Mysore Dasara air show likely to be grounded

Air show, one of the main attractions of Mysore Dasara, may not be a part of the celebrations this year.

Deputy commissioner PS Vastrad, who is the Dasara Special Officer No. 1, said that the air show could not be confirmed because of “procedural reasons”. He said the Dasara committee had appealed to chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda to intervene and he had spoken to defence minister AK Antony to make air show happen. Even as the CM spoke to the defence minister, the Dasara air show was uncertain, Vastrad said.

However, the Dasara celebration will have some element of air daredevilry. Vastrad said a helicopter would drop 40-50 jumpers high in the sky, who will make various formations. He said the organisers were in the process of holding this event closer to the city, where many people could witness the show. He said all other shows in Torchlight Parade Ground would be held as scheduled.

Dasara Thali? Ho-hum
Food inflation has turned the Dasara Thali sour. An office bearer of the hotels’ association in Mysore said the thali had to have delicacies exclusive to Mysore, such as Mysore Pak and Payasam. However, he said the price of food items had almost doubled since past Dasara but the organising committee wanted the hotels to sell the thali at past year’s rate, Rs20.

The office bearer of hotels’ association said Dasara Thali was not feasible for them unless its price was increased by Rs10-Rs12.

He added that the thali had got a dull response past year anyway, as people have stopped having sweets and without Mysore Pak and Payasam, any thali is as good as Dasara Thali.

House-to-house Dasara
This year will see the second edition of Mane Mane Dasara (meaning house-to-house). Under it, households in Mysore take part in the festivities by displaying their doll collection or offering their delicacies to the tourists. Past year only a few houses had been selected for this concept but this time all families will be encouraged to take part. The tourists will choose the 10 best houses. The chosen houses will get prizes and certificates. Mayor of Mysore, Pushpalatha Chikkanna, said a few foreign tourists would be taken to the prize-winning homes to acquaint them with Mane Mane Dasara.