Karnataka - Mysore

A bigger, brighter Mysore Dasara

— PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

Enchanting venue: All eyes will be drawn to the illuminated Mysore Palace during Dasara festivities from Tuesday.

MYSORE: A riot of colour and the brilliance of the illuminated palace will hold the tourists and the local people spellbound as the city inaugurates the Dasara festivities on Tuesday.

Though celebrated across the country, Dasara in Mysore is unique. It is a historical legacy inherited by the Wadiyars from the Vijayanagar emperors, who celebrated it at Hampi. In Mysore, Dasara and Vijayadashmi are also associated with the slaying of demon Mahishasura by goddess Chamundeshwari.

Declared officially as the Naada Habba or State festival, Dasara in Mysore will have all the trappings of the ancient and the modern, the religious and the secular, thus presenting a tapestry of images that depicts both continuity and change. Mysore has been decked up, with its heritage structures illuminated as the city goes on overdrive to woo visitors and showcase its tourism potential as a one-stop destination for all seasons.

Celebrated to mark the triumph of good over evil, Dasara has emerged as a cultural carnival, a religious celebration and an event to boost tourism. The Government has sanctioned Rs. 10 crore for the celebrations, the highest ever in the history of modern Dasara. Efforts are on to pull out all stops to make it a benchmark for future editions of the festivities.

Tourists visiting Mysore between September 30 and October 9 will have over 320 cultural programmes, held in over a dozen venues, to choose from. There were less than 160 programmes last year, which only testifies to the fact that Dasara in Mysore is getting bigger and more popular each year.

And it is the Mysore Palace, under the brilliance of 96,000 lights, that will hold centre stage as leading musicians like the Priya Sisters, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Ronu Majumdar and K.J. Yesudas perform in its backdrop. .

Cultural programmes are being held at Jaganmohan Palace, Town Hall, Kalamandira and Veene Seshanna Bhavan. Yuva Dasara programmes will be held at the Maharaja’s College grounds where Vasundhara Das, Shankar Mahadevan, Shivamani, Praveen Godkhindi and others will belt out their numbers in a fusion of rhythm and raag. The traditional kusti or wrestling will be staged alongside heritage tongas, to woo those with a penchant for the past. Along with the traditional images of caparisoned elephants, there will be shades of the present, when the Indian Air Force fighter planes zip past during the Dasara Air Show.

The State Government has planned a publicity blitz and is reaching out to the world through its official website, www.mysoredasara.com, which is available in more than two dozen foreign languages including Korean, Japanese and Chinese.

The inauguration will be held from 10.48 a.m to 11.16 p.m. by Sri Shivakumar Swamiji of Siddaganga Math, in Tumkur, atop the Chamundi Hills. Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa will be present.

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