Mangaluru: ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, if one needs to know the actual meaning of this phrase then you should meet this Muslim family from Varanasi who are weaving saree for the Mangaluru Sharada.
A Muslim family from Varanasi’s Gyanvapi has been weaving saree for the Mangaluru Sharade for the last few years and is the 5th generation of saree makers from that family.
The weavers are related to Ustad Bismillah Khan, a Muslim who reveled in the sound of shehnai in Varanasi. This family specializes in Banarasi weaves and they weave saree for most of the temples in India.
The saree worn by Devi requires 6 months of preparation time and usually costs around 2 lakhs, but this year the sponsor has decided to donate a sari with gold zari at a cost of Rs 8 lakh as this is the 100th year of ‘Sharada Mahotsava’. The embroidery of the saree is hand-made.
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Mangaluru Sharada will be adorned with the Banarasi sari on the day of ‘Shobhayatre’ which is on October 6. On September 26, the day which marks the beginning of Dasara festivities the idol will be installed on the Acharya Mutt premises of Sri Venkatramana Temple in Car Street with the ‘alankara’ of Saraswathi and on the last day, the idol will have the ‘alankara’ of Sharada.
The festivities at the city’s temple square dates back to 1922 in order to unite people during the freedom struggle.
Mangaluru Dasara at Kudroli temple:
The Mangaluru Dasara festival will be celebrated at the Kudroli Gokarnanatha temple from September 26 to October 5, former Union Minister B Janaradhan Poojary, patron of the temple, told recently.
More than 10 lakh people from various districts of the state are expected to arrive in the city for the celebrations and preparations are on to hold the festival on a grand scale, he said.
Religious rituals will be held every day and food will be served to devotees. It is proposed to hold ‘Chandika Yaga’ in the glass house for the convenience of devotees.
