The 11-day Mysuru Dasara festivities got off to a traditional start atop Chamundi Hills on Sunday, with Abhinava Gavisiddeshwara Swami of Gavimutt, Koppal, lighting the traditional lamp and showering flowers on the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari placed in a flower-bedecked silver chariot on the temple premises.

The inauguration marked the beginning of a series of Dasara events, including the flower show, citywide illumination, Dasara sports meet, cultural programmes against the backdrop of the illuminated Mysuru palace, food festival, book fair and traditional wrestling bouts.

Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and other dignitaries participated in the inaugural ceremony, setting the stage for 11 days of festivities celebrating Mysuru’s rich cultural heritage and royal traditions. For the first time, over 200 seers and religious heads attended the inaugural event.

In his inaugural address, the seer said Dasara, once a royal festival, had evolved into a celebration of the people and the land.

Saying that he did not consider himself good enough to inaugurate Dasara, the seer said he had come to the abode of Goddess Chamundeshwari with a prayer that the lamp lit by great personalities in the past should continue to burn. “I have come to pray for good rains and a good harvest, and for the happiness of the people,” he said.

Describing Dasara as a confluence of the past, the present, and the future, he said society should be built on values and ethics rather than caste. “Loving another human being as a human being is humanity,” he said, recalling Basavanna’s 12th-century message of Kayakave Kailasa (work is worship).

Recalling the Mysuru royal family’s contribution to the development of the region, the seer said the Dasara tradition could not be separated from the history of the Wadiyar dynasty.

‘We cannot download food’

Emphasising the importance of agriculture, the seer said technology might make it possible to download almost everything, but it could never download food.

“However advanced technology may become, we cannot download rice and sambar. We depend on the crops grown by farmers,” he said, calling for greater priority to agriculture and the conservation of natural resources.

He urged the government and the public to protect rivers such as the Cauvery, the Krishna, and the Tungabhadra. “We can import many things, but we cannot import water,” he said.

‘Contribute to schools’

Recalling educationist Harekal Hajabba’s contribution, who used his earnings from selling fruits to build a school, the seer urged people to support the development of schools in their respective villages.

“People from Karnataka who have settled overseas can contribute to building laboratories and libraries in schools, giving back to their homeland and supporting the State’s development,” he said.

“If all 6 crore people in the State pledge to work for development, it will mean 6 crore steps in the right direction,” he said.