Sponsors do the trick for Mysore Dasara this year

that this year the total business at the world famous Mysore Dasara was nearly Rs 2 crore. While the government invested Rs 75 lakh, the rest of the money came from sponsors, ticket sales and other services.

Compare that to last year when Dasara witnessed business of Rs 1.3 crore, of which Rs 69 lakh was provided by the state government and Rs 55 lakh was generated from sponsors, ticket sales and services.

Kumar Naik said that this year the total business atDasara was valued anywhere between Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 2 crore. Sponsors included both government and private companies, he said.

Highlighting the segments that the Dasara celebrations were divided into and their sponsors, Kumar Naik said that TVS Motors sponsored the music festival. The main event, including the world famous Jumbo Savari and the Torch Light Parade, was jointly sponsored by TVS Motors and the State Bank of Mysore.

State government undertakings like KSIC, ONGC, MSIL, MSDL had backed the Yuva Dasara with Reid and Taylor being the only private sponsor in this segment.

The Yuva Dasara included adventure sports while the music festival comprised music, dance and drama. Bharatanatyam "" a unique music programme organised for the first time "" had participants from Fiji, Sri Lanka, Uzbekisthan, various Indian states in several categories.The popular vintage car rally was sponsored by Hutti Gold Mines and Airtel this year.

Private participation in the celebrations was the idea of Kumar Naik and their contribution has resulted in the grandest Dasara of the last two years, prior to which the celebrations were always on a low scale as the government invested less citing reasons like drought.

The partnership with the private sector has also resulted in phenomenal revenues for all ancillary industries. To add, collections at the Mysore Palace, the zoo and at the Ranganathittu bird sanctuary, during the peak period, jumped 100 per cent.

While, the illuminated Mysore Palace and public performances in it were the biggest crowd-pullers, attracting nearly 5,000 visitors every day, the music festival and Yuva Dasara were among the other major attractions. On an average, the celebrations drew nearly 50,000 people a day, he said.