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Road to non-stop festival

Bala Chauhan

J C Nagar is the only place in the City, which hosts the annual Dasara festival every year. Metrolife feels the pulse of the road, right in the middle of festivity.

The last two day’s rain had left the sprawling ground in a mess. The forecast for the day further said Bangaloreans should expect another downpour. That left the narrow 30-feet cement road drenched with rain and sewerage water. What as usual worsened the condition was the traffic that rips apart Jaya Chamraj Nagar (J C Nagar) road at all times of the day. Yet in all this mess, one could spot the unassembled pieces of the merry-go-round, Tora Tora, giant wheel that were just offloaded on the ground to be installed. And like harbingers of a splendid harvest, they raised hope of another festival, another Dasara.

This year on a bigger scale, says Jayamahal Block President (Congress) Krishne Gowda. “Last year the Bangalore Nagar Mahapalike sanctioned Rs 3 lakh for the Dasara celebrations. This year, they have allocated Rs 4.5 lakh for the event,” he says. J C Nagar is the only place in the City where Dasara celebrations take place every year.

“It’s a 40-year-old tradition. For the first event the BMP had released Rs 15,000. Subsequently, they have been gradually rasing the limit every year. The actual expenses come to about Rs 12 lakh, which are raised through party workers,” says Mr Gowda.

The ground on which the festivities are held belongs to the Army. Every year, they rent it out for the occasion. The 10-day festival begins with much fan fare and activities. “On an average, around four to five thousand people come here every day. On Vijaydashmi, the number swells from 15,000 to 20,000 people,” he says. There’s practically every thing for the body and the soul; from a make-shift amusement park, music and orchestra to theatre, food and religion. There are innumerable mobile food and chaat stalls thronged by visitors.

The entire event has a huge character to it, distinct from the glitz of pop and high-end entertainment in the City of a swank lifestyle.

Businessman Manoj Jain has his jewellery store Moti Jewellers bang opposite the Dasara ground. “It’s a ritual I was born with. There are equal number of Muslims and Hindus in the area and everyone pitches in to make Dasara a huge success. This is the best part of the celebration,” he says. Purohit Ramesh of the famous Maheshwaramma temple in J C Nagar says apart from the main celebrations on the ground the temples on the road (there are three temples, including the Devi temple) wear a festive look. “On the Vijayadashmi day, the idol of Vishwamitra (placed at the entrance of the temple) is taken along with 65 deities in the night-long procession,” says the priest.

What makes the area more vibrant is the harmony the residents live with. K S Khan, who runs Fancy Flower Stall, the lone garland shop, says there’s never been any problem since the communal riot in the early 1970s.

“Dasara is everybody’s festival and so is Ramzan. Mashallah! The residents of this place are in sync with each other,” he smiles as his voice rises above the din of the loud music in the background.

Though Dasara comes once a year, the festivities never stop on this 30-feet road. The Jamia Masjid at the entrance of the road beckons the faithful to prayer five times a day. Said to be around 100 years old, the mosque attracts a thousand devotees during the holy month of Ramzan. J C Nagar has every thing going for it, from medical to wine stores; cosmetic to dentist clinic, electrical to electronic, restaurants to Irani chai shops. Adding colour to the festivals are the rows of samosa vendors and an 81-year old Abdul Rahim of ‘786 Tea Stall’.