India, Sept. 20 -- Dasara is here and so Mysuru gets its annual Botox shots. Which means Mysuru has once again been given its annual facelift.

Roads are hastily patched, heritage buildings get a dubious lump of paint and traffic medians get back their yellow and black colours.

It's the city's seasonal 'quick-fix mode' and like all quick fixes, it looks good only under the glow of fairy lights.

If it takes a 10-day (11 this year) festival to get basic civic maintenance done, perhaps the only way forward is to have more festivals.

For Mysuru to thrive, Dasara must be more than a local carnival; it must be our ticket to the world stage as a city of events. Which means Dasara needs scale, sophistication and international appeal.

Once upo...