Mysuru: The Mysuru Dasara celebrations will offer a host of attractions this year. Performing before an illuminated Mysuru palace will be noted playback singer, Dr S P Balasubramaniam, music director, Manomurthy, and Anuradha Paudwal (singing bhajans). A classical music concert by Sri Vidyabhushan, a Bharathanatyam recital by Lakshmi Gopalswamy, a Carnatic violin performance by Laalgudi Krishnan, a saxaphone and flute jugalbandi by Khadri Gopalnath and Ronu Majumdar, and many more such events have been planned for the festival with the palace as the backdrop.
The South Zone Cultural Centre will present a Kalbeli folk dance of Rajasthan, Mohiniattam of Kerala, Badaayi Baredi of Madhya Pradesh, the Vaankho dance of Arunachal Pradesh and the Nicobari dance of Andaman and Nicobar islands. A dance drama by inmates of the Shakthidhama destitute relief centre will be a special feature this year. All the cultural events will be held every evening at eight venues, including the stage in front of the illuminated palace.
On Monday, Mysuru district minister and Dasara executive committee chairman, G T Devegowda released posters of the Dasara cultural programmes and a thousand Dasara gold cards for the benefit of common people and tourists, both domestic and foreign. Visitors are this year being issued a gold card or a one- time pass or ticket, with which they can enter all the venues of the Dasara events, and get to sit alongside dignitaries to watch the Dasara jumbo savari procession and a torchlight parade at the Bannimantap grounds. While each gold card costs Rs 3999, tourists can buy them online on the Dasara website: www.mysoredasara.gov.in from October 2.
Also, as many as 2,000 tickets worth Rs 1000 and 2,000 tickets worth Rs 500 will be available soon to allow people to watch the Dasara celebrations before the Mysuru palace, according to sources. As a prelude to Dasara, an eight-day “Yuva Sambrama,” which began on Sunday ,is providing a platform for 157 teams from different colleges of Mysuru, Mandya, Kodagu, Chamarajnagar, Hassan, Mangalore, Shimoga, Dharwad districts to perform at Manasagangothri. On the second day of the “Royal Classic Car Drive to Mysuru”, 10 vintage and classic cars lined up to escort the 12 Dasara elephants on their morning stroll. All the elephants posed before ten vintage beauties.
