Mangaluru: ‘Pili Vesha’, the traditional tiger dance of coastal Karnataka, has found a new generation of followers through ‘Kinni Pili’ (tiger cubs), a competition for children below eight years. The event, introduced in 2025, has gained such popularity that the organisers of Kinni Pili Season 2 to be held at Kudroli Sri Gokarnanatha Temple, have capped participation at 300 children.The organisers have been receiving an overwhelming response, more than a month ahead of this year’s event, scheduled for Oct 18 at Kudroli temple. Biruver Kudla, a local youth organisation, in association with the temple committee, has been organising the Kinni Pili tiger dance competition exclusively for children, reflecting the growing popularity of this children’s version of the traditional performance associated with the coastal region.There were two competition categories under Kinni Pili. One category was for children below four years, and the other was for children between four and eight years. The temple and organisers will honour winning children with attractive prizes. This year, the organisers plan to hold events in three categories for children below 10.Padmaraj R Poojary, treasurer of the temple, said that the response to Kinni Pili was so overwhelming that more than 400 parents arrived with children dressed as tiger cubs last year. “Tiger dance is an inseparable part of the festival in the coastal region. Hence, the temple added a new category exclusively for children. Last year, there was an atmosphere of over-enthusiasm, not just from the children, but also the parents who motivated their kids to perform on stage. It was difficult to manage timings, so this time we decided to limit the number of participants,” Padmaraj said.He said that CM DK Shivakumar was invited by the temple committee to inaugurate the historic Mangaluru Dasara, which will be held from Oct 11 to Oct 21 at Kudroli Temple. In addition to the tiger dance, various other competitions will be organised for children during Mangaluru Dasara, he added.Biruver Kudla founder Uday Poojary said that while Kinni Pili winners will receive attractive prizes, all participating children will receive gifts.
