Mangaluru: Chief minister DK Shivakumar will inaugurate Mangaluru Dasara at Kudroli Sri Gokarnanatha Kshetra on Oct 12, temple governing committee treasurer Padmaraj Poojary said on Wednesday.Former Union minister B Janardhana Poojary, district minister UT Khader, assembly deputy speaker Mankal Vaidya, MPs, MLAs and dignitaries from Kerala and other states will attend.The 10-day festivities will begin on Oct 11. After homa and prayers, idols of Shree Ganesh, Shree Sharada, Shree Aadhi Shakthi and Navadurga will be installed at noon. Darbar Hall will feature a palace theme, with nearly 80% of the work completed. More than 1,000 international, national and local artistes will perform at Santoshi Kala Mantapa daily between Oct 11 and 20.Nine women will receive the Asamanya Sthree Puraskar, with one honoured each day for nine days. A committee selected them from more than 100 nominations. Events include a state-level Dasara poetry gathering, devotional group dance competition, Children’s Dasara, Muddu Sharade, Dasara Marathon and the second season of Kinni Pili.Mahila Dasara will be held for the first time on Oct 19, featuring Bharatanatyam, cooking without fire, rangoli, mehndi, group singing, flower garland making and a group Garba-Dandiya programme for women. Makala (kids’) Dasara events will begin on Oct 15, while an Aksharabhyasa programme for children will be held on Oct 20. Entry to all events is free.The 10-hour Mangaluru Dasara procession will begin at 4pm on Oct 21. The committee expects around four lakh people along the 7-8km route through Brahmashree Narayana Guru Circle, PVS Circle, University College Circle, GHS Road and Alake.More than 75 illuminated tableaux will participate, but DJs will not be allowed. He said that the committee had sought Rs 2 crore from the govt and received an assurance of Rs 1.5 crore for the celebration.Mangaluru Dasara Gaurva Sammana Prashasti will be presented to Sevanjali Prathishthana, Snehalaya Charitable Trust and Hidayah Foundation, along with police commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy CH, professor BA Vivek Rai and theatre artiste Sanjeeva Dandakeri. International athlete MR Poovamma will be specially honoured on Oct 12.Harikrishna Bantwal, member of the temple committee, said that Mangaluru Dasara is a big cultural contribution to our country from Tulunadu. “A Dalit woman was taken into the sanctum sanctorum to perform puja to the Shivalinga by her own hands; this is a spiritual revolution. It hasn’t happened anywhere else in India, but it happened right here in Kudroli,” he said.
