Dasara procession begins with CM offering puja to Nandi Dhwaja at Mysuru palace premises

MYSURU: The famed Dasara procession began from the Mysuru palace on Tuesday afternoon after Chief Minister Siddaraiamah offered puja to the Nandi Dhwaja. With this, the countdown has begun for the traditional ‘Jamboo Savari’ has begun.

Lead elephant Abhimanyu, carrying the 750 kg golden howdah with the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari, will led the Jamboo Savari after the CM, members of the Mysuru royal family and other dignitaries offer flowers to the goddess between 4.40pm and 5 pm.

This is the 414th Mysuru Dasara festival. The Vijaya yatra was held as part of a private durbar at the Mysuru Palace before the start of the Dasara procession. Mysuru royal family scion Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar performed puja to the Banni tree. The traditional ‘vajramushti kalaga’ was also held in the morning at the Kalyana Mantapa in front of  the Mysuru Palace.

Various religious rituals were held at Chamundi Hills and Mysuru palace since early in the day. After the puja, the Utsav idol of Godess Chamundeshwari was brought from Chamundi hill to Deeksha mantapa in the palace premises in a decked-up vehicle in a grand procession, accompanied with traditional music, cultural troupes.

Captain elephant Abhimanyu will carry the Chamundi idol in a Golden Howdah which weighs 750 kg on car street, accompanied with 14 other elephants. About 49 different tableaux and cultural teams are participating in the procession. The tableau of the Department of Information and Public Relations on the theme of the five guarantees of the government has attracted the attention of tourists.

The tableaux taking part in the procession highlight the glory of different districts. The Dasara procession starts from the palace premises and culminates at Bannimantap Ground where a torchlight parade will be held in the evening.

Arrangements have been made to seat more than 30,000 people including the CM, members of the royal family, dignitaries and the public. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wodeyar, District Deputy Commissioner Dr K V Rajendra, Mayor Shivakumar, District In-charge Minister H C Mahadevappa are leading the celebrations.

In Karnataka, Dasara is observed as a state festival – Naada Habba and the celebration is steered by the erstwhile Mysuru royal family.  A large number of tourists and visitors come from across the nation and abroad to take part in the Mysuru Dasara. The police have tightened security in Mysuru and thousands of policemen have been deployed.