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Mysuru Dasara 2022: a fusion of lights, splendour, elephants and more
Mysuru is the place to go for the Dasara festival as the city observes celebrations with great zeal every year, with its palace lights, jamboo savari procession, dance and musical performances putting the rich culture on display.
Mysuru Dasara is termed as the ‘Naada Habba’, meaning the state festival of Karnataka which has a 400-year-old history of celebrations. It is a 10-day event which marks the victory of good over evil during the nine of the Navaratri festival that culminates on the last day of Vijayadashami. The festival became especially famous in Mysuru because of its history with Goddess Chamundeshwari.
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According to Hindu legend, Goddess Chamundeshwari (a form of Goddess Durga) killed Mahishasura, a demon, which gave Mysuru its name. The festival began on Monday this year and will end on October 5.
One of the main crowd pullers every year is the lighting around the Mysuru palace, which remains lit from 7pm to 10pm on all days of the festival. It is said that the palace is covered with nearly 1,00,000 light bulbs to give it the ethereal look.
This is accompanied by various cultural and religious programs including dance and music performances, which put a spotlight on the culture of Mysuru and Karnataka as a state. Vijayadashami, the last day of the festival, brings another spectacular eye-catcher: the jamboo savari procession.
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An elephant, decorated from crown to toe, will carry the 750-kg-heavy Goddess Chamundeshwari idol on its back to a banni tree for worship, while dance groups, music bands, horses, camels and colourful tableaux will join the parade in a show of culture and art.
Here's a look at how people are celebrating this year's Navaratri at Mysuru:
“Breath-taking views of Mysuru as Karnataka gears up for the Naada Habba Dasara 2022.”
“My city in a festive mood.”
Many temples were decked up for the festivities, with the city looking like a string of lights.
This year's festivities also included a tribute to people's favourite ‘Appu’, Puneeth Rajkumar, popular Kannada actor who passed away last year. Decorations included sand sculptures and portraits of the late actor. Take a look:
As expected of Mysuru, glimpses from inside its beautiful palace also came on social media, where H H Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, Maharaja of Mysuru, conducted ceremonies. Here are some pictures of the royals.
Traffic is also a known problem during Dasara in the city. To tackle the issue, cops have made a ‘no vehicle zone’ around the Mysuru Palace till October 4, so visitors can enjoy the lighting of the palace in peace, the Deccan Herald reported.
