Hyderabad: City Kannadigas celebrate Dasara with zeal and zest

Hyderabad: The Kannada community in Hyderabad is celebrating Naada Habba (a ten-day Dasara celebration) with the same fervour and tradition as in the Mysore.

Members of Karnataka Sahitya Mandira have been celebrating the 10-day festival with pomp and zeal for the past 87 years, this year is the 88th year of celebration which highlights the rich culture and literature of the Kannada community. Various cultural activities are been organised for these ten days. There are nearly ten lakh Kannada-speaking residents located in the city from Kacheguda, Vidyanagar, and Malkajgiri.

Karnataka Sahitya Mandira Secretary Narasimha Murthy Jois stated, “This is our 88th year of celebration. The most significant of these is the Nadahabbacelebrations, which are being celebrated with great fervour for 10 days and giving due prominence to literary and cultural activities as well as various competitions for children held to encourage them. We have been organising various literary seminars and symposia, cultural programmes like classical and light music, gazals and mushairas, dramas and dances of various cultures. The performers and participants in these activities are invited artists of national and international repute.

“On the first day, we offer prayers to Naada Devi, and for the next ten days, numerous cultural programmes will be conducted, as well as performances by various Karnataka artists. Through these cultural programmes, we hope to raise awareness of our community’s rich culture and customs. In addition to all the various cultural events that have been planned, we are attempting to replicate the atmosphere and fervour of the Mysore festival throughout these ten days. However, we do not bring the large elephant procession because we lack sufficient space,” he added.

“My family and I loved to be a part of the Nadahabba celebrations at Karnataka Sahitya Mandira. During Navratri we do not miss the celebration even for a single day, especially the musical event that they organise is very mesmerizing and melodious”, said Manthan Shetty, an IT employee.