Mangaluru 'dasara' to begin on October 3; cultural events, marathon to mark grand celebrations

Mangaluru: The Mangaluru Dasara mahotsava will be held at the Kudroli Sri Gokarnanatha Temple from October 3 to 14, temple president H S Sairam has said. The 'dasara' will be flagged off by veteran leader Janardhan Poojary with the installation idol of Sharada and 'navadurga'.

Thousands of devotees are expected to take part in the dasara and Navarathri celebrations. The temple has made all the arrangements for celebrations, Sairam told mediapersons on Monday.

The Dasara Mahotsav will begin with the guru puja celebrations followed by various rituals.

Treasurer Padmaraj R said that rituals like Durga homa (Oct 4), Panchadurga homa (Oct 5), Arya Durga homa (Oct 6), Ambika Durga Homa (Oct 7), Bhagavathi Durga homa (Oct 8), Chandika homa (Oct 9), Mahishamardini Durga homa (Oct 10), Chandika homa hagalotsava (Oct 11), Saraswati Durga homa (Oct 12), Vageshwari Durga homa (Oct 13) will be held.

The grand 'dasara' procession will be held on October 13 with the procession of idols of Mahaganapathi, Navadurge, Sharada and colourful tableaus and art teams. The idols will be immersed in the temple lake in the wee hours of October 14. Kerala chende, folk teams, dance troupes, dola dance by Maharashtrian artistes, Kalladka Gombe, colourful umbrellas from Thrissur, tiger dance, tableaux of various temples will add colours to the procession, he said.

Auction of stalls

To a query on auction of stalls by the Mangaluru City Corporation, Padmaraj said, “The High Court has directed the MCC to follow the due procedure while auctioning stalls during temple fairs. Accordingly, the MCC has decided to auction the stalls. However, the temple committee has urged the Deputy Commissioner and MCC Commissioner not to allot stalls inside the arch leading to the temple and in temple premises. Allowing the traders to set up stalls inside the arch will cause inconvenience to the devotees especially senior citizens visiting the temple.”

Half marathon

As a part of 'dasara' celebrations, a half marathon covering 21-km will be organised on October 6 at 5.30 am. About 1,500 to 2,000 people are likely to take part in the half marathon. Last year, a walkathon was organised, said Padmaraj.

Cultural programmes will be held daily from 6 pm at the temple premises, he added.

To a query on grandeur of Mangaluru Dasara, Janardhan Poojary said “All the credit of 'dasara' grandeur goes to the god. It's people’s 'dasara'.