For the last 37 years, the Rajput community in Bengaluru has been marking Dasara in a grand way through the Rajput Sabha’s annual 10-day-long celebration, the Dasara Mahotsav, throwing open its doors to Bengalureans of all communities to come together in festivities. Ajit Singh, president of Rajput Sabha, Vasanthnagar, explains its roots, sharing, “Our Kula Devata is the goddess Amba Bhavani or Durga so we celebrate with valour and with the purpose of teaching people to respect women – women are a form of Shakti, who protects and empowers.”
Singh adds that the community’s history in Karnataka goes a long way back. “We are a small community who migrated here 200-300 years ago. Since then, we have spread across Bengaluru, Mysuru, Kalburgi and various places across Karnataka and have become more like Kannadigas,” he smiles.
The festivities are set to continue till October 21 and include religious and cultural aspects with homas and poojas held alongside cultural programmes. A major part of the celebrations is the sumangali pooja, which had 600 women participating this year. “Every day, we have a mangalaarti at 7pm, followed by a cultural programme. We have had dandiya nights, as well as playback singers performing devotional songs. On Monday, we will have a Bharatanatyam performance, while on Tuesday, a skit on the stories of the maata will be presented. Finally, on the 21st, we take the maata for visarjan. We usually have a total of 5,000 to 6,000 people attending throughout,” shares Singh.
