Mysuru Dasara, or Dussehra, is a royal festival celebrated with great splendour in Karnataka’s Mysore. Spanning over 10 days, the festival celebrates the victory of good over evil, specifically the triumph of Goddess Chamundeshwari over the demon Mahishasura.
Thousands gather as Vijayadashami procession marks end of 10-day festival. One of the major highlights of Mysuru Dasara is the Jumboo Savari, a grand procession held on Vijayadashami, the final day of the festival.
Elephants decorated in colorful garments and jewels, carry the royal family in a ceremonious procession through the streets of Mysore. The beautifully adorned howdah on the lead elephant holds a statue of Goddess Chamundeshwari, symbolizing the essence of the festival.
The procession, led by a dozen caparisoned elephants, is set to feature ‘Abhimanyu’, the majestic elephant carrying the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari.
As many as 7995 cops led by Mysore City Police Commissioner and Deputy Special officer of Procession IPS Seema Latkar, DCP (Crime and Traffic) S Jahnavi, DCP (Law and Order) M Mutthuraj ensured the conducts of smooth procession, crowd management and traffic control.
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.
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.
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.
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