Mysore, October 12, 2013: For 11 months in a year, Gayatri Shankar runs a medical shop in Mysore. But a few weeks before Dasara, the 53-year-old stops going to work and lets her children take turns at managing the shop. It is her labour of love over this period that is currently being exhibited at the Rangayana. Her doll exhibition, now in its ninth year, is something many Mysoreans associate with Dasara. Says Madhavi R., a fine arts student, “I come here every year. I love the colours, the diverse themes and the tradition.” She says her mother makes dolls at home too, but nowhere close to the kind of intricate work Ms. Shankar does.

Steeped in tradition it is, for Ms. Shankar says she learnt it from her mother, who acquired the skills from her mother. However, she hasn’t taught her two sons this art, she confesses. “It is something everyone does at home. One day a person from the Rangayana visited my home and told me that I must agree to do an exhibition. It drew a big response and I haven’t looked back since. She refuses to choose her favourite among the room full of dolls, but says that one mustn’t miss the cricket pitch she has recreated where clay Ganeshas are seen wielding a bat and ball.

FROM FAR AND NEAR

It’s an eclectic mix of tourists that have descended on Mysore to partake in the celebrations and watch the spectacle that is the Mysore Dasara. At the ticket counter outside the Mysore palace are two long queues: one, a bus full of Navodaya students from Kerala who are on a field trip, and the other, general tourists from far and near. Standing side by side are Rajiv N. and his family from Dharwad, and Fuyu from Japan. While Mr. Rajiv, a teacher in a government school in Dharwad, has brought his three-year-old to see his first Dasara, Ms. Fuyu says she is travelling across south India. “Even before I left for India, students at my university told me that I must not miss the Dasara procession,” she says, adding that she has particularly been enjoying the diverse musical experiences every evening. Mr. Ravi’s wife Arpita says her child has been dazzled by the evening lighting.

STRICTLY AFTER OFFICE HOURS

Ask anyone on the Mysore roads where the Dasara action is and you’re likely to draw a blank; that’s if you ask them during the day. “Why, don’t you know that Dasara is only in the evening?” says one auto driver. Another public sector employee says that while everyone has a list of events for Dasara — or else it’s available for free download through an app on the Google PlayStore — Dasara is a non-starter till around 6 p.m. “Except on Vijayadashami, Dasara programmes are strictly outside office hours,” he said. A few exceptions are the Mahila and Raithara Dasara that concluded here on Friday and Thursday, respectively.

Source: The Hindu, October 12, 2013