Mysuru: Mysuru’s night view is all set to get brighter with a first-of-its kind ‘Glow Garden’ or ‘Lantern Park’ that has come up at the Dasara Exhibition Grounds in the heart of the city. Artists have spent endless hours creating the crafts and installations that glow at night, transforming the place into a grand light show.
The Lantern Park will be inaugurated today (Oct.28) at 7 pm by Tourism Minister S.R. Mahesh in the presence of District Minister G.T. Devegowda, Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G. Sankar, Additional DC T. Yogesh and Tourism Department Deputy Director H.P. Janardhan and other officials at Dasara Exhibition Grounds.
However, there will be another round of inauguration by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy when the Lantern Park is fully completed, sources said.
The Department of Tourism has set up this Park at a cost of Rs.1.50 crore at 15,000 square feet area.
Mysuru-based Dream Petals is implementing this project that has been designed to reflect Dasara culture, tradition and history besides reflecting the contributions of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar. The Lantern Park will help provide insights into the traditional Mysore way of life and culture.This is the first time it is being designed on such a massive scale.
A twenty-member expert team, hired by Dream Petals, is setting up this Lantern Park which also features a Rose Garden and Lotus Garden created with over 5,000 LED bulbs. These Chinese experts have successfully created Lantern Parks in United Kingdom, Netherlands and other countries.
A 20-member team from China are working round-the-clock on the Lantern Park at Dasara Exhibition Grounds.
Lantern Park in city will depict 409 years of resplendent history of Dasara, the glorious days of Vijayanagara Empire, Wadiyars of Mysuru and other Dasara-related activities.
A three-dimension LED display featuring Chamundi Hill, Mahishasura Mardhini, Jumboo Savari, Puja Kunita, Dollu Kunita and other folk dances are other major highlights of this Park. Though the Lantern Park is not fully completed, there are some sections that will attract visitors.
Thousands of Silk Lanterns produced in China, depicting the tradition of the land, other costly materials and equipment have been used to create this Park. The Lantern Park has been set up at Zilla Panchayat Block at the Exhibition Grounds. The team of 20 people from China and over 30 local workers are responsible for setting up the lanterns and are working round-the-clock since Oct. 4 to complete the project.
The Chinese team is from Sichuan province, the epicentre of Chinese-lantern making. In the city of Zigong, this technique is preserved the best and they have more than 1,000 artisans who live there and all their family have been there for generations, so most of their skills are passed down.
Speaking to Star of Mysore, M. Nikitha and M. Nikhila, Founders of Dream Petals, said that the Lantern Park will be a major tourist attraction. “We are working full-time and are chasing the deadline. If we had more time, we would have completed the project before the grand finale of Dasara,” they said.
HOW THEY ARE MADE
Artists design lanterns from the ground up, drawing schematics on computers and physical outlines on plywood sheets. With templates, welders craft lantern forms with thin metal rods and later, electricians install internal LEDs, closely following curves and choosing warmer or cooler light depending on the desired colour qualities.
Once this process is done, polyester dyed for specific characters is carefully glued onto the forms. Later, the chief artist manages the placement and assembly of the scenes around the site. Then he paints details onto each piece.
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