BENGALURU: Writer and Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq expressed her gratitude for getting the invitation to inaugurate the Mysuru Dasara festival this year. “It is both the happiest personal moment and a socially important one for me,” says Mushtaq.
“My father was employed at Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS), and during Dasara, every year I used to go with the family. I have witnessed the procession of Sri Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar. I never had any thought that one day I would be inaugurating it,” Mushtaq recalled her childhood memories. Calling Dasara the Nada Habba of Karnataka, Mushtaq described it as an occasion of inclusiveness and unity.
“That is why it is special, because it is an occasion where the government has shown the inclusiveness of all the people of Karnataka. Normally, even the marginalised people, women, they are allowed to inaugurate, they are included,” she said.
“Due to the recent policies of various governments, I have witnessed discrimination against particular groups, communities, sects, castes, and creeds. But in the choice made by the Karnataka government, they have surpassed all these discriminations.
There is solidarity among the people,” she said. Mushtaq added that this inclusivity honours diverse communities and womanhood. “It is a celebration of Kannada culture, and at the same time, the heritage of the Mysuru Maharajas is prevailing,” she noted.