The arrival of the first contingent of six elephants here today set the ball in motion for the 2010 October Dasara celebrations in Mysore.
The contingent of pachyderms was led by 57-year-old Balarama who will carry the 750-kg golden howdah during the Dasara procession on October 17. The other five elephants were Abhimanyu, Varalakshmi, Gajendra, Arjuna and Sarala.
They had left the forests of Nagarahole and were given a colourful reception at the Veeranahosahalli camp on the outskirts of the reserve forest on September 3 before they proceeded to Mysore for the celebrations, a month away from now. District in-charge Minister S Suresh Kumar had flagged off the ‘Gaja Payana’.
The second batch of six elephants will join the contingent in the last week of the month. In all, a dozen elephants will participate in the Dasara, seven male and five female.
‘Gaja Payana’, the march of the Dasara elephants from the forests, is a revival of the tradition of the Maharajas’ era. The practice, however, had been dropped over the years. The rulers offered only a customary worship, praying for unhindered celebrations of the Devi worship, before the Dasara elephants left their forest camps to Mysore. The practice was revived seven years ago and has now turned into a popular event among the locals and the mahouts with colourful tribal dances and cultural programmes thrown in.
The practice of the pachyderms’ march on foot all the way to Mysore for their Dasara camp has been given up now. Instead, they are transported by trucks to Mysore where they are given a traditional and colourful welcome before they enter the Palace premises for their temporary base.
Weighing 4,900 kg, 52-year-old Balarama will carry the golden ‘Ambari’ for the 12th year. A successor to Drona, his participation however will be for the 16th year in the celebrations. Another tusker, Abhimanyu (44), will draw the palace orchestra troupe in the elephant carriage, participating for the 13th year. The 55-year-old Gajendra, marking his presence for the 15th year, will be the ‘Pattada Ane’ or the sacred elephant. The fourth jumbo, 50-year-old Arjuna has carried the howdah once and he too will make his presence.
Of all the six elephants, Sarala is the senior-most at 68. It will be her 12th year in Dasara. The other female elephant in the contingent, Varalakshmi (55), will mark her attendance for the eight year.
Ministers Suresh Kumar and G Janardhan Reddy were among those who showered flower petals and welcomed the jumbos at the Palace Jayamarthanda Gate.
