The Mysuru Heritage Department will organise a Navadurga doll exhibition and a series of heritage-focused public programmes during this year’s Dasara celebrations, expanding the festival’s engagement with the city’s historic buildings, traditional practices and cultural landscape.
The doll exhibition will be held from October 11 to 21 at the Archaeological Museums and Heritage Department premises within the Dasara exhibition grounds at Dodda Kere Maidan. It will be the first time the department is arranging a traditional doll display at the venue, according to C.N. Manjula, Deputy Director of Heritage, who told Prajavani about the plans.
The display will feature dolls representing the nine forms of Navadurga — Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri. The dolls will be arranged in five rows in the department’s veranda. Traditional arrangements typically use an odd number of steps and are intended to narrate mythological and historical stories through carefully staged figures.
The department said the display will connect the Navadurga tradition with the story of Chamundeshwari’s battle against Mahishasura. In the cultural narrative, gods, goddesses and other living beings lend their powers to Chamundeshwari. The doll arrangement represents this mythology through visual storytelling, while also presenting a customary practice associated with Navaratri celebrations in homes.
The programme will extend beyond the exhibition. The department plans to organise heritage bicycle rides and heritage walks to familiarise residents and visitors with Mysuru’s history, historic locations, heritage sites and traditional buildings. History experts will provide participants with information about the locations visited during these activities.
A tangga ride has also been planned for couples wearing traditional clothing such as the Mysuru peta and Mysuru silk. The department said the programme is intended to present Mysuru’s heritage through public-facing experiences connected to the city’s established cultural identity.
As part of the celebrations, the department will visit between 10 and 15 homes that have traditionally arranged Dasara dolls. Applications will be invited, and officials will inspect the displays between October 11 and 14. The department plans to award ₹5,000, ₹3,000 and ₹2,000 for the first three positions. It will seek guidance from people familiar with the doll-arranging tradition while conducting the visits.
The department is also planning a ‘Selfie with Heritage Building’ photography competition aimed particularly at young people and members of Generation Z. Applications will be invited, and three winners will receive prizes of ₹5,000, ₹3,000 and ₹2,000 respectively. The department said it would seek assistance from people with knowledge of heritage and photography in selecting the entries.
The initiatives place heritage interpretation alongside the more visible public events of the Dasara festival. Their implementation will depend on the department’s scheduled exhibition, home visits, heritage activities and competition processes between October 11 and 21.
