Mangaluru: In a first, the usually grand-finale of the nine-day Mangaluru Dasara festivities was concluded on October 26 without a procession owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Till this year, the festivities were concluded with pomp and fervour with a grand procession -comprising tableaux, tiger dancers, dancers etc – that was taken through the city till it reached the Kudroli Gokarnanatheshwara Temple.
The Visarjana Puja was performed at 6.30 pm at the Kudroli temple, after which the idols of Lord Ganapathi, nine forms of Goddess Durga, and Goddess Sharada, were brought out from the hall. Goddess Sharada’s idol, which was the last to be taken out, was taken in a procession till the main gate of the temple before being taken around the temple at midnight. Mini replicas of Lord Gokarnanatha and Goddess Annapoorneshwari were given a ceremonial bath and after puja was offered to Goddess Sharada, her idol was immersed in the temple pond. the Pili Nalike was performed by a few Tiger dance troupes, which generated a lot of excitement among the crowd.
The Mangaluru Dasara was, for a long time, seen as a platform by artists and artisans from the rural parts of the district and the outlying areas to showcase their talents. Every year, thousands of attractions, cultural events, and food stalls lined the streets of the city during the festivities, all of which was absent this year.
Apart from the dominance of sanitizers and masks, the most memorable part of this year’s Mangaluru Dasara was the procession of the idols of and the immersion of the goddess on Vijayadashami, the last day of the festival. As large crowds could not gather at the time of the immersion of the idols of the goddesses, the rituals at the Sri Mangaladevi temple/Kudroli Temple were broadcast live on their official Facebook page/TV channels.
Yet another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic was the doll exhibition that has been held on the grounds of the Sharavu Sri Mahaganapathi Temple for over 11 years. Additionally, only the stretch from the Kudroli temple to the Ladyhill Circle was lit up with dazzling lights.
Even the tradition of going house-to-house to perform the ‘Hulivesha’ before Navaratri was scrapped and the Pili Nalike dancers were restricted to performing only in the temple premises.
