Art and artistry of light during grand finale

Stunning performance with torchlights held in hands

With a colorful display at Torchlight Parade Grounds on Monday, the 403rd edition of Mysore Dasara drew to a close. Memorable events marked the ceremony, with a packed audience treated to an extravagant display of art and artistry at the Grounds.

Even though the Parade by Yelahanka Police Training Institute was the center of attraction at the Grounds, Laser Show, Bike Stunt Show and other cultural activities too added flare to the event.

The famous parade, which was the last event of the day provided a golden glow to the event for over two and a half hours. Performers with two torchlights in their hands, apart from formations and exercises, awed the audience for the danger involved in it and a disciplined performance.

The patterns generated by the torchlight in the grounds by as many as 350 personnel, also left a faint aroma of kerosene at the Grounds. Orderly formations with a great deal of synchronisation by the team received a much deserved appreciation from the excited crowd. A moving concentric circle formation by the team was one of the main attractions.  The events were flagged off by Governor H R Bharadwaj. 'Feu de joie'or the 'Fire of Joy' which was the first event at the Grounds, involved volley firing of canons. Canons were fired  21 times, shockwaves of which evoked some cries of fear and uneasiness from the audience.

Laser show held at the Grounds attracted attention for several reasons. The show was held in three parts, in between events at the Grounds. One of the events, however, was completely dedicated towards recalling the contributions of the State government. Songs in the background spoke on 'Anna Bhagya', 'Ksheera Bhagya' and other schemes, while a depiction of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was done with the help of Laser lights. Other parts of Laser show involved a youthful trance track and an adaptation of a track from James Bond movie.

A motorcycle display team, 'Shwetha Ashwa' of military police provided ‘edge of seat’ entertainment for the gathered crowd. Stunts performed by the team with Guinness World Record, such as scissors crossing, parallel crossing, diamond crossing and others. Stunts such as 'Sudarshan Chakra' and 'bar exercise' were well received by the crowd.Among other stunts performed included jumping over 18 persons on a bike, wall dash and tubelight jump.

Another event involving skills such as balance over a horse, speed and accuracy, called 'tent-pegging' was performed by Armed Service Corps. The gathered audience expressed their admiration to the skills of the horse-riders with a loud round of applause following the event.

Folk art forms, regional dance forms and contemporary dance forms were also performed at the venue by various teams. A 'jugalbandi' of Dollu Kunitha and Tamate-Nagari was also appreciated by the crowd. Contemporary dance to the famous track ‘Huttidare Kannada Nadalli Huttabeku’ was also one of the main attractions of the day.

An attractive show of pyrotechnics at the end of the show also added to the colour and variety of the event.