The world-famous Mysore Dasara celebrations culminated on Friday with the iconic Jumbo Savari – a grand procession of elephants carrying idols of deities including Sri Chamundeshwari – which took place in the premises of the Mysuru Palace.
The key attraction was the ”Jamboo Savari”, the procession of the city”s presiding deity Goddess Chamundeshwari, an avatar of Durga, mounted on a golden howdah (seat) on the caparisoned elephant Abhimanyu. It was accompanied by other caparisoned pachyderms. Behind them were the tableaux, the cultural troupes of dancers of various art forms such as Yakshagana, Dollu Kunita and Nadaswaram players. Earning the recognition of the ”Naada Habba” or state festival, the Dasara celebrations were dedicated to the coronavirus warriors with a tableau of a nurse wearing a mask following the Jamboo Savari. Unlike the five-km-long procession from the Mysuru palace to Banni Mantapa, the Jamboo Savari procession was taken out to a distance of only 400 metres. Amid the chant of Vedic hymns, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa performed the Nandi Dhwaja by showering petals on the idol of Chamundeshwari Devi in front of the Balarama Gate along with the Mysuru royal family members.