The 11-day Dasara festivities concluded on a ceremonial note with the famed Jamboo Savari marking the culmination of the State-funded celebrations here on Friday.
Despite the scaling down of the celebrations, the finale saw a sizeable crowd that watched the cultural jamboree unfold along the 5-km-long ‘Raja Path’, starting from the Amba Vilas Palace to the Bannimantap stadium.
Like every year, the focus was on the 750-kg golden howdah, which had the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari, and Arjuna, who carried the ‘ambari’.
Arjuna, flanked by ‘kumki’ elephants — Chaitra and Kaveri — began his majestic walk after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and other dignitaries showered petals on the howdah around 3.10 p.m.
Minister in charge of Mysuru district V. Srinivas Prasad, Supreme Court judge Uday U. Lalit, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the heir to erstwhile Mysuru royal family, Mayor R. Lingappa, Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha, and Police Commissioner B. Dayananda were present.
This was followed by firing of 21 rounds of cannon shots even as the police band played the national anthem and the three elephants raised their trunks in salute. Guarded by a team of Chamundi Commando Force, Arjuna and the two other jumbos marched out of the palace with the crowds giving them a loud cheer.
After the customary ‘Nandi Dwaja’ puja at the Balarama Gate of the palace at noon, the procession got off to a start with the stately march of six caparisoned elephants — led by ‘Nishane’ elephant Balarama. Abhimanyu, Gopi, Vikrama, Harsha and Prashanth followed Balarama amid performances by the cultural troupes.
Braving the heat, thousands of people gathered inside the palace and along the procession route. Compared to last year, the turnout was low but not the enthusiasm.
Earlier, in his address after performing the Nandi Dwaja puja, the Chief Minister said the stateliness of Mysuru Dasara had not been affected despite scaling down of the festivities because of drought.
