Mysore Dasara

My posts on Navratri would be incomplete without a post on Mysore Dasara. Mysore was earlier the capital of Karnataka state which was then called the Old Mysore State.. Its known for its culture and tourist places. More on Mysore City will be highlighted in next posts, as this is on Mysore Dasara... 

The Mysore Dasara celebration starts on the first day of Navratri  with the ceremony when Scion of Mysore Royal family Srikantadutta Narasimharaja Wodeyar performs pooja to the Royal golen throne and holds a Darbar. Then after, Darbar is held for the next 9days of Navratri and the palace will be open for public view.

Photo courtesy: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/royal-glory-unfolds-as-dasara-begins/article22606.ece

Palace will be illuminated every evening all 10 days along with cultural programme. Must say whole of Mysore city will be illuminated with lights with programme organized at different venues of the city...

Photo Courtesy: wikipedia

On Mahanavami/Ayudh Pooja, a special pooja is performed to all weapons in the palace. On Vijayadashami which commemorates the victory of Goddess Chamundeshwari over the demon Mahishasura, there will be a grand procession which is called Dasara Jamboo Savari which moves from Palace to Banni Mantap. The main part of this procession is the Ambari, where  The Royal elephant carries the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari in golden Howdah. The procession includes elephants, horses, tableau from different districts of Karnataka. Once the procession reaches Banni Mantap there will be torchlight performance and fireworks.

Photo courtesy: http://www.mysorepalace.gov.in/Mysore_Palace_Pictures.htm 

Photo courtesy: Mysooru.com

I still remember my childhood days, when we didn't miss even a single Trip to Mysore during Dasara and each time we visited palace as well. We used to be so excited to witness Jamboo Savari. Arrangements used to be made on either side of the road for people to sit and watch the procession. We used to be there hours before to reserve our places... With loads of snacks for passtime while watching.. For we kids the main attraction used to be the celebrity stars who used to be part of the Jamboo Savari, which is missing these days. All together our Mysore trips during Dasara used to be a special memorable ones. I don't think i have missed even a single Dasara procession till date, if not live at least a live coverage on TV. 

Even after visiting the palace so many times i was unaware of the fact that there was tradition to display dolls (separate post on doll display here) during Navratri in the palace as well...Check out the web page which has detailed information on Dolls Pavilion/Gombe Thotti http://www.mysorepalace.gov.in/Dolls_Pavilion.htm