Bheema and other elephants at the Aranya Bhavan in Mysuru on Thursday. All nine Dasara elephants led by Abhimanyu will be welcomed at the palace on Friday. | Photo: MA Sriram
The first group of Dasara elephants will be traditionally welcomed at the palace on Friday.
The jumbos, who arrived here on Wednesday from their jungle camps during the Gajapayana in Hunsur Taluk, will be received by the dignitaries at the Jayamarthanda Gate of the palace. A team of priests will perform puja and rituals before welcoming them into the palace premises, which will be the jumbo camp till the end of the celebrations.
The mahouts, kavadis and their family members have accompanied the elephants and will also remain in the vicinity of the palace until the celebrations are over.
All arrangements for the stay of the elephants, mahouts and their families have been made and temporary accommodation is being constructed for them. Once the elephants have settled in, training for the Jamboo Savari will begin, which may take place in the next two days.
Mysuru District Minister HC Mahadevappa will host a grand reception for the elephants between 10:00 am and 10:30 am. MPs, Members of Parliament and other elected representatives from Mysuru and Chamarajanagar will be present.
The group of nine elephants led by Abhimanyu have been camping at Aranya Bhavan since their arrival on Wednesday after the Gajapayana march began amid much fanfare and cheer at the Veeranahosahalli Gate in the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve.
All nine elephants were transported to Mysuru in separate trucks and reached Aranya Bhavan safely under escort of police and forest personnel.
Before the elephants leave the Aranya Bhavan between 8 and 9 am on Wednesday, the forest staff will perform a traditional puja. The elephants will march to the palace from Ballal Circle, Ramaswamy Circle and Chamaraja Double Road, Gunhouse Circle before reaching the Jayamarthanda Gate of the palace.
Abhimanyu, 58, will once again take on the task of carrying a 750 kg golden howdah at the Jamboo Savari in the Dasara finale this year.
Other jumbos in the first batch include Gopi, Prashanth, Rohit, Kanjan, Bheema, Ekalavya, Varalakshmi and Lakshmi.
Ekalavya – a newcomer
There is a lot of curiosity about bull elephant Ekalavya, who has found a place in the elite jumbo team of Dasara for the first time. The 39-year-old bull elephant could take on the role of Arjuna, who met a tragic death in a fight with a wild bull elephant in the forests of Sakleshpur last year.
Arjuna, who carried the golden howdah for eight years, died in December last year during an operation to capture a wayward elephant in Hassan district.
Ekalavya is 2.88 metres tall and weighs between 4,000 and 4,200 kg. He belonged to the Mattigodu camp. The bull elephant is making his debut this year.
It is the first Dasara without the mighty Arjuna, whose majesty is fondly remembered along with his perfection in carrying the golden howdah with such finesse.
