Mysore Dasara
There are some places that must be visited during the peak of their action- Udupi during Krishna Janmashtami (have done that and a blog will soon follow) or Jaipur during the Makara Sankranti Kite Festival or Mysore during Dasara.
Though I've visited Mysore many times before, I'd never visited it during Dasara. For 9 days during the Navaratri, the entire city is filled with color, lights, people and celebrations. So last year i.e. 2015 I decided that it was the perfect time for a Dasara visit of Mysore.
Though Mysore is just 145 kms away from Bengaluru, it takes no less than 3.5 hours to reach thanks to constant traffic. And there are eateries all through the way from Dominos to CCD to Kamath that your'e compelled to stop over to taste these foods.
Inspite of all this, we did reach early and first headed to the flower show at Curzon Park organised every year by the Mysore District Horticulture Society and Horticulture Department. It wasn't even open and the guy at the ticket counter issued his first ticket of the day to us! More than 35,000 flowers were arranged in various shapes like- peacock, musical instruments, shiva linga etc. Major attraction was the stone car of the famous Hampi done in red and white roses. We took our own sweet time looking at all the structures. Slowly the crowd increased and we patted our backs for beating the crowd!
We then headed to watch the famous Dasara dolls. It is a tradition in this part of the country to keep the decorated dolls during the Navaratri time. Pooja is performed daily and people throng to look at the beautiful dolls. There are even competitions held for the best decorated dolls winning which is a prestigious thing.
There is a place called Bombe Mane (ಬೊಂಬೆ ಮನೆ) which has thousands of such dolls for sale which is quite famous. Dolls were not only made out of wood (as most traditional Dasara dolls were) but were made out of plaster of paris and ceramic as well. It was a feast to the eyes to look at all the pretty dolls. But sad thing was everything was so expensive.
Thanks to the suggestions of some wonderful friends from Twitter, we knew all the right places to visit and good places for food as well. But since it was Dasara time every place was buzzing with people and we actually enjoyed it.
After lunch we took some rest and headed to see the Palace. We visited the famous Mysore Palace and as before looked in wonderment at all the intricate carvings and pillars and paintings.
Next was Jaganmohan Palace to see the art gallery where the art works of the famous painter Raja Ravi Varma are displayed. Just in 3 floors more than 2000 art works are displayed from artists all over the world in different styles. The famous painting of 'The lady with the lamp' done by S.L.Haldankar is also in this art gallery. Since photography isn't allowed inside you can capture the beauty of the art works only through lens of your eyes!
There were people taking the elephant rides and kids running around and as usual the selfie groups. The atmosphere in the entire city is so festive that you can't help but be a part of it.
It was almost evening by then but we weren't near the palace and were almost running to be near the entrance and it was 6.57. Lights are turned on at 7 in the evening. We just reached the entrance and voila! the entire palace lits up. And behold! what a sight it was!
Thronged by people I felt the good old dynasty days were back! We somehow made our way inside to watch the various cultural programs that were going on as part of Dasara. We watched a parade as well.
We got back to the gate before the program really ended as we expected a huge rush. No visit to Mysore can be complete without eating the Benne Masale Dose at Mylari hotel. Though it was quite near due to traffic we just couldn't make it in time and the place was closed by the time reached. A sad ending to a perfect day.
Neverthless, we decided to give the numerous hotels on the way from Mysore-Bengaluru a try and left with the picture of fully lit Mysore Palace on our minds. Another tick on my wish list- Visit Mysore during Dasara!
Though I've visited Mysore many times before, I'd never visited it during Dasara. For 9 days during the Navaratri, the entire city is filled with color, lights, people and celebrations. So last year i.e. 2015 I decided that it was the perfect time for a Dasara visit of Mysore.
Though Mysore is just 145 kms away from Bengaluru, it takes no less than 3.5 hours to reach thanks to constant traffic. And there are eateries all through the way from Dominos to CCD to Kamath that your'e compelled to stop over to taste these foods.
Inspite of all this, we did reach early and first headed to the flower show at Curzon Park organised every year by the Mysore District Horticulture Society and Horticulture Department. It wasn't even open and the guy at the ticket counter issued his first ticket of the day to us! More than 35,000 flowers were arranged in various shapes like- peacock, musical instruments, shiva linga etc. Major attraction was the stone car of the famous Hampi done in red and white roses. We took our own sweet time looking at all the structures. Slowly the crowd increased and we patted our backs for beating the crowd!
 |
| Hampi Ratha in roses |
 |
| A dancing peacock in vegetables! |
 |
| Flowers in the Curzon Park |
 |
| Mahishasura and Nandi in vegetables |
There is a place called Bombe Mane (ಬೊಂಬೆ ಮನೆ) which has thousands of such dolls for sale which is quite famous. Dolls were not only made out of wood (as most traditional Dasara dolls were) but were made out of plaster of paris and ceramic as well. It was a feast to the eyes to look at all the pretty dolls. But sad thing was everything was so expensive.
 |
| Dolls at Bombe Mane |
After lunch we took some rest and headed to see the Palace. We visited the famous Mysore Palace and as before looked in wonderment at all the intricate carvings and pillars and paintings.
Next was Jaganmohan Palace to see the art gallery where the art works of the famous painter Raja Ravi Varma are displayed. Just in 3 floors more than 2000 art works are displayed from artists all over the world in different styles. The famous painting of 'The lady with the lamp' done by S.L.Haldankar is also in this art gallery. Since photography isn't allowed inside you can capture the beauty of the art works only through lens of your eyes!
There were people taking the elephant rides and kids running around and as usual the selfie groups. The atmosphere in the entire city is so festive that you can't help but be a part of it.
It was almost evening by then but we weren't near the palace and were almost running to be near the entrance and it was 6.57. Lights are turned on at 7 in the evening. We just reached the entrance and voila! the entire palace lits up. And behold! what a sight it was!
We got back to the gate before the program really ended as we expected a huge rush. No visit to Mysore can be complete without eating the Benne Masale Dose at Mylari hotel. Though it was quite near due to traffic we just couldn't make it in time and the place was closed by the time reached. A sad ending to a perfect day.
Neverthless, we decided to give the numerous hotels on the way from Mysore-Bengaluru a try and left with the picture of fully lit Mysore Palace on our minds. Another tick on my wish list- Visit Mysore during Dasara!
Comments
Post a Comment