Little Mysore on the coast

While the royal city of Mysore draws its high value tourists from Bangalore, it gets its folk dancers, performers and artistes from the North Karnataka region. Interestingly, the spirit of Mysore Dasara permeated into the Coast years ago and today, the mantle of spreading the fragrance of Mysore in the Coast has been worn by a small group of 125 families from Mysore, who have settled in Mangalore.

Preferring to call themselves ‘Vipra Koota-Nammavaru’, the families put up a large show of dolls, which is a characteristic of Mysore Dasara, as every house in Mysore and some old Mysoreans in Bangalore practice. While the ‘Bombe Thottilu’ as it is called fondly is common in areas like Basavanagudi, Malleswaram, Jayanagar, Hanumanthnagar and Padmandabhanagar in Bangalore, the Vipra Koota has brought it to Mangalore as well.

“We have been holding the dolls exhibition for the past six years and our coastal fraternity are delighted to see the beautiful dolls from another culture. This time we have used the sesquicentennial of Swami Vivekananda as a theme. But that’s not all, we have over 1,000 dolls, including the Dasara procession, Amba Vilas Palace, old Mysore ritualistic theatre, social engagements like marriages, Brahmopadesha. This time, new inclusions like the Tirupathi Brahmotsava, figures from Kalinga Mardhana, will be featured,” said MS Gururaj, general secretary of Nammavaru.

In another cultural exchange, the homes in Mysore and Bangalore have the colourful Yakshagana dolls, fisherwomen, Krishna temple of Udupi, Brahmaratha of Udupi and many other dolls from the coast.