Dasara Expo set to open from today: Details here

Mysuru, Sep 26: The annual Dasara exhibition, which is a major attraction of the Dasara festivities, will be thrown open to the public from today. Tourism Minister Anand Prithviraj Singh will inaugurate the 90-day grand Dasara Exhibition at 4 pm at Dasara Exhibition Grounds.

The Dasara Exhibition features about 50 to 60 pavilions set up by various departments of the State Government. About 200 commercial stalls that feature a variety of items ranging from pottery and handicrafts to products from various cooperative weaving societies from Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and other parts of the country, and household and consumer items from different parts of the country will also be available.

The exhibition also features a food court with 40 to 50 kiosks selling a variety of eatables and an entertainment section offerring rides to the public.

According to reports, the Entry fee for adults is Rs 30 and for children is Rs 20. There will be also a separate fee for parking which is Rs 10 for two-wheelers, Rs 30 for cars and Rs 50 for buses. There will be no entry fee for School children on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi (Oct. 2) and also on Kannada Rajyotsava (Nov. 1), he added.

The Dasara exhibition, which remains open for around 90 days, could not be held during 2020 and 2021 due to restrictions on account of COVID-19 pandemic. The last Dasara exhibition was held in 2019, he said adding that the KEA was looking forward to holding it this year.

The Dasara exhibition was visited by around 11 lakh people during 2018 and around 11.5 lakh people during 2019.

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 Devaraja Urs revived the Dasara celebrations in 1975, which is being followed till date.