Mangaluru: The coastal city is all set to celebrate Mangaluru Dasara with pomp, tiger dance troupes and organisers are gearing up to add festive fervour. The Pili Nalike Prathishtana is preparing to organise the 10th season of Pili Nalike, a district-level tiger dance competition, at Karavali Utsav Ground, on Oct 1 at 10am.The Prathishtana is offering Rs 10 lakh as the first prize, and the cash prizes to the best-performing teams totals at upto Rs 26 lakh. The proceeds of the event will be used to promote educational activities, including adoption of a rural school, said Mithun Rai, the president of the organisation.“We have decided to organise the Pili Nalike as part of the Mangaluru Dasara to attract more crowd this year. Accordingly, facilities will be made to accommodate 25,000 spectators at the venue. Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, Rajya Sabha member Syed Naseer Hussain, district minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, actors Suniel Shetty, Rishab Shetty, Raj B Shetty, music director Gurukiran, and others will be the guests for the event,” said Rai.A total of 10 troupes will be given the opportunity to perform for 20 minutes. While the winning troupe will bag Rs 10 lakh, teams that secure the second and third places will receive Rs 5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh, respectively. In addition, there will be individual prizes for best performances, best music team, best body painters, and for talent in the ‘akki mudi’ (lifting 38 kg of rice bag using only teeth). All 10 participating teams will be given Rs 50,000 as an honorarium, he said.School adoptionRai said that a rural govt school in Dakshina Kannada district will be identified, and initiatives will be taken to adopt the institute. Various infrastructure, including furniture, will be provided to the selected school. Further, funds will be donated towards the salary of teachers. In addition, the Prathishtana will also sponsor the education of Pili Vesha artist students, who are pursuing higher education like MBBS, engineering, civil services, or any other courses, he added.
