Mysore Dasara
The 10-day festival will end on Vijayadashami or tenth day marking the successful conclusion of the preceding nine days. Navratri’s sixth day is in honour of goddess Saraswathi. Eight day is dedicated to Durga and Ninth day is for Lakshmi, goddess of wealth. When the tenth day arrives a grand splendid procession is held which starts from Mysore Palace and ends in Bannimantap.
Mysore Dasara is one of the most celebrated and grandiose festival of India. The city of Mysore celebrates Dasara with great enthusiasm. During this period, Mysore will be decorated beautifully with the streets lighted and the trees decorated. It is a massive attraction for the audience both from all over India and all over the world. Mysore Dasara in 2012 will be celebrated from 16th October to 24th October 2012.
Mysore Palace will get dazzle up as it gets brightly illuminated and various cultural and religious programs highlighting the dance, music and culture of the State of Karnataka are performed in front of the illuminated Palace. The Mysore palace is one of the most gorgeous architectures in India.
During the Dasara, the palace is lighted (7pm to 9pm) with tens of hundreds of bulbs that lit up its majesty and beauty. The 10 day Dasara festival features music, dance, and folk dance performances, flower and doll shows, wrestling and Food and Film festival. Want to enjoy Dasara, its worth visit to Mysore to enjoy Dussehra celebrations.
The Tradition and History of Dasara
The Mysore kings, Wadiyars, were subordinates of the Vijayanagara emperors. They declared independence at the decline of the empire in 1610 AD and tried to retain the latter’s goodwill by continuing the traditions started by them. Raja Wadiyar, the founder of the Mysore kingdom, started the Navaratri festivities in order to celebrate his new - found freedom, and issued an order that the days be observed with piety and splendor by one and all. Initially, as the rulers had their stronghold in Srirangapatn, now a satellite town of Mysore city, the festival continued undisturbed even during the annexation of Mysore (then state) by Hyder Ali and followed by Tippu Sultan’s rule between 1761 and 1799.When Mysore State was restored to Mummadi (lit. ‘ third’)Krishnaraja Wadiyar in 1799, the capital was shifted to Mysore city from Srirangapatna, and the Navaratri festivities began to be performed with greater magnificence in the new capital with the introduction of a special durbar (‘audience’ or ‘royal assembly’) for the Europeans, and direct participation by the common masses.
The attendance of the Europeans indicates the friendly ties that the king had with the colonial rulers, apart from the spreading of the popularity of the event in western media. The festival became a tradition of the royal household and reached its zenith during the rule of Nalvadi (lit. ‘the fourth’) Krishnaraja Wadiyar (1902-1940 AD).
The wooden royal palace of Mysore City was famous for its intricate carvings and embellishments of gold and precious stones. Swami Vivekananda during his itinerant days was a royal guest and had several sessions with the king in this palace. Unfortunately, the palace was destroyed in a fire accident in 1897 and a new palace was built in its place by 1912, surpassing the glory of the previous one with the introduction of electrification and European expertise. The royal durbar, the procession of caparisoned elephants with the king seated in a golden howdah (throne with a canopy) followed by his ministers, administrators, the royal staff and the military came to an end with the taking over of all the kingdoms by the Indian Union in 1947.
The last crowned king, Sri Jaya Chamarajendra Wadiyar, tried to revive the tradition in his personal capacity after a few years, but the old charm was missing. With the annexation of states from kings by the national government, and upon the demise of Jaya Chamarajendra Wadiyar in 1974, the tradition again suffered a setback and Mysore almost lost its unique festival until the Government of Karnataka decided to celebrate it as a state fiesta minus the royal entourage.
Today, on the occasion of the world famous Jambu Savari or Dasara procession on the dasami day, apart from NCC, Scot, and other school and college student displays, tableaus depicting the land’s culture and history, fold-art performances, etc, and volunteer groups follow the caparisoned elephants, one of which (Drona has been doing it since many years) carries the image of Goddess Bhuvanesvari Devi. Bhuvanesvari (a name of Mahisasura-mardini), incidentally, is the goddess of Mysore, and she is none than Durga. She has a temple situated on the hill in Mysore – The Chamundi Hill. There is also the mythological legend, saying that it was on this hill that Mother Chamunda killed the demon Mahisa.
The 10-day festival will end on Vijayadashami or tenth day marking the successful conclusion of the preceding nine days. Navratri’s sixth day is in honour of goddess Saraswathi. Eight day is dedicated to Durga and Ninth day is for Lakshmi, goddess of wealth. When the tenth day arrives a grand splendid procession is held which starts from Mysore Palace and ends in Bannimantap.
Mysore Dasara is one of the most celebrated and grandiose festival of India. The city of Mysore celebrates Dasara with great enthusiasm. During this period, Mysore will be decorated beautifully with the streets lighted and the trees decorated. It is a massive attraction for the audience both from all over India and all over the world. Mysore Dasara in 2012 will be celebrated from 16th October to 24th October 2012.
Mysore Palace will get dazzle up as it gets brightly illuminated and various cultural and religious programs highlighting the dance, music and culture of the State of Karnataka are performed in front of the illuminated Palace. The Mysore palace is one of the most gorgeous architectures in India.During the Dasara, the palace is lighted (7pm to 9pm) with tens of hundreds of bulbs that lit up its majesty and beauty. The 10 day Dasara festival features music, dance, and folk dance performances, flower and doll shows, wrestling and Food and Film festival. Want to enjoy Dasara, its worth visit to Mysore to enjoy Dussehra celebrations.
The Tradition and History of Dasara
The attendance of the Europeans indicates the friendly ties that the king had with the colonial rulers, apart from the spreading of the popularity of the event in western media. The festival became a tradition of the royal household and reached its zenith during the rule of Nalvadi (lit. ‘the fourth’) Krishnaraja Wadiyar (1902-1940 AD).
The wooden royal palace of Mysore City was famous for its intricate carvings and embellishments of gold and precious stones. Swami Vivekananda during his itinerant days was a royal guest and had several sessions with the king in this palace. Unfortunately, the palace was destroyed in a fire accident in 1897 and a new palace was built in its place by 1912, surpassing the glory of the previous one with the introduction of electrification and European expertise. The royal durbar, the procession of caparisoned elephants with the king seated in a golden howdah (throne with a canopy) followed by his ministers, administrators, the royal staff and the military came to an end with the taking over of all the kingdoms by the Indian Union in 1947.
The last crowned king, Sri Jaya Chamarajendra Wadiyar, tried to revive the tradition in his personal capacity after a few years, but the old charm was missing. With the annexation of states from kings by the national government, and upon the demise of Jaya Chamarajendra Wadiyar in 1974, the tradition again suffered a setback and Mysore almost lost its unique festival until the Government of Karnataka decided to celebrate it as a state fiesta minus the royal entourage.
Today, on the occasion of the world famous Jambu Savari or Dasara procession on the dasami day, apart from NCC, Scot, and other school and college student displays, tableaus depicting the land’s culture and history, fold-art performances, etc, and volunteer groups follow the caparisoned elephants, one of which (Drona has been doing it since many years) carries the image of Goddess Bhuvanesvari Devi. Bhuvanesvari (a name of Mahisasura-mardini), incidentally, is the goddess of Mysore, and she is none than Durga. She has a temple situated on the hill in Mysore – The Chamundi Hill. There is also the mythological legend, saying that it was on this hill that Mother Chamunda killed the demon Mahisa.
