But a more permanent and enduring reminder of Dassera 1997 will remain in the Mysore Dassera Exhibition at the Doddakere Maidan, which this year will turn into a permanent fixture. The exhibition, one of the highlights of Dassera celebrations in the state, is to acquire a musical fountain and other attractions in a bid to turn a hitherto staid show into an amusing, entertaining theme park for young and old alike. The exhibition hall will also feature, through Dassera and for weeks after, a programme of recitals by cultural icons ranging from Anup Jalota, Meenakshi Seshadri, Alisha Chinai, S P Balasubramaniam and others. On Dassera day, a special cultural programme organised at the Elephant Gate, below the Durbar Hall of the brilliantly illuminated Mysore Palace, will feature the likes of Kunnakudi Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar, Vidyabhooshana, T S Seshgopalan and K S Gopalkrishnan among others. The sounds of song and dance will, organisers hope, drown the notes of discord raised by Opposition parties in the state, who have condemned among other things the government's decision to eschew the practise of free passes for viewing the procession from inside the Mysore Palace.
Official sources shrug off the odd discordant notes.