Performance by state artistes, others regales visitors at Kullu Dasehra festival

A devotional atmosphere prevailed in the temporary camps of the deities even as the event unfolded on the fourth day of the seven-day-long International Kullu Dasehra Festival at the historic Dhalpur ground.

The deities visited each other’s camp temples as per traditional rituals. A crowd of devotees chanted hymns in the temporary camps of Lord Raghunath and other deities. The reverberations of traditional musical instruments and worship of deities transported the devotees into ecstasy.

In the temporary camp of Lord Raghunath, Aarti is performed seven times in the day. Idols of Lord Raghunath, Mata Sita, Shaligram, Narsingh and Hanuman, ornately decorated, are worshipped daily. Lord Raghunath’s “Chadibadar” (caretaker) Maheshwar Singh performed the rituals along with chanting of mantras. Many deities come to mark their attendance in Lord Raghunath’s temporary camp.

Meanwhile, the visitors to the festival were thrilled to witness performances by artistes during the day at the stage set up at Rath ground. The residents lauded the move of the Kullu Dasehra Festival Committee to provide the opportunity to those who cannot come in the night to witness the cultural performances.

Artistes of Trap Band of Kolkata enthralled the audience by presenting foot tapping numbers during the third cultural evening at the open air auditorium yesterday. The cultural group from Indonesia gave a wonderful presentation of Ramayana. Singer Mamta Bhardwaj gave an enchanting performance. Himachali artistes also created a lot of buzz by their captivating performances and the spectators danced to the Kullvi, Pahadi, Punjabi and film songs. The cultural groups of Hamirpur and Kullu and Kashyap Narayan of Yuvak Mandal, Banogi, introduced the audience to the rich culture of their respective areas.

PWD Urban Development Minister Vikramaditya Singh was the chief guest on the third cultural evening of the Dasehra festival yesterday.