Banu Mushtaq affirms respect for Dasara festival amid row over inauguration invite
Hassan (PTI): International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq, who has been invited to inaugurate the world-famous 'Mysuru Dasara-2025' celebrations, has affirmed her respect for the festival and Goddess Chamundeshwari.
Mushtaq's statement comes in the wake of objections raised by BJP leaders to the state government’s decision to invite her to inaugurate the Dasara festivities.
Several BJP leaders, including its state President B Y Vijayendra and Mysuru MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar had on Monday asked that Mushtaq clarify her reverence towards Goddess Chamundeshwari before consenting to inaugurate the Dasara.
The controversy stems from an old video, in which she has reportedly expressed reservations about worshipping the Kannada language as "Goddess Bhuvaneshwari", and has stated that it was exclusionary to people like her (minorities).
Dasara is traditionally inaugurated by showering flowers on the idol of goddess Chamundeshwari, the presiding deity of Mysuru and its royals, amid chanting of Vedic hymns, at the premises of Chamundeshwari temple atop the Chamundi Hills in Mysuru.
"It (invitation to inaugurate Dasara) is definitely a happy thing. We can see this in various ways. You call Chamundeshwari Taayi (mother Chamundeshwari), I respect your feelings. Many call it Naada Habba (state festival), I respect that too," Mushtaq said, after receiving a bagina (traditional offering) from a Bengaluru-based organisation 'Ammana Madilu' on Monday.
She said, "Calling Dasara as Naada Habba or calling goddess Chamundeshwari Taayi (mother) with a lot of affection and love, all these are part of our culture and this state. So this festival is something that I too like and respect, and participate with affection."
"As a child, I had been to Dasara with my parents to witness 'Jamboo Savari' (a march of about a dozen caparisoned elephants as part on procession on Vijaydashami). This time I have got the invite to inaugurate the Dasara, it is extremely a happy thing for me," Mushtaq added.
The state government had last week announced that International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq will inaugurate the Mysuru Dasara 2025 celebrations.
Celebrated as 'Nada Habba' (state festival), the Dasara or 'Sharan Navaratri' festivities in the "royal city" of Mysuru is expected to be a grand affair this year, depicting Karnataka's rich culture and traditions, coupled with reminiscence of royal pomp and glory.
Dasara celebration will begin in Mysuru from September 22 and culminate on 'Vijayadashami', which falls on October 2.
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Rupee settles 1 paisa higher to close at 94.15 against US dollar
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee settled with gains of just one paisa to close at 94.15 against the US dollar on Monday, as rising global uncertainty, escalating tensions in West Asia and soaring crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments.
Forex traders said the INR/USD pair pared its initial losses, but the overall bias remains negative as FII sell-off and elevated crude oil prices restricted the gains for the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.25 against the US dollar, and touched an intraday high of 94.11 and a low of 94.28 against the greenback during the day.
At the end of Monday's trading session, the rupee was quoted at 94.15, registering a gain of just 1 paisa over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee extended its losing streak for the fifth day in a row, depreciating 15 paise to close at 94.16 against the US dollar.
"The rupee snapped a five-session losing streak, rebounding in tandem with a rally across regional currencies. However, the mood remains apprehensive as the market braces for a potential RBI intervention around 94.30 and higher crude oil prices," said Dilip Parmar – Senior Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
On the charts, the USDINR pair has reclaimed its upward momentum, carving out a classic bullish structure of higher highs and lows on the daily time frame, he said, adding that for the coming sessions, 93.80 serves as a support, with 94.40 acting as the primary hurdle.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.21 per cent at 98.32.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 2.36 per cent at USD 107.82 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 639.42 points to settle at 77,303.63, while the Nifty surged 194.75 points to 24,092.70.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,151.48 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India's forex reserves jumped by USD 2.362 billion to USD 703.308 billion during the week ended April 17, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday.
In the previous reporting week, the forex kitty had increased by USD 3.825 billion to USD 700.946 billion.
