The State Government’s decision to scale down the Dasara festivities, which began on Thursday, has not whittled down the festival vibes in the city.
This is evident from the steady increase in the number of people visiting Chamundi Hills for darshan and the response to the illumination of various streets and circles taken up as part of the festival. Though the numbers are nowhere near the crowds during the pre-pandemic days, there is a steady increase in public turnout. However, the number of people attending cultural programmes at the palace is low because of the restrictions in place to prevent a surge in COVID-19 infections.
Even the district in-charge Minister, S.T. Somashekar, has said that the number of people attending the cultural programmes is less than the 500 limit set by the authorities. However, the online transmission and live programmes have received a warm response, with over 70,000 people watching the inauguration of the Dasara cultural programmes on the first day.
It is customary for people to skip temple visit on the day of Dasara inauguration given the state protocols in place for the visit of elected representatives. But by evening, the floodgates open for devotees, and it was no different on Thursday and again on Friday.
Daily visit
There are devotees who make it a point to visit the temple multiple times during Nada Habba as there is a new decoration for the deity on each day of the festival. On Friday, the temple authorities were forced to keep the precincts open throughout the day because of the steady flow of devotees. Even the parking lot was full and some visitors struggled to find space to park their vehicles, though the situation eased by late in the afternoon.
The temple tends to close around 2 p.m. for darshan, but on Friday the steady flow of visitors forced the authorities to extend the darshan timings. Besides, as it was Friday, which is considered auspicious, the crowd was larger.
However, it is the illumination of roads and circles, besides public offices of importance, that is a big draw, and the city roads tend to get clogged by traffic by evening. Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation has illuminated more than 100 km of roads in Mysuru, aside from various public offices and circles.
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation is also operating open-top buses and there is significant demand for it to witness the city come alive in lights.
