Mangaluru: Kudroli Sri Gokarnanatha Temple, while celebrating Navaratri and Mangaluru Dasara between Sept 22 to Oct 2, will reserve a day exclusively for children to celebrate Makkala Dasara. A tiger dance competition exclusively for children will be an added attraction, besides other competitions, during the festival. Biruver Kudla, a youth organisation in the district, in association with the temple committee, will organise ‘kinni pili’, a tiger dance competition exclusively for children on Sept 28, said temple committee treasurer Padmaraj R Poojary.“Every year, the temple provides a platform for artistes to present talent and organise competitions. This year’s Dasara festival at Kudroli Temple will feature a newly added Kinni Pili (tiger cub) competition. Tiger dance is the most inseparable part of the festival in the coastal district. Hence, we have added a new category exclusively for children,” he said.There will be two categories in the Kinni Pili competitions – for children below 4 years and children between the ages of 4 – 8 years. The temple and organisers will honour winning children with attractive prizes, he said.In addition to the tiger dance, various competitions in devotional song singing, drawing, and the ‘Muddu Sharade’ contest will also be organised for children as part of Makkala Dasara. Winners of the Rudra Veena Bhaktipradhana Nritya competition will be given Rs 1 lakh as prizes, he said.Cultural programmes are set to begin on all days during the festival at 4pm, with a special emphasis on literary activities. A multilingual poetry session and a Tulu poetry session will be held on the same day. There will be performances of folk arts, Bharatanatyam, veena recitals, Harikatha, Talamaddale, Yakshagana, Pundu Vesha, dance dramas, magic shows, and cultural displays from various educational institutions. Artistes will be selected after screening the videos of their previous performances.
