Mysore:
What's a Mysore Dasara without dolls, as many households in Mysore carry the tradition of displaying dolls as part of the festivities.
Keeping alive the tradition of the doll festival as part of Karnataka's cultural heritage, there are numerous artists who are involved in recreating glory of the past.
Watching R Gyani Singh at work with these figurines, you wouldn't imagine he was a science graduate. But this Mysorean has certainly used his research bent of mind, to study in depth the unique tradition of Dasara dolls for the past nine years.
It is that eye for detail which makes his scale version of Mysore's Amba Vilas palace and the royal procession, look so true to life.
"Nothing here has been sourced, everything has been created from scratch. Mysore is well known for woodwork, so its the artisans who have created this palace," said R Gyani Singh, owner of 'House of Dolls.'
Helping him revive Mysore's glorious art of Dasara doll-making is young Raghu who could have made millions as a computer engineer.
"I wanted to make this Mahishasura doll, so I went up to chamundi hills, took pictures from every angle and created a design on the computer and gave it to the artists," said Raghu Dharmendra.
While Dasara is a favourite festival of many Indian states, in Mysore it has an unmistakable royal touch. And thanks to a few committed people, the citizens of tomorrow will be able to see for themselves the glory of Mysore's yesterday.