Sudha Murthy's nostalgic memories of Mysore Dasara

Bengaluru, Oct 10: Sudha Murthy, the wife of Infosys founder Narayan Murthy, inaugurated Dussehra celebrations in Mysore on Wednesday. In an interview with OneIndia, Sudha Murthy turned nostalgic about her first visit to the Dasara festival in 1959.

Sudha Murthy, said, "I never expected that I would receive the honour of the inaugurating the Mysore Dasara. Neither dreamt of it nor thought of this opportunity. However, I was very happy when I was invited to inaugurate the historic festival. It is not only the festival of Mysuru but also the cultural festival of the entire Kannada region. I was delighted that a common Kannadiga like me got an opportunity to inaugurate Dasara."

She said, "I came to see Mysore Dasara with my parents for the first time in 1959 (then 9 years old). We stayed in relative's home in Mysore. The spectacular sight of Mysore Dasara is still vivid in my memory. Then, the Maharaja of Mysore used to be on Jamboo Sawari. I remember thousands of people gathered on either side of the Maharaja's procession. I bought colourful ribbons, devoured sweets during the festival. Also, I went to Krishnarajasagar Dam (KRS). That was my first visit to Mysore and Dasara as well.

"Now it's my pleasure to have the opportunity to inaugurate the same Mysore Dasara, " she added.

Sudha Murthy, who is chairman of the Infosys Foundation, said, " This Dasara should be celebrated in a simple manner as the state has witnessed severe floods and drought situation. In my opinion, the festival gets better if it is simple.

It may be recalled that Sudha Murthy, who is always ready to serve the Kannada people, recently reached out flood-affected people Kodagu. She personally took charge of supply of relief materials.