JOIN USThe day after Dasara
Our country has so many ways of celebrating this 10-day festival, from Dasara to Dussehra, Navarathri to Vijayadashami. However, as my Aussie manager says, with this festival, we celebrate the concept of “the good always prevailing over evil”.
Mysore is my native city. However, I have never seen the Vijayadashami parade yet. As a child, Vijayadashami was the day I’d be travelling back home to Bengaluru — getting ready for school after a vacation. I have always seen the streets of Mysuru deserted after the parade just passed by.
Mysore Exhibition Ground is a favourite spot during Dasara. My aunts carrying homemade snacks, buying us new clothes instantly to change into after being drenched in the rain, some of the joy rides, and the final pitstop near the swings just before heading out... the memories are deeply etched in my mind.
Mysore hosts great attractions during Dasara. Everyone talks about the lightings, the jamboo savari, the culture and heritage, the overflow of talent shows and the rich itinerary at Banni Mantapa. Everyone wants to see it all! I usually stay away from Mysore during this time as it is too crowded. However, a few years ago, I got to live in Mysore for my studies. I lived there for two years and got to be a resident during Dasara. And I fell in love with the city! I always was, but not this way.
Way before the headlines start talking about the Mysore festivities, you get to notice the increased number of cops. I never knew horses were so huge and tall until I started finding myself next to them at the city traffic signals. Imagine a cop on a beautiful horse manning the traffic! And no, it does not feel British at all; it is so Indian — so Mysore! Then come the showstoppers, the elephants! Drona, Balarama, Arjuna and this year’s main guy, Abhimanyu — you hear all about them on TV channels, but if you are a resident of Mysore, you get to host them.
I am not an advocate of animal cruelty but when these majestic animals walk around the KR Circle with all that grace and calm, the feeling that gushes through your body is magical. There have been so many days when I have crossed their paths.
As Vijayadashami comes closer, you see the artwork on their legs and their trunks getting fuller. Watching the lights and the decorations getting installed, the crazy traffic and people speaking so many languages — it all makes a Mysorean overwhelmed.
And then suddenly, it all goes away. Everything is back to normal — no horse-mounted cops, no elephants, no traffic, no decorations. Only the feeling of being a part of something royal, majestic and beautiful stays on.
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