Srirangapatna Dasara, a throwback to the good old days

The historical, annual Srirangapatna Dasara was celebrated in a grand manner, complete with the procession of folk troupes and Jamboo Savari in the town on Tuesday.

Mysuru Dasara was originally started in Srirangapatna in 1610 by Raja Wadiyar. It shifted to Mysuru only in 1799, when the capital was shifted back to Mysuru, after the fall of Tipu Sultan.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy offered floral tributes to the idol of Chamundeshwari, mounted atop elephant Abhimanyu, to mark the launch of the procession at Kiranguru Bannimantap on the outskirts of the town. Ministers C S Puttaraju, D C Thammanna, Bandeppa Kashempur, MLAs M Srinivas, Suresh Gowda, MLC Appaji Gowda and film director T S Nagabharana were present.

The Mysuru Dasara Committee had sent three elephants Abhimanyu, Kaveri and Varalakshmi to be a part of Srirangapatna Dasara.

The procession passed through Kiranguru, Baburayanakoppalu, Bengaluru-Mysuru highway, Kuvempu Circle, Bypass Road opposite Jamia Masjid, Rajabeedhi, Ambedkar Circle, Mini Vidhana Soudha and reached Ranganathaswamy temple. Hundreds of people gathered on both sides of the roads and atop the buildings to have a glimpse of the procession.

Earlier, MLA Ravindra Srikantaiah and his wife performed banni puja. Later, Chamundeshwari puja, Nandhi dhwaja puja, Ganesha and Gaja pujas were performed.

The procession comprised of cultural troupes, tableaux, horse-driven chariots, bullock carts and others. A troupe of foreign women from a Carnival troupe were the main attraction.

The folk troupes included pattada kunitha, veerabhadra kunitha, garudi gombe, keelu kudure, maragaalu, dollu kunitha, jaggalagi mela, hulivesha, charmavadya, nandi kolu and dance forms like Kathakali of Kerala, Kudiyara nritya of Kodagu, coastal dance.

The Women and Child Development department’s tableau was on ‘Child marriage’. Sericulture department, Panchayat Raj department, Agriculture, Police and Health departments too had tableaux. The tableau of Indian Buddha Mahasabha displayed Buddha’s picture with the caption ‘Yuddha beda Buddha beku’.

Many artistes dressed as Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, Nadaprabhu Kempegowda and Sir M Visvesvaraya were part of the procession.The town wore a festive look with special arches and cutouts of Mahishasura and Chamundeshwari decorating the roads. The Raja Beedhi, Mini Vidhana Soudha Circle, historical Wellesley Bridge were illuminated.

This year, the district administration has organised 3D mapping on the Krishnaraja Sagar dam and special illumination.