A dialogue was held recently by the Mysore District Journalists' Association in the presence of the District In - charge Minister regarding formation of a permanent Authority to conduct Dasara festivities every year on the right lines planning well ahead of the festival.

It has become a normal, nay, a customary practice every year to start planning for organising Dasara late though the dates and the month are known in the calendar a year ahead. And we all are well aware of how things are happening for an annual attractive festival by taking late decisions while organising it.

Every year, the government wants it in an organised way planning well in advance, but it ends in the same old way. The thinking of constituting an Authority to conduct Dasara festivities is not a new one. It is there for over the last 25 years. Is it not surprising?

Let me narrate how this thinking started in the minds of the government. I was made the Dasara Special Officer in 1986 when there was hardly just over a month left for Dasara. It was a severe draught year in Karnataka including Mysore District. Hence the decision to conduct the festival was delayed, but still Ramakrishna Hegde, the then CM, decided not to stop it though there was opposition from a section.

Anyway, the festival ended in the usual manner, but within a budget of Rs. 25 lakh, and saving again about 10 per cent unspent. Now we know what the present budget allotment for Dasara festivities is.

As soon as the festival was over, the government wanted to set up a permanent officer to conduct Dasara every year. I sent a detailed proposal to the government with the experience of my long association with Dasara festivities.

What I had suggested was to constitute a Dasara Festivities Authority entrusting it the full responsibility of conducting Dasara in the real sense with all its original grandeur and also making it an attractive tourist festival in the midst of its traditional background. To make it a real happening, I had mentioned in my report the best way of formulating the norms after studying how Republic Day Parade was organised so meticulously — planning by an exclusive wing in the Defence Ministry. And how they work year - long to conduct this annually and also try to make it more attractive year by year.

I knew as an officer of the Information Department how early, may be six months earlier, to present a model of our State Tableau in the Defence Ministry to get selected for R - Day Parade in the midst of tough competition from other States. So also, for folk troupe from the State. This was just an example.

After the government went through the report, I do not know what happened further. But for the next year Dasara (after 1986), I was called from Bangalore by the then Mysore Divisional Commissioner Neelakanta Raj to share my experience as again there was shortage of time to organise the festival and he was the Chairman of the Festival Committee.

So, this tradition of delay is being observed to conduct this traditional Dasara every year at a huge budget. Now, the time has come to constitute a Dasara Authority and the government must give due attention to it.

Can we take the just commenced work on Rajpath as the first step on the way of constituting the Authority?

K. Vijay Kumar,
Former Jt. Director of Information & Publicity
Courtesy: Star Of Mysore