Mysuru: The city of palaces comes alive as never before during Dasara when locals and tourists are treated to a series of cultural events ranging from classical concerts to folk dances.
But now they may no longer have to wait for the ten-day extravaganza to be entertained similarly as Mysuru is getting ready to host cultural events that were until now restricted to the Dasara celebrations all through the year.
The idea is to draw more tourists to the cultural capital of the state, according to district in-charge and revenue minister, V. Srinivasa Prasad, who on Friday inaugurated a five- day Sound and Light progamme, “Karnataka Vybhava” to commemorate the Kannada Rajyotsava Day in the Maharaja College grounds.
In fact, two weeks ago, the district administration began weekend cultural shows at the northern gate of Mysuru palace as part of the year-long programme.
The Sound and Light show staged between 6.30 pm and 9pm, is a blend of music composed by late Sarala Rao, and dance choreographed by danseuse Srilakshmi Kumar. It creatively recreates 2000 years of the state’s history from the era of Ashoka to unification of Karnataka in 1973 through 157 scenes enacted on an enormous 300 ft stage in an open ground.
As many as 84 artistes including 27 classical dancers are involved in the show, which gives a bird’s eye view of the Kadamba, Chalukya, Rashtrakuta, Hoysala and Wadiyar dynasties. Tipu Sultan is also shown pledging his two children to the British for Rs 3.30 crore in lieu of the tax he owed.
The Dandi march that filled the breadth of the stage and a scene showing the country’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru giving the Independence Day speech and hoisting the Indian flag in 1947, received the biggest applause, clearly striking a patriotic chord with the audience.
