Half way through the 10-day Dasara festivities that was inaugurated on October 15th, the cultural zing is gaining traction in the city which has put its best foot forward to showcase a slice of the State heritage through a slew of events that is drawing good response.
The Durbar hall concerts in front of the illuminated palace continues to be the main draw given the illustrious history and the association with the royal past. The splendour of the Dasara festival received a regal touch thanks to the Wadiyars of Mysuru who made it a State event through lavish celebration with focus on art and culture.
The who’s who of Indian classical music have performed at the durbar hall concerts during the hey days of the maharajas and the same tradition has been continued since then to make Mysuru Dasara music festival a prestigious event. But unlike the days of the maharajas, the cultural events are no longer confined to the palace thought it is the most prestigious.
The events are being held at 11 different venues in the city including the Town Hall, Kalamandira, Rani Bahadur auditorium, Rangayana, Kalinga Rao auditorium at the exhibition grounds, J.K. Grounds, Maharaja’s College ground to name a few.
The open space opposite the Kote Anjaneyaswamy temple abutting Jayarama and Balarama gates was also the venue for the launch of cultural events like Rangoli contest which drew tremendous response on October 16. The Town Hall is the starting point for various heritage-related activities like heritage cycling which commenced on Thursday, heritage tonga ride to be held on Friday and heritage walk slated for Saturday.
The food mela at the Scouts and Guides grounds behind the old DC office is drawing good crowd as usual and is an opportunity to taste the culinary delights from different parts of the State while Yuva Dasara at the maharaja’s college ground tends to draw the college-going students in large numbers.
Apart from the Palace cultural events, it is the flower show at the Kuppanna Park which is a favourite of the locals and the tourists alike. The Horticulture Department has left no stone untoward in making it a memorable event with floral decorations depicting some of the current developments including the success of Chandraayan-3 which is a great draw among the visitors.
The illumination is not confined to palace alone in the present times and lighting is extended to cover main thoroughfares of the city. Nearly 120 km length of roads have been decorated to view which people go on a drive around the city at night. The heritage buildings of Mysuru and public offices are also lit up which transforms Mysuru into a fairy land at night during Dasara making the celebrations one of its kind in the country. Raitha Dasara, Mahila Dasara, Yoga Dasara, and Makkala Dasara are other events related to the festival being held as part of the 10-day festival.
