The glittering Dassara that was

The dust has finally settled on this Year’s Mysore Dassara. All the brouhaha over the caparisoned elephant carrying the mammoth Golden Howdah on Vijaya Dashami and the fears on the conduct of the elephant during the Jumboo Savari or procession was after all just fears as the event passed off without any major hitch.

The Dassara was the cynosure of all eyes and lakhs of people made it to Mysore to witness the Nada Habba. The entire city of Mysore looked like one huge moving mass of people as they were to be found everywhere-at the Chamundi Betta worshipping the Goddess; at the Main palace taking in its splendor; at the KRS marveling at the engineering skill and ingenuity of Sir M Visveshvaraiah; at the Jaganmohan Palace gazing in amazement at the Lady with the Lamp, the magnificent musical clock and other rich collections and at the Cauvery emporium looking at awe with the intricate carved goods on display.

For thousands though, the Jumboo Savari or Vijayadashami procession was an event of lifetime. Except for the Republic Day, nowhere else is such an elaborate event held in India. Of course, there are several religious, political and social events but can they match the beauty and ancient history of  the Dassara. What distinguishes this event is the royal touch it gets and the air of religiosity and royal pomp that it breathes into the event.

While the Republic Day event is a little more than six decades old, the Dassara of Mysore goes back to more than four centuries though it was always not held in the City.

The first recorded mention of the Dassara in the Mysore annals is when Raja Wodeyar of Mysore defeats the Vijayanagar Viceroy in 1610 and he also shifts his capital from Msyore to Srirangapatna, which was the capital of the Vijayanagar province (He is the same Raja Wodeyar who was cursed by Alamelu, the wife of  the Vijayanagar Viceroy).

Raja Wodeyar decided to continue with the Dassara tradition that had been conceptualised into a grand and breathtaking affair by the Vijayanagar Emperors from 1336 when they founded the Hindu Empire with Hampi as their capital. Over years and centuries, the Vijayanagar Dassara came to be more elaborate and it transformed into an event that showcased the might and richness of the Vijayanagar Empire.

The ruins of the Mahanavami Dibba in Hampi is the place from where the Vijayanagar Emperors sat with their families and noblemen to witness the Dassara. The Dibba thus can be said to be the first recorded platform from where the Dassara was witnessed. Fortunately for us, we have enough records of the Dassara events held by three different Emperors of Vijayanagar and each is more magnificent than the other.

The first direct mention of the Dassara or Navaratri is by the Italian traveller Nicolo Conti or Nicolo dei Conti (1395-1469). He came to Hampi in 1420-1421 and his description of Hampi and the festivities is among the first of foreign accounts.

He was in Vijayanagar and he writes of the Dassara after the ascension of Devaraya the second (1428-1446). By the way, Dei Ponti never wrote anything himself, his memoires were recorded in Latin by Poggio Bracciolini (1380-1459), the Papal secretary, for the Pope’s information.

Conti was a Venetian merchant who traveled in Persia, India and the East Indies from 1419 to 1444. He embraced Eastern cultures, learning native languages, marrying an Indian woman, and even converting to Islam. When he returned to Italy, the Church forced him to convert back to Catholicism. As penance for his errant ways, Pope Eugenius IV (1431–1447) ordered Conti to retell the story of his travels to his Secretary Poggio Bracciolini.

In one of his chapters on Vijayanagar or Biznagar as he calls it, he describes the Navaratri in the following terms. “ Thrice in the year, they (people of Vijayanagar) keep festivals of especial solemnity. On one of these occasions the males and females of all ages, having bathed in the rivers or the sea, clothe themselves in new garments, and spend three entire days in singing, dancing, and feasting. On another of these festivals they fix up within their temples, and on the outside on the roofs, an innumerable number of lamps of oil of Susimanni, which are kept burning day and night. On the third (this is the Navaratri), which lasts nine days, they set up in all the highways large beams, like the masts of small ships, to the upper part of which are attached pieces of very beautiful cloth of various kinds, interwoven with gold. On the summit of each of these beams is each day placed a man of pious aspect, dedicated to religion, capable of enduring all things with equanimity, who is to pray for the favour of God. These men are assailed by the people, who pelt them with oranges, lemons, and other odoriferous fruits, all which they bear most patiently. There are also three other festival days, during which they sprinkle all passers-by, even the king and queen themselves, with saffron water, placed for that purpose by the wayside. This is received by all with much laughter”.

The next description of the Dassara is by the Persian traveller Abdul Razzak (1413-1482). He too came to Vijayanagar during his travels of India. He witnessed the Dasara and Navaratri celebrations during his stay at Hampi between 1442-1443 and the Emperor then was Devaraya the second.

He was in Hampi or Vijayanagar from the end of April till December 5 1443. Razzak mentions a nine-storied pavilion from which the King and his nobles witnessed the Dassara.

He says, “The infidels of this country who are endowed with power are fond of displaying their pride, pomp, power and glory in holding every year a stately and magnificent festival which they call Mahanavami”.

An awe struck  Razzak remarked of Hampi, “The city is such that eye has not seen nor ear heard of any place resembling it upon the whole earth. It is so built that it has seven fortified walls, one within the other.”

The Dassara celebrations reached the pinnacle during the reign of Krishna Deva Raya (1509-1530). This is described in detail by Domingo Paes during his visit to Hampi in 1520. A Portuguese traveller, his account of Hampi or Bisnaga as he calls it, is one of the most detailed of all historic narrations.. 

 Krishnadeva Raya ensured that the Dassara was celebrated with grandeur  and pomp.

After him the Dassara is described by Fernao Nuniz, a Portuguese traveller. He was in the court of Achyutaraya and he describes the Dassara of 1532.

Tragically, the pomp and glory of the Vijayanagar fades into pages of history as the Muslim Kingdoms of the Deccan rout the Hindu Kingdom in the battle of Talikota near Bijapur in 1565. Hampi is destroyed, pillaged, ravaged and burnt down and all its edifices is ruthlessly and systematically broken down.

Dassara thus vanished after 1565 only to reappear a few years later in the Vijayanagar province of Srirangapatna. The years after 1565 see an uneasy calm between the rising forces of Mysore Wodeyars and the declining power of the Vijayanagars.

In 1610, Raja Wodeyars vanquishes the Vijayanagar Wodeyar and takes their capital of Srirangapatna. He then decides to continue with the Dassara celebrations and since then, the procession has come to be known as Mysore Dassara.

However, Dassara came to Mysore only after 1799: when Tipu Sultan was killed in the fourth and final battle Anglo-Mysore war, the capital was shifted to Mysore and the Kingdom restored to the Wodeyars.

The Wodeyars continued the Dassara at Mysore. The last Wodeyara Maharaja to participate in the Dassara festivities was Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar. Today, his son and heir, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar, continues the legacy but he is no Maharaja but only a Yuvaraja.

The Dassara now has become an event organised by the Government. Naturally, babus and bureaucrats, netas and politicians want to hog the limelight. The crowds that the Dassara draws act as a catalyst for these people who make a beeline to Mysore during Dassara.

Thankfully, nobody has been able to tamper with the tradition of the Dassara which is still kept alive in its antiquity by the Wodeyar family. The Khasa Darbar of private durbar during Navaratri, the exhibition of the Golden throne during Navaratri, the Vajra Musti Kalaga and many other rituals associated with the sacred are still kept alive by members of the royal family. 

The khadi clad traveller

India’s fight for freedom coincided with the rise of Mahatma Gandhi as the first among equals of a galaxy of freedom fighters, social and political reformers and saints, all of whom had a direct bearing on the awakening of the new India.

If Rabindranath Tagore was the voice of  literature, Vivekananda the votary of religion and Subash Chandra Bose the voice of the youth, Gandhi was the  “non-violinist” and a true man of the masses.

Wherever Gandhi went and whichever part of undivided India he stayed, he drew huge crowds. In Karnataka too, the influence of Gandhi was felt in the several movements that he championed from the Quit India struggle to the Dandi march.

Though much of  Karnataka then was under the Wodeyars, Gandhi did influence the people of the princely State and also the rest of  the regions-Hyderabad Karnataka, Bombay Karnataka. The massacre by the British of several innocents in Vidurashwatha near Gauribidanur drew a quick and immediate response from Gandhi and other national leaders.

He visited Karnataka, including Bangalore several times. His public meetings drew huge crowds and he was popular with the people and leaders alike.

On returning from South Africa in 1915, Gandhi  visited Madras and at the request of  D.V. Gundappa, he made a short visit to Bangalore on May 8th 1915 to unveil the portrait of Gopala Krishna Gokhale.

Gandhi had taken the rail from Madras to Bangalore and at Bangarpet, he was garlanded and honored on the platform by local Gujarati merchants. This was his first visit to the princely state of Mysore.

During his second visit to Karnataka in 1917, Gandhi came to Belgaum and stayed there for five days, inaugurating the Bombay State political conference.

Gandhi again visited Karnataka in 1920 and this time he stayed in Bangalore on August 11 as part of the Khilafat movement. He addressed a public conference and then left for Madras by rail.

A week later, while returning from Madras, Gandhi visited Mangalore and Kasargod on August 19.

Three months later, Gandhi again returned to Karnataka and this time he came to Nipani in Belgaum district  on November 7. he then visited  Chikkodi, Hukkeri, Sankeshwar and halted at Belgaum. On 10 November 10, he came to Dharwad and the next day  addressed gatherings at Hubli and Gadag.

During his 1921 tour of Karnataka, Gandhi spent time on May 27 and May 29 in  Bagalkot, Bijapur and Kolhar. The same year, unavoidable circumstances forced him to stay at Bellary Railway Station for few hours on September 30 night. Later he proceeded to Guntkal by train in the morning.

In 1924, Gandhi presided over the Belgaum Congress from December 20 to December 27.

During 1927, Gandhi undertook a State-wide tour of Karnataka as part of the Khadi campaign. He visited Nippani on March 31 where he fell ill with a slight paralytic stroke. On doctor’s advice, (1st April) he left Belgaum on April 1 to Ambolki for rest.

It was from Amboli that Gandhi came to Nandi Hills on April 20.

He stayed in the resort for 45 days (April 20 to June 5 ) and then came down to Bangalore via Chikballapur on  June 5, 1927.

Gandhi stayed back in Bangalore from June 5 to August 30.

During his stay here, he visited Yelahanka on July 2, Tumkur and Madhugiri from Julty 14 to July 16, Mysore , KRS, K.R. Nagar and Srirangapattana and then returned to Mysore  on July 23,  Ramanagar and Kanakapura  on July 31 and August 1,  Arasikere on August 2,  Holenarasipur and Hassan from August 2 to August 4,  Davangere on August 12,  Harihara, Honnali and Malebennur on August 13,  Shimoga on August 14 and August 15, Ayyanuru, Kumshi, Choradi, Ananthpur and Sagar the next day and  Thirthalli, Mandagadde, Gajanur on August 17.

Gandhi stayed on in Shimoga on August 17 from where he visited Bhadravathi, Kadur and Birur the next day and  Chikmagalur on August 19.

He was taken to Belur, Halebid and Arasikere on August 20 after which he returned to Bangalore. Ten days later, he left for Vellore by train.

Gandhi once again visited Karnataka during the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930. Gandhi toured Karnataka from 1934 to 1936 as part of what he himself called Harijan uplift programmes.

In 1934, Gandhi visited Vidhuraswatha, Gowribidanur, Doddaballapur, Tumkur, Tyamagondalu, Nelamangala, Bangalore and then came to Mysore January 5, 1934. In Mysore, he visited Tagadur, Badanawal, Nanjanagud and then proceeded to Mandya,  Maddur, Besagarahalli, Shivapura, Somanahalli, Channapatna, Ramanagar, Kanakapura, Bidadi, Kengeri and reached Bangalore on January6.

On January 10, he left for Vallavi Kote and after touring Tamil Nadu, visited Mysore, Tittimatti, Kikkeri, Ponnampet, and Hudigere. Later he came to Virajpet, Bellur, Somwarpet, Gundagutti, and stayed on February 23 at Madikeri.

After Madikeri, Gandhi came to Sampaje, Sullia, Puttur, Uppinangadi, Vittala, Kannadaka, Pane Mangalore, Bantwal and halted at Mangalore on February 24. he then visited Gurupura, Bajpe, Katilu, Kengoli, Mulki, Padabidri, Kapu, Ratapadi, Udayavara, Udupi, Brahmavara  the next day before halting at Kundapur for two days on February 25 and February 26.

The next day Gandhi visited Bhatkal, Honnavara, Kadri and halted at Karwar on February 27. He then visited Binaga, Chandiya, Ankola, Hiregutti, Mandageri, Kumta, Ammanapalli, Hegde and halted at Sirsi on February 28.

He then came to Kanasur, Siddapura, Dasanakoppa, Isur, Yakkambi, Samasaji, Alur, Devi Hosur, Haveri, Byadgi, Motebennur, Murugamut and halted at Haveri on March 1.

From Haveri, Gandhi came to Ranebennur, Harihar, Davanagere, Duggatti, Bennihal, Harappanahalli, Kottur, Kudligi, Kanavihalli and halted at Sandur on March 2.

He halted in Sandur for a day and then visited Bellary, Hospet, Banapura, Gadag, Jakkali and halted at Hubli on March 3. His next visits were to Dharwad, Marewada, Aminabhavi, Moraba, Harobidi, Hongala, Uppina Betageri, Hirehullekere, Saundatti, Gural Hosur, Bailhongal, Sampagaon and Bagewadi on March 4. He finally halted at Begaum for two days-March 4 and March 5. He then visited Tondekatte and returned to Belgaum on March 6.

He then visited Yamakamaradi, Ontamuri, Hukkeri, Gokak, Sankeshwar, Gadihingalga, Hattikanagale, Nippani, Bhoj, Havinhal, Kotahalli, Dholagarawadi, Chikkodi, Ankali and halted at Shedbal on  March 7.

On March 8 after visiting Mangasuli, Banahatti, Athani, Honnawad, Tikota, Toravi, Bijapur and Ilkal, he left for Hyderabad.

This exhaustive tour of more than two months brought about social awareness to the downtrodden and they started gaining self-confidence and courage.

Please remember that the roads then were bad and the connectivity not so good as it is today. Yet, Gandhi went about almost the entire length and breadth of the State without rest. We can only say one word-fantastic and mindblowing. 

In 1936, Gandhi fell ill due to high blood pressure and he was advised rest. He came to Nandi Hills during May 1936. He reached Nandi Hills on  May 11 and stayed there till May 20. The next day  he left for Bangalore after visiting Chikballapur, Sidlaghatta, Chintamani, Kolar, Bangarpet and KGF. He came to Bangalore  from Malur where he stayed upto June 10, 1936.

After visiting Kengeri he left for Madras on June 11. This was his last visit to Bangalore and the princely State of Mysore.

In April 1937, Gandhi visited Hudali in Belgaum District, to inaugurate a khadi Exhibition. He stayed there from April 16 to  April 21. This was his last visit to Karnataka.

After this, till his death in 1948, he never could visit Karnataka. However, he had a friend in Sir Mirza Ismail, the then Dewan of Mysore and Maharaja of Mysore, Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar.