Mangalore Dasara
The Mangalore Dasara is a festival in the Indian city of Mangalore. It is also referred as Navarathri Festival, Vijayadashami and Marnemi In Tulu. The tiger dance and bear dance are the main attractions.
The city is decorated with lights for the 10 days of the occasion. Roya Tiger dance (Kannada: Hulivesha, Tulu: Piliesa) is a folk dance performed during Dasara. Typically young males form troops of five to ten. They are costumed like tigers and use a band with two or three drummers. They roam around the streets and houses. The tiger dance is performed to honor the goddess Sharada, whose favoured animal is the tiger.
People decorate their houses and businesses, shops, hotels, etc. Idols of ‘Navadurgas’ along with Mahaganapathi and Sharada are carried in the procession, augmented by flowers, decorative umbrellas, tableaux, bands, chende and traditional dances, folk dances, Yakshagana characters, Dollu Kunitha, gombe (dolls), karaga, hulivesha (Tiger Dance) and other traditional art forms.
Location
Mangaladevi at Bolar attracts devotees all over India to celebrate the Dasara festival. Mangalore got its name from Mangaladevi. Mangaladevi temple arranges cultural programmes such as folk, music, drama, plays on various themes, ballets and devotional songs. On the ninth day, known as mahanavami, devotees participate in the Rathotsava (car festival). The decorated goddess is mounted on the grand chariot and pulled with thick ropes. The Rathothsava is filled with various deities and many tableaux decorated with colorful lights. The procession reaches Marnamikatta where the goddess is worshipped.
The hundred year anniversary (1912 - 2012) celebration was the center of attraction during the Navarathri festival. The Kudroli Sri Gokarnanatheshwara Temple was built in 1912 by Sri Narayana Guru. Gokarnanatha is the other name for Lord Shiva. The temple is 2 km from the centre of Mangalore city. The temple has Gopuram (tower like structure) decorated with murals of various gods and goddesses. Murals depict scenes from Hindu epics and legends.
The Kudroli temple trust keeps the `Gangavatharana’ (Ganges water flowing from the crown of Lord Shiva) in operation for all 9 days during the Navarathri. The depiction has 4 colorful idols of Shiva 13 feet high with a water jet to rush towards the sky reaching 100 feet. As the water from four sides reach their pinnacle they take the shape of a Shivalingam.
Navarathri and Shivarathri are the two big festivals celebrated at this temple. The celebrations at the temple during Dasara is also popularly called as Mangalore Dasara. Mangalore Dasara was started by B.R.Karkera.