Mysuru Dasara: Lakhs witness annual cultural pageantry

The whole city had a festive atmosphere, with people eager to watch Jamboo Savari and have a darshan of Goddess Chamundeshwari

Mysuru: All roads led to Mysuru palace on Thursday, where Nada Habba Dasara ended on a grand note with the Jamboo Savari — a march of 14 elephants led by Abhimanyu carrying the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari in a 750-kg golden howdah (Ambari).

Abhimanyu covered the 5.5-km Raja Marga route in around two hours and 10 minutes, and reached Bannimantapa Ground around 7 pm. 

The whole city had a festive atmosphere, with people eager to watch the annual event and have a darshan of Goddess Chamundeshwari.

Lakhs of people witnessed the jamboree, with more than 50,000 people present on the Mysuru palace premises alone.

Abuzz with activity

The palace was abuzz with activity since morning, with people making a beeline to enter the premises. Policemen on duty were guiding people to the respective enclosures. The weather was perfect, with the skies breaking into a light drizzle a couple of times, providing a perfect backdrop for the event. 

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah performed puja to the Nandhi Dhwaja near Kote Anjaneya Swami temple at the auspicious hour and entered the premises amid huge applause from the gathering. 

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Ministers H C Mahadevappa, Kannada and Culture Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi and several others participated in the event.

There was an air of excitement from the huge audience once the caparisoned Nishaane (pilot) elephant Dhananjaya started to march, followed by other elephants (Saalanes). They were followed by a number of folk troupes and 58 tableaux from various districts, and boards and corporations.

Many people were seen clicking pictures of the cultural troupes, with some even taking selfies with the artists. Vehicular traffic was restricted on the roads in the city centre, with the police erecting barricades.

The palace was open to the public at 10 am. People started entering the premises as per the instructions given in their passes or invitation cards. Like every year, there was confusion regarding the entry gates and also the entry points to the enclosures.

Movement of people on the procession route on the palace premises was restricted and systematic, ensuring that the public seated in the galleries had a clear view of the proceedings.  

Vijayalakshmi, who had come from Bengaluru to watch the Jamboo Savari said, “I had watched the event from Sayyaji Rao Road, near Kannan Lab, when I was around 10 years old. I was adamant this year to watch the event from the Mysuru Palace premises, and I think I am fortunate, as I saw people returning disappointed, not able to see the pageantry,” she said.

Kishore, an IT employee, said, “I was too excited to come to Mysuru, after watching the social media posts on the rehearsals of the Dasara elephants and the Guinness record drone show. I managed to get a pass to enter the palace premises. Now, I am leaving for the Torchlight Parade ground to watch the spectacular drone show and other events”. 

Many had come to the venue with steel boxes packed with food. "We have come to the palace premises. We will see the illumination and then leave," said Manohar, who had come from Pandavapura in Mandya district.

There are allegations that many with gold pass holders were not allowed entry to the palace, and were stopped from 12 noon.