MYSURU, 14 OCT

Fourteen Dasara elephants on Monday bid farewell to Mysuru, two days after the Dasara procession concluded on a grand note.

The jumbos including the golden Howdah carried Abhimanyu which was the major attraction of the festival giving a warm and emotional send-off from the Palace premises. A traditional puja was performed on all 14 jumbos near Kodi Someshwara temple before boarding the elephants onto the trucks. The forest department offered sugarcane, jaggery, coconut and banana to the elephant after the puja. A large number of visitors, and tourists turned up while boarding the elephants to trucks. Among the 14 elephants, Ekalavya refused to climb the truck. After a few minutes, the mahouts and kavadis calmed Ekalavya and successfully loaded him onto the truck.

The forest department informed that the present batch of elephants, mainly the new entrants and ones with four to five years of experience, like Dhananjaya and Prashantha, will lead the celebrations for years to come.

Speaking to reporters, DCF wildlife IB Prabhugowda said that all the jumbos performed their tasks well. Howdah, carrying Abhimanyu, who has participated in the Dasara procession for several years, remained calm and performed well from day one.

Mahuts and Kavadis were also rewarded with Rs 10,000 cash each for their service and participation by the district administration. Deputy Commissioner G Lakshmikanth Reddy, and CCF Malathi Priya were present.

All the jumbos were brought in two batches from different jungle camps to take part in the procession for this year 55 days ago. During their stay, the jumbos were trained by various exercises to acclimatise them. Over 50 mahouts, kavadis, and their family members were also camped in the same place. Out of 14 jumbos, only 11 were involved during the festival. -Salar News