Mysore: Sri Ravi Shankar to Inaugurate 204th Edition of Dasara Festival

H M Aravind / TNN

Mysore, Sep 19: Redefining the cultural and traditional opulence, Mysore Dasara-2009 will begin on a grand note on Saturday, September 19. 

Spiritual leader Sri Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will inaugurate the 204th edition of the festivities atop Chamundi Hills in Mrushika Lagna between 10.38 am and 11.05 am. Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa will arrive in a chartered flight to Mandakalli. His arrival acts as a soft launch of the Mysore airport.

The spread of 10-day programmes is a veritable feast: classical music and dance, theatre festival, films, music, food mela, dolls show, folk arts, sports and air show.

Musicians Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, M Balamuralikrishna, Jagjit Singh, M M Keeravani, Shubha Mudgal, Bombay Jayashri and Ustad Ali Ahmed Hussain will jazz up the celebrations with their performances. The Naada Habba's big draw Yuva Dasara will have Shreya Ghoshal, Shaan, Kunal Ganjawala and `Namma' Raghu Dikshit and Vijayprakash of `Jai Ho' fame.

Surya Kirans are coming

The defence ministry has agreed to fly Surya Kiran at the Dasara air show on September 24. The team will take off from Bangalore and return after showcasing its skills in Mysore. Earlier, the Air Force officials had said that it was not possible for the Surya Kiran team to take off from Mysore airport because of smaller width of the runway. This apart, Sarang, the helicopter team, will enthrall the audience.

Uninterrupted power supply

Illuminated streets will light up the spirit of tourists with the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) spending Rs 1 crore to supply uninterrupted power on all days.

Special package tours

The KSRTC will offer four special package tours to nearby tourist spots at subsidized rates from September 19 to 28. The one-day package tour includes Giridarshini, Jaladarshini, Nagaradarshini and Devadarshini. This apart, additional buses will ply to historical places like Krishnarajasagar Dam and Srirangapatna.