The temple town of Dharmasthala will be abuzz with activities when the six-day Lakshadeepotsava, Sarva Dharma Sammelan and Sahitya Sammelan will kick start from Friday.
An exhibition with about 300 stalls will be opened in the town in the evening on Friday. It will remain open till 9 p.m. on Wednesday next.
There will be cultural activities from 7 p.m. and utsavs after 9 p.m.
The former Speaker of Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan will inaugurate the Sarva Dharma Sammelan on November 25 at 5 p.m. It will be presided over by Gaur Gopaldas, Indian lifestyle coach, ISKCON.
Deputy Chief Minister Ashwath Narayan will inaugurate the Sahitya Sammelan on November 26 at 5 p.m. Scholar B.A. Vivek Rai will preside over it.
The Hosakatte Utsav, the Kerekatte Utsav, the Lalitodyana Utsav, the Kanchimarukatte Utsav, the Gaurimarukatte Utsav and the Chandranatha Swamy Samavasarana Puja will be held from Friday to Wednesday.
Some of the major cultural programmes will include Carnatic classical concert by K. Vageesha and classical dance by Vanigopal and Party on Monday; Kathak by Ashok Kumar and Party on Tuesday; classical dance by Apeksha Suresh and M.S. Shantala on November 24.
In addition, there will be dance, music progammes, magic show and Yakshagana in the exhibition pandal every day.
As a prelude to the Lakshadeepotsava, hundreds of people will take out a padayatra from Ujire to Dharmasthala at 3 p.m. on Friday.
More than 100 volunteers took part in cleaning activities in the town on Wednesday. They collected 292 bags of trash from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Mass marriage
The 49th annual mass marriage will be organised in Dharmasthala on April 29, 2020, at 6.40 p.m.
Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara Dharmottana Trust will bear the expenses of the marriage, a release said and added that there will be no scope for a second marriage.
Those who would like to tie the nuptial knot will have to apply with relevant documents by April 25, 2020. Call Ph: 08256-277144 or 9663464648 for details.
So far, 12,262 couples have been married in the mass marriage programme in the town.
