Mayor horse 'savari' record of sorts

Two from the same family have been lucky to keep the tradition alive- with her husband T B Chikkanna who had decorated the coveted seat of mayor in 2002-03. However, the only difference here is, Chikkanna had to miss the chance of a bigger event with ‘Jamboo Savari’ restricted to the precincts of the Palace that year. Owing to drought that had ravaged some parts of the State, the then chief minister S M Krishna had decided to make Dasara a low-key affair. As a result all the paraphernalia of the festival was confined to the Palace compound.

Recalling the year Chikkanna told Deccan Herald, he was still happy to be a part of the once in a lifetime opportunity. “It could also been the wish of fate too, but I don’t have any regrets”, Chikkanna said. However, some of the organisations had decided to go beyond and took out a procession till Bannimantap, the culmination point of ‘Jamboo Savari’.  
Now, Pushpalatha Chikkanna who is regularly practicing horse riding said- its’ really a privilege for the woman who didn’t even know how to pedal a bicycle to ride a horse, a challenge for me. Initially she was practicing in the ground near Mounted Police headquarters. For the past three days, she is taking to road early in the morning on horseback only to get acclimatised with the hustle-bustle. She owes it all (for learning the ropes with ease) to mounted police commandant Maribha Shetty.

What more could she ask for being a part of all fanfare in her maiden entry to the Mysore City Corporation (MCC) as a corporator. Though a novice, it couldn’t prevent her from occupying mayor’s seat. Thanks to the change in reservation of the constituency (ward 21) earlier represented by her husband Chikkanna, which forced her to plunge into the political arena from Ward 24 reserved for backward woman.