Dasara festival kicked off in Mysore

The famous Dasara festival, a ten-day long cultural festival celebrated since centuries with traditional grandeur in the historic City of Mysore near here, was kicked off atop Chamundi Hills in Mysore yesterday.

With more than one million visitors expected to visit Mysore to savour the royal splendour that will unfold before their eyes during Dasara festival, the local administration has spruced up the historic city for the grand occasion by giving a make-over to the public buildings, roads and parks.

The famous Mysore Palace, which will be the cynosure of all eyes, will be illuminated for two hours during all the ten evenings of the Dasara festival. Close to 100,000 electric bulbs will light up simultaneously, creating a resplendent halo over the historic City. Cultural programmes featuring Hindustani and Carnatic music will enthrall the visitors to the Mysore Palace during the evenings.

Noted litterateur G Narayan inaugurated the festival atop Chamundi Hills near Mysore on Saturday morning to signal the start of a variety of programmes to entertain the young and the old alike. Air-show, Flower show, exhibition, musical concerts, wrestling competitions and adventures sports are just a few of the programmes organised as part of Mysore Dasara.

Apart from the state-sponsored festivities, the prince of the Mysore royal family Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar will continue the legacy of the Dasara celebrations by observing all the religious rituals. Wodeyar will ascend the 200-kg golden throne and hold a private durbar on all the ten days of Dasara.

While the private durbar is open only the family members and servants of the royal household, the priceless golden throne will be kept for public viewing before and after the private durbar. The centuries old bejewelled throne is guarded by a huge posse of policemen round the clock, besides being monitored by close-circuit television sets.

The Dasara festival culminates with a grand procession on the tenth day when caparisoned elephants will march through the main thoroughfares of the City carrying the golden howdah or the palanquin. The howdah, made out of 750 kgs of solid gold, has two wide seats in rows, bigger than a family car.

The procession, which also comprises colourful tableux depicting various events and regions of Karnataka, will reach Bannimantap Parade Grounds, where a torch light parade is held. A dazzling display of fireworks over the City will bring curtains on the ten-day Dasara festival.