Daijiworld Media Network - Mysuru

Mysuru, Sep 25: Sandalwood's renowned veteran actor 'Crazy Star' V Ravichandran is set to inaugurate the historic Srirangapatna Dasara festival for the year 2026. A delegation led by the Mandya district administration and Srirangapatna MLA Ramesh Bandisiddegowda visited the actor's residence in Bengaluru to extend the official invitation, which he happily accepted.

The historic Srirangapatna Dasara holds the unique distinction of laying the foundation for the world-renowned Mysuru Dasara. Following the fall of the Vijayanagara empire in 1610 AD, Raja Wodeyar established Srirangapatna as his capital and officially initiated the Dasara celebrations here for the first time.

This year, the historic four-day festival will be held from October 15 to 18. On October 15, Ravichandran will flag off the Jumboo Savari procession by offering floral tributes to the portrait of Goddess Chamundeshwari placed on an elephant at the Bannimantap in Kirangur. The district administration made this decision to honour his extensive contribution to the Kannada film industry, adding a touch of cinematic popularity to the historic cultural festival.

Meanwhile, bringing an end to recent speculations, Gavisiddeshwara Swamiji has been officially selected to inaugurate this year's Mysuru Dasara.

Cauvery Aarti to be a major attraction

A significant religious and tourist attraction during this year's festivities will be the Cauvery Aarti. Modeled after the famous Ganga Aarti in North India's Varanasi, the event will commence on October 11 and span six days.

A special team of priests arriving from Varanasi will perform the grand aarti to the river Cauvery near the Krishnarajasagara (KRS) Brindavan Gardens. The event will be inaugurated by chief minister D K Shivakumar.