Mysuru Palace is getting a festive makeover ahead of Dasara 2026, with workers repairing lights, replacing burnt-out bulbs, painting heritage poles and maintaining the premises. Seating arrangements and elephant rehearsals are also underway.
Mysuru is gearing up for the grand Dasara festival, with preparations for the celebrations gathering pace across the city. The Mysuru Palace, the centrepiece of the annual festivities, is already taking on a festive look as workers carry out maintenance, painting and lighting work ahead of the celebrations. The palace premises are being spruced up to ensure that the heritage landmark is ready to welcome thousands of visitors during Dasara.
The world-famous illumination of the Mysuru Palace is one of the major attractions during Dasara and draws huge crowds every year. As part of the preparations, authorities have begun replacing burnt-out bulbs on the palace, temple premises and entrance gates. The work is being carried out to ensure that the palace and its surroundings are brightly illuminated without any missing lights during the festival.
Workers are also repairing electrical lights and poles across the palace premises. The heritage electrical poles are being given a fresh coat of paint, while the maintenance team is attending to lighting arrangements inside the palace complex. Painters are also applying fresh coats of paint to the iron grills along the inner walls and in the gardens.
The palace premises have already begun reflecting the pre-festival atmosphere, with maintenance and decoration work adding to the Dasara buzz. The preparations are also building excitement among tourists and local residents who visit the palace every day.
Seating Arrangements Underway
The stage in front of the palace will host cultural programmes throughout the Dasara festivities, while the palace grounds will also be the venue for several other events. Preparations for seating arrangements have now begun in front of the palace, with workers putting up pandals at different locations to accommodate visitors attending the programmes.
Elephants Take A Bath After Rehearsals
The palace elephant camp currently houses 12 elephants that are taking part in rehearsal walks every morning and evening ahead of the Dasara procession. The walks have become an attraction for tourists and local residents visiting the palace, with many capturing photographs and videos of the elephants on their cameras and mobile phones.
After the rehearsal walks, the mahouts and kavadis give the elephants a bath in the water tank at the palace premises. The elephants then return to their sheds, where they are fed fresh green leaves before getting some rest.