Curtains down on traditional 10-day Mysuru Dasara festivities

Mysuru, Oct 05: Curtains fell on the 10-day long world renowned Dasara celebrations in Mysuru with a spectacular Jamboo Savaari marking the grand finale. The event showcased vibrant culture of Karnataka with folk art forms, as howdah elephant 'Abhimanyu' walked through the more than 5 km route.

Popularly known as 'Nada Habba' (state festival), the Dasara was celebrated with royal pomp and glory, after being devoid of fanfare for the last two years in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A sea of people witnessed the 'Jambu Savari', a march of a dozen caparisoned elephants led by 'Abhimanyu' carrying the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari, the presiding deity of Mysuru royals, on a 750 kg howdah or ''Ambari'' with gold.

The grand procession was kicked off with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai offering pooja to the 'Nandi Dhwaja' (Nandi Flag) from the imposing Amba Vilas Palace premises, at the auspicious Makara Lagna between 2.36 pm to 2.50 pm.

A number of artists' or cultural groups and tableaux from various districts were also part of the procession, depicting its regional culture and heritage, covering a distance of about five km before ending at Bannimantapa.

Tableaux from various government departments, depicting various schemes or programmes and social message, were also part of the procession, as people had lined up along the procession route, hours before it started.

For the last two years, the procession was restricted to the Amba Vilas Palace premises, due to COVID-19.

The Chief Minister then flagged off the procession of caparisoned elephants by showering flowers on the idol Chamundeshwari, placed in a Howdah at around 5:38 pm.

He was accompanied by Mysuru royal family scion Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, District in-charge Minister S T Somashekar, Kannada and Culture Minister V Sunil Kumar, Mayor of Mysuru city and senior district administration officials.

The Dasara procession is held on ''Vijayadashami'' day, signifying the victory of good over evil.