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Celebrated as ‘Nada Habba’ (state festival), the Dasara or ‘Sharan Navaratri’ festivities was a grand affair this year, depicting Karnataka’s rich culture and traditions, reminiscent of royal pomp and glory.
Thousands of people witnessed the ‘Jamboo Savari’, a march of about a dozen caparisoned elephants led by ‘Abhimanyu’ carrying the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari, the presiding deity of Mysuru and its royals, on a 750 kg howdah or “Ambari” with gold.
The grand procession began with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah along with Deputy CM D K Shivakumar offering pooja to the ‘Nandi Dhwaja’ (Nandi Flag) from the imposing Amba Vilas Palace premises, at the auspicious Makara Lagna between 1.41 pm to 2.10 pm at the Balarama gate of the palace.
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The procession consisting of a number of artists’ or cultural groups and tableaux from various districts, depicting its regional culture and heritage, covered a distance of about five kms before culminating at Bannimantapa.
Tableaux from different government departments, depicting various schemes or programmes and social messages, are also part of the procession, with people in large numbers lining up along the procession route amid some showers.
The Chief Minister and other dignitaries including Shivakumar then flagged off the procession of caparisoned elephants by showering flowers on the idol Chamundeshwari, placed in a Howdah, at around 5 pm.
Following the customs, 21 shots were fired from the cannons, as elephant Abhimanyu carrying the goddess in Howdah, arrived at the specially erected dais, from where the CM offered flowers to the goddess.
The Dasara procession is held on “Vijayadashami” day, signifying the victory of good over evil.
During the days of yore, the king would sit in the howdah accompanied by his brother and nephew. Sri Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar was the last royal King of Mysuru to ride in howdah.
The tradition of the Dasara procession continues to this day but now, instead of kings, the idol of the presiding deity of the Mysuru city, Goddess Chamundeshwari, is taken in procession in the howdah. The core of the 750-kg howdah is said to be wood, but is covered with 80 kg of gold.
At the palace, keeping up with the traditions, the erstwhile royal family scion Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, dressed in grand attire, took out the ‘Vijaya Yatra’ from Amba Vilas Palace till Bhuvaneshwari Devi temple, within the premises, where he performed special pooja to ‘Shami’ tree, earlier in the day.
Ahead of this, ‘Vajramushti Kalaga’, a special duel between ‘Jetties’ (wrestlers) armed with a ‘Vajramushti’ or a knuckle-duster, was also part of the celebrations at the palace on Saturday, in which Jetties from various parts of the state participated.
Festivities have doubled for the erstwhile royal family as Trishika Kumari Devi, wife of Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, who is also Mysore-Kodagu MP, has given birth to their second child – a baby boy – at a private hospital in Mysuru on Friday.
Various programmes were held for last nine auspicious days of Navrathri, during which the palace, major streets, turnarounds or circles and buildings of Mysuru were beautified by illuminating them with lights, fondly known as “Deepalankaara”, and cultural programmes were held at various venues.
Dozens of events like food mela, flower show, cultural programmes, farmers’ Dasara, women’s Dasara, Yuva Dasara, children’s Dasara, and poetry recital attracted people this year, along with regular crowd pullers like the famous Dasara procession (Jamboo Savari), Torch Light Parade, and Mysuru Dasara Exhibition, turning the city into a carnival of sorts.
The torchlight parade was held at the Bannimantap grounds on Saturday evening, where Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot was the chief guest.
Drone show was also part of the Dasara celebrations.
The Navaratri celebrations at the palace included several rituals every day, most remarkably Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, dressed in grand attire, conducting ‘Khasagi durbar’ (private durbar) by ascending the golden throne, amid chanting of Vedic hymns.
Dasara was celebrated by the rulers of the Vijayanagar empire and the tradition was inherited by the Wadiyars of Mysuru.
Festivities were first started in Mysuru by the Wadiyar King, Raja Wadiyar I in the year 1610.
It became a private affair of the royal family following the abolition of the privy purse in 1971 and the discontinuation of the privileges of the erstwhile rulers.
However, a low-key Dasara used to be held on the initiative of the local people until the state government stepped in and the then Chief Minister D Devaraj Urs revived the Dasara celebrations in 1975, which is being followed till date.