Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje

Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (SB)

Mangaluru, Oct 1: Mangaluru city is wearing a colourful look. One of the biggest and longest festivals, celebrated with much fervour across the country is Navaratri and the 10th day is celebrated as Vijaya Dashami.

The festive mood has already kicked in, with the streets decorated with thousands of miniature lights. A drive, especially in the night will allow one to witness the colourful and cheerful atmosphere.

The temples are adorned with lights and are inviting people from all corners of the world. Thousands of pilgrims have been thronging the temples for prayers during the Navaratri period.

Prominent streets of Mangaluru such as Ballalbagh, Lalbagh, Alake (Kudroli), MG Road, Mangaladevi, Lady Hill and KS Rao Road are decorated with colourful lights, giving a mesmerizing feel to motorists as well as pedestrians. Despite rush hour traffic in the evenings, one can see people taking a few minutes of their precious time to revel and absorb the beauty of the city. The festive ambiance is captured on cameras and mobile phones. The tiger dance teams have already started performing on streets and are putting traditional steps for Tulunadu’s own musical drum “Taas”.

“Year by year, Mangaluru Dasara is gaining more popularity and thousands of outsiders are visiting the city to enjoy the season. But this year we can see the reflection of financial crisis and collapse of market in the celebration. Due to high expense and poor collection, majority of tiger dance teams and tableau teams have decided to cancel their performances. Few tiger dance teams are performing only during the final two days, “said Lakshmana Achari, who is running a grocery shop in the city.