gouramma.

Robert Yardley, the great-great-grandson of Gouramma is alive and lives in Australia according to Author C.P.Belliappa.