Mangaluru Dasara: ’Shobha Yatras’ end Navarathri festivities

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Oct 1, 2017: The Navaratri festival came to a reluctant end at the Kudroli Gokarnanatha and Mangaladevi temples with the taking out of a grand Shobha Yatras from the temples. The yatra could be seen till this Sunday Oct 1, morning. People came in large numbers to witness the two processions.

The yatra from the Kudroli Gokarnanatha temple started around 5.30 p.m. The police barred movement of vehicles from New Chitra Theatre and Alike Junction. The procession was led by teams of folk artists from different parts of the State. There were around 60 different tableaux featuring mythological themes, ‘huli vesha’ (donning the role of a tiger), and dances to old film music.

The first idol in the procession was that of Lord Ganesh. This was followed by the idol of reformer Narayana Guru and then of the nine Navadurga idols.

It was around 7 p.m. that the Sharada idol joined the procession. All these idols were installed at Gokarnanatha temple on September 21.

The procession went on at a snail’s pace covering Mannagudda, Lady Hill, Lalbagh, P.V.S Circle, K.S. Rao Road, Hampankatta, Venkataramana Temple and Car Street. All the idols returned to the temple around 6 a.m. on Sunday.

From Mangaladevi: A similar Shobha Yatra started from the Mangaladevi temple at 7 p.m. Several cultural dance troupes and folk artists led the procession of the ‘Utsava Moorti’ of Mangaladevi.

The procession began with the bursting of crackers. Tableaux featuring huli vesha and mythological themes were part of the procession. The colourfully decked wooden chariot carrying the idol of the presiding deity was the last in the procession. It culminated at Marnamikatte in the early this morning October 1, Sunday.