Mangalore: Kudroli Temple Navaratri Celebrations Inaugurated
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (RS/SP)
Mangalore, Sep 19: Dasara celebrations were given an initiation with a bang at the specially illuminated and decorated Kudroli Gokarnanatha temple here, with the installation of the idols of Goddess Sharadadevi and nine idols of Goddess Durga (Navadurga), amidst the chanting of hymns and performance of Vedic rituals on the morning of Saturday, September 19.
Gopal Hosur, inspector general of police, western range, inaugurated the Navaratri celebration at Kudroli temple, by lighting the lamp placed in front of the idols of Goddess Sharada devi and Nava Durgas.
The idols of Goddess Sharada Devi and Navadurgas in nine incarnations i.e., Adishakti, Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kooshmadini, Skandamatha, Katyayini, Mahakali, Mahagowri and Siddidhatri. Along with these idols, an idol of Lord Ganapathi has also been installed.
The annual Navaratri festivities are being held on a large scale at this temple, since the last 19 years, with each passing year having been marked by additional, unique features. Former union minister, B Janardhana Poojary, who was the rallying force behind the grand reconstruction and renovation of the temple, has ensured that the Navaratri festival at the temple becomes an occasion for celebration for every community and religion in the district. During this festival, the presence of people belonging to different religions and their leaders, who also contribute to the success of the festival, is a noteworthy feature of the Mangalore Dasara, thanks to Poojary’s initiatives.
Several cultural programmes are being organized at the temple, on all the ten days, which include musical concerts, plays and other events.
The celebration of Dasara in Kudroli temple, which is more popularly known with the name, ‘Mangalore Dasara,’ also is hailed as an alternative to the grand Mysore Dasara. Members of various communities and the organizations decorate the city with decorative lights and also by setting up welcome hoardings on the road sides.
The celebration of Mangalore Dasara will be inaugurated by the Governor of the state, H R Bharadwaj, on Tuesday September 22.
The immersion procession of the idols, to be taken out on September 28, will be accompanied by nearly a hundred tableaux. This year, the celebration committee has arranged for one thousand big, colourful umbrellas to add colour and glitter to the procession.