It’s All About ‘PILI’ during ‘Mluru Dasara’ in ‘Kudla’! ‘Huli Vesha’ Book, Pili Vesha & Pili Nalike
Mangaluru: It’s once again that time of the year, the famed “Mangaluru Dasara” will be held at Sri Kshetra Gokarnanatha, Kudroli, Mangaladevi Temple, and other temples, from 15 October to 24 October. Preparations are underway to organise this 10-day festivity, and during the years, the Mangaluru Dasara has earned its name and fame and is growing bigger with each passing year- and lakhs of people throng the Kshetra for the blessings, and line up the streets to watch the Dasara procession/floats.
Mangaluru Dasara is organized every year under the principle of socio-religious equality advocated by social reformer saint Brahmashree Narayana Guru and with the participation of all sections of society- and the same tradition is continued even this year. The Kshetra has already got the extreme makeover, a few streets in Kudla are illuminated with chain lighting, and a bunch of huge hoardings wishing the Dasara success are erected at various places.
Sri Kshetra Gokarnanatha is renowned for worshipping Goddess Sharada along with the Navadurgas on all 10 days of the festivity and is marked by a colourful procession taken out on the 10th day. It is also referred to as Navarathri Festival, Vijayadashami and also called Marnemi In Tulu. Tiger Dance and Bear Dance are the main attractions in Mangaluru Dasara- and the city will be decorated with dazzling and sparkling lights everywhere in Mangaluru, it is like a carnival for 10 days.
Book on tiger dance to be released Meanwhile, St. Aloysius Prakashana, the publishing unit of St. Aloysius College, Mangaluru will release a Kannada book titled ‘Huli Vesha’ written by Chandra Shekhara Shetty at the college at 3.35 p.m. on Wednesday, October 18. N. Damaodara Shetty, a former professor of Kannada at St Aloysius College will release the book. B. Shivarama Shetty, a former professor at the Department of Kannada, Mangalore University, will speak on the work. The insightful work delves into the origin and performance of tiger dance (called Huli Vesha in Kannada and Pili Yesha in Tulu) in coastal Karnataka, a release from the college said on Tuesday.
St Aloysius Prakashana, the esteemed publishing unit of St Aloysius College (Autonomous), Mangalore, is delighted to announce the upcoming release of the book titled ‘Huli Vesha’ written by Dr Chandra Shekhara Shetty. This insightful work delves into the origin and performance of a unique dance form indigenous to the coastal Karnataka region, known as ‘Tiger Dance’ or ‘Pili Yesha’ in the local Tulu language.
Book Release of HULI VESHA held at St Aloysius College, Mangaluru :
The book release ceremony of ‘HULI VESHA’ was held on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, at the George Hall in the St Aloysius College campus. Dr N Damaodara Shetty, a distinguished writer and former Professor at St Aloysius College (Autonomous), had the honour of unveiling the book. Dr B. Shivarama Shetty, a respected former Professor from the Department of Kannada at Mangalore University, delivered an insightful speech about the book’s content and significance.
The Book release was organized by St Aloysius Prakashana, the esteemed publishing unit of St Aloysius College (Autonomous), and the book titled ‘Huli Vesha’ was written by Dr Chandra Shekhara Shetty, a faculty at the college. This insightful work delves into the origin and performance of a unique dance form indigenous to the coastal Karnataka region, known as ‘Tiger Dance’ or ‘Pili Yesha’ in the local Tulu language.
Presiding over the function was Rev. Fr Melvin Joseph Pinto, Rector of St Aloysius College Institutions, who provided his esteemed guidance and support to the event. The esteemed gathering included the presence of Rev Dr Praveen Martis S J, the Principal of St Aloysius College, and Dr Vidya Vinutha DSouza, the Director of St Aloysius Prakashana; Dr Alwyn D’sa-the Registrar of the College, among others.
PILI VESHA & PILI NALIKE :
And one of the star attractions of the Mangaluru Dasara is PILI, (TIGER), comprising of Pili Vesha and Pili Nalike contest. Pili vesha (tiger dance) artists are excited with the festive fervour gripping the coastal city after the Mangaluru Dasara and Navratri festivals commenced at temples, including Kudroli Gokarnanatha Temple and Mangaladevi Temple. While pili vistas are seen on the streets of the city, competition events to be held as part of the festival will provide a platform for the artists to showcase their talent and win cash prizes.
Major pili vesha contest organisers are Pili Nalike Prathishtana of Congress leader Mithun Rai and Kudla Samskruthika Prathishtana, headed by Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and Mangaluru City South MLA D Vedavyas Kamath. Besides these two, several other organisations in the city and outskirts have also been holding pili vesha competitions every year during the festival.
Pili Nalike Prathishtana of Congress Leader Mithun Rai
Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Mithun Rai said that season 8 of ‘Pili Nalike’, a traditional tiger dance competition event, will be held at Urwa Market Ground on October 23.“A total of Rs 21 lakh will be given to winners as a cash award for the Pili Nalike event. 
The first prize-winning team will receive Rs 5 lakh. Meanwhile, the second and third-prize winners will be given Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively. We have selected 10 best pili vesha troupes from various parts of the districts to take part in the event. All the teams will be given Rs 50,000 each for their participation. In addition, six individual medals with cash awards will also be given in different categories,” The past seven seasons of Pili Nalike were held at the volleyball court of the Mangala Stadium, but this year it will be held at Urwa Ground considering the rush of spectators in the previous years, added Rai.
Tiger Dance competition, organised by Kudla Samskrutika Prathisthana
The second edition of ‘Pili Parba’, a tiger dance competition, organised by Kudla Samskritika Prathisthana on the occasion of Navaratri will begin at Nehru Maidan here on October 21 at 10 a.m., according to D. Vedavyasa Kamath, MLA, Mangaluru City South and one of the promoters of the prathisthana. The MLA said, “: The participating teams will be given 20 minutes to perform on the stage. Each team will have to swing a “akki mudi” compulsorily during the performance. Each performing troupe will enter the stage by taking out a mini procession. In addition to the judges to select the winning teams, there will be an independent judge like a third umpire who will intervene if required. An audience gallery with about 5,000 seating capacity will be in the place”
“The event will be telecast live. People can also watch the performances on large screens at the venue. The competition is being organised to receive national recognition for tiger dance and to sustain the traditional art form and pass it on to future generations. In all, 12 teams participated in the first edition of the competition in 2022, The 15 participating teams included a team each from Manjeshwara (Kerala), Udupi and Puttur. The remaining teams are from Mangaluru city and its outskirts, he said. A team member of the prathisthana said that the winning team will take away a prize money of Rs 5 lakh. The runner-up will be awarded with Rs 3 lakh while the third prize-winning team will get Rs 2 lakh. In addition, the remaining 12 participating teams will be given Rs 50,000 each to encourage them. The Rs 50,000 amount will not be given to the first three winning teams” added Kamath
The city had about 100 tiger dance performing troupes, and the tiger dance, having a history of centuries, started during Navaratri as a ‘rake’ (vow) to thank God or Goddess for fulfilling a certain wish.
