President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the Dasara 2022 festivities by offering floral tributes to the deity of Chamundeshwari atop Chamundi Hills in Mysuru on September 26.
Ms. Murmu told the participants that festivals of gods, goddesses and human characters related to history and folklore were celebrated across India, and the Dasara festivities in Mysuru are a celebration of Indian culture and tradition.
She acknowledged the presence of the country’s spiritual centres in Karnataka, citing as examples the ancient sites of Jainism and Buddhism, the Sringeri mutt established by Adi Shankaracharya, Sufi culture in Kalaburagi, Anubhava Mantapa of 12th century social reformer Basavanna.
She pointed out that Karnataka is leading the country in the field of Information Technology (IT) by bagging 53% of the total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) received by India in hardware and software during the financial year 2021-22 and added that the State also tops the country in the innovation index of Niti Aayog’s Sustainable Development Goals India Index 2020-21.
Addressing the gathering, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai thanked President Droupadi Murmu for accepting his invitation to inaugurate the Dasara festivities. He said he did not know if the country’s President had ever inaugurated the Dasara festival in Mysuru.
Mr. Bommai said the Dasara festival, which is celebrated as a ‘Nada Habba’, or festival of the State, is an occasion for the people to purify their thoughts so that they can be away from evil and do good for society.
Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot, who used to watch the event on television earlier, participated in the function and said he was attending the Dasara inaugural programme for the first time.
Minister for Co-operation S.T. Somashekar, who is also the Minister in charge of Mysuru district, said Dasara festival was celebrated in a simple manner during the last two years because of COVID-19 restrictions. But this year, Mr. Somashekar added, the celebrations will be held on a grand scale with a number of attractions for the public.
Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shobha Karandlaje and Karnataka’s Minister for Energy, Kannada and Culture V. Sunil Kumar participated in the function.
Earlier, Ms. Murmu, who arrived at the airport in Mysuru, was received by Mr. Gehlot and Mr. Bommai.
