How we witnessed the 404th Mysore Dussehra
You have read Thrillophilia’s 50 places to visit in India before you turn 30, I presume?
When I came across #43 on the list, I frowned when it dawned upon me
that one of the greatest festivities of the country was celebrated a few
hundred kilometres from Mangalore and I had not witnessed it despite having lived in
the city for 3 years! Enthralled while learning about the significance of
the event, I made a mental note telling myself that there was no way I was
going to miss something this grand during my final year at NITK!
So a few months later, 2 of my friends and I ended up visiting Mysore on
Vijayadashmi (October 4, 2014) to witness the 404th edition of the
city’s annual Dussehra celebrations.
Here’s
sharing our experience with you.
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| Entrance to the Mysore Palace during Vijayadashmi |
History
According to Hindu mythology, Mysore
was once ruled by a tyrannical demon named Mahishasura. After countless
attempts by Lords Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to defeat him, it was
Chamundeshwari (an avatar of Goddess Durga) who managed to vanquish him
on a hill near Mysore now known as the Chamundi hill. Dussehra is the annual 10
day festival celebrated in honour of the Goddess to commemorate the victory of
good over evil.
Owing to the connection the city has
had with the legend, Mysore has had a long tradition of celebrating the
festival. The festivities here, backed by both the royal family and the state
government are an elaborate affair, attracting lakhs of people every year.
The climax of the festival, or the day
after the 9 navratris, is known as Vijayadashmi and it was on this day that we were in Mysore.
Getting there
Mysore is connected well to most
Indian cities so you shouldn't have trouble figuring out the best way to reach
the city. What you do need to note is that you’d find it extremely difficult to
book tickets and find a place to stay in the city during Dussehra.
Our journey
To avoid the hassle of looking for a place to stay,
the 3 of us had decided to return from Mysore the same day we were going to
reach the city. We hadn't planned much ahead of the trip and the unavailability
of tickets meant that the only way we were going to get to Mysore was by train.
On October 3, we took the 1920 train from Surathkal headed for Bangalore which
arrived at Mysore Junction at 0530 the next morning.
The morning in Mysore
We spent the morning resting at the bus stand
and walking around the city while preparations and security arrangements for the afternoon’s procession
were underway. Most of the shops in the city were closed and the roads were to be blocked until the evening. With the palace situated right in the heart of the city and the
entire place surprisingly clean, there was an air of royalty associated
with the city. Even the malls we came across had been built to resemble
palaces!
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Jumbo Savaari
We were able to
witness the procession comfortably from the palace grounds only because one of my
friends was kind enough to procure VIP passes for us (once again, thank you so
much for that, Meghana!). We found ourselves a place with a decent view and sat
to watch the procession, known as the Jumbo Savaari.
Watching the procession was a fascinating experience but it ended up feeling a bit repetitive towards the end. In the future, I do think it would be a good idea for the hosts to address people in English or Hindi alongside the Kannada commentary to make the rest of us appreciate the procession better.
Accompanied by policemen on horseback,
it was Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who flagged off the procession from an open
jeep. The savaari was led by an elephant which carried the 750 kg golden
idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari and was followed by contingents of performers
from across the country showcasing the culture local to their respective
regions. The celebrations this year were supposedly low-key as a mark of respect to the late King Srikanta Wadiyar who passed away last December.
Watching the procession was a fascinating experience but it ended up feeling a bit repetitive towards the end. In the future, I do think it would be a good idea for the hosts to address people in English or Hindi alongside the Kannada commentary to make the rest of us appreciate the procession better.
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Brindavan Gardens
Went straight to the Mall of Mysore to spend the
rest of the afternoon in an air-conditioned place and then left for the
popular Brindavan gardens at around 1700. Took us almost 2 hours to reach the
place owing to the traffic jams but the wait was totally worth it. The ornamental plants on the slopes and the colourful
lights on the trees, lake and fountains made the place look very vivid and pleasing in the dark. Reminded me a bit of the Gardens By the Bay in Singapore except that there was no way you could see it bustling with thousands of people like this place!
The illuminated Mysore Palace
What we saw when we got back amazed us. The
Mysore Palace and the buildings surrounding it were lit up with countless
golden bulbs (supposedly over a hundred thousand of them!). And it wasn't just the illumination - the place was packed and filled with life! While we walked closer to the palace, there were moments where the 3 of us
just stood transfixed taking in the grandeur of the place.
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Return
We were wrong to assume that our journey back to Surathkal was going to be as relaxed as the onward one. The TTE refused to let us inside
the sleeper compartment and we were left with no
choice but to proceed to the general compartment. What followed was a journey where
we were forced to stand for almost 4 hours with barely enough place to even
move an inch. Difficult night.
Arrived at Surathkal Railway Station at 1000 the next morning.
Arrived at Surathkal Railway Station at 1000 the next morning.
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Mysore gets so busy during the festival that it’d be quite
impossible for you to do anything apart from attending the procession. So if sightseeing is what you're looking for, I’d suggest you visit the city during some other time of the year. However, if you’re willing to face some hassle to understand the significance of the festivities and immerse yourself in the
magnificence of the place, the Mysore Dussehra is something that you MUST attend! SoSpeakUpNow!, plan your trip and see for yourself why the occasion has been listed as something worth doing before you turn 30.
Coming back to that article, I don’t really approve of the idea
of striking things off a bucket list, but in this case I’ll make an exception:
12 things completed on Thrillophilia’s list. Stay tuned to SoSpeakUpNow! for the remaining 38!