Mysuru Dasara elephant march enthrals lakhs

| | BENGALURU
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Mysuru Dasara elephant march enthrals lakhs

Saturday, 20 October 2018 | Kestur Vasuki | BENGALURU

The Navarathri festival in the Southern city of Mysuru concluded on Friday with the world famous Jumboo Savari witnessed by lakhs of people. The celebration of victory over evil draws devotees from around the world to this place. Mysuru Dasara, now the nada habba  (state festival), represents various streams of cultural heritage.

The Vijayadashami festivity which marks the jumboo savari (elephant march) also showcased Karnataka's cultural heritage resplendent with folk art forms, as 'Arjuna' led other richly embellished elephants through the more than 5-km route from Mysuru Palace to Bannimantapa.

The majestic pachyderm  Arjuna carrying the idol of goddess Chamundeshwari, placed in a 750-kg golden howdah, found its way from the grand Mysore palace to the cheers of lakhs.

The "Jumbo savari", observed in the royal style since the days of the erstwhile Mysuru Maharajas, began with Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy along with his wife Anita showering petals on Goddess Chamundeshwari, the presiding deity of the historical city.

Armed contingents, including the mounted police, are part of the procession that conjures up images of a bygone era when the maharajas used to celebrate Dasara and cap it with the victory procession.

Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wodeyar, the scion of the erstwhile Mysuru Royal family, also offered puja to the Goddess. Pramoda Devi Wodeyar is the widow of Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar, the last descendant of the Wodeyar dynasty. Srikantadatta Narashimharaja Wodeyar had died of cardiac arrest on December 10, 2013.

This will be followed by the torchlight parade at the Bannimantap Grounds, which includes equestrian events besides a display of synchronised exercise and motorcycling by police personnel. The torchlight parade will officially bring down the curtains on the 10-day festival, popularly termed the 'Naada Habba', which is also a celebration of the State's and the country's diverse culture.

The Dasara festivities began with the  Vijayanagara Kings  as early as the 15th Century. The festival played a historical role in the 14th-century at Vijayanagara empire where it was called Mahanavami and the festivities are shown in the relief artwork of the outer wall of the Hazara Rama temple at Hampi, the world heritage site.

After the fall of the Vijayanagar to Deccan Sultanates, these celebrations came to an end under Muslim rulers.  The Wodeyars of Mysuru formed a kingdom in Southern parts of the Vijayanagara Empire and continued the Mahanavami (Dasara) festival celebration, a tradition started initially by Raja Wodeyar I (1578-1617 CE) in the year 1610 at Srirangapatna near Mysuru.

Mysuru is a great tourist destination attracts thousands to the ten day festivities in Navaratri. The city is also known as cultural capital of Karnataka has many tourist destinations around the city which include Chamundi hills, Krishnaraja Sagara Dam, century old zoo garden, Srirangapatana and other places.

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