Mysuru: Kodagu’s Dubare Elephant Camp has realised a long-cherished dream, with its tusker Prashantha being selected to carry the Golden Howdah during the Mysuru Dasara Vijayadashami procession for the first time in the camp’s history.

Though several elephants from Dubare have been part of the Dasara team over the years, none had previously been chosen to carry the prestigious Golden Howdah or ‘Ambari.’ The selection has brought joy and pride to the camp, which had aspired to achieve this distinction since the royal era.

Traditionally, the honour has gone to elephants from Mathigodu and Balle Elephant Camps. Over the 416-year history of Dasara, most ‘Ambari’ elephants have come from these two camps.

Balle and Mathigodu camps

From the 1980s, elephants such as Rajendra, Drona and Arjuna from Balle camp became familiar names. Balarama, who carried the ‘Ambari’ 14 times and Abhimanyu, who carried it six times before his retirement, were from Mathigodu camp. The two camps have thus played a major role in the tradition of ‘Ambari’ elephants.

This year, Dubare’s Prashantha, Dhananjaya and Sugreeva were among contenders, along with Mahendra from Balle and Ekalavya from Mathigodu camp. Mahendra had to withdraw after experiencing leg & back pain, which forced him to abandon wooden howdah training on 2 occasions. Ekalavya, despite performing well in load-bearing exercises, was assigned role of ‘Pattada Nishane Aane,’ taking him out of race.

Zeroing in on Prashantha

The contest then narrowed to Prashantha, Dhananjaya and Sugreeva, all from Dubare. All three performed well during training. However, with Dhananjaya selected to carry the Howdah at Srirangapatna Dasara, Prashantha emerged as the choice for Mysuru, with seniority and other qualities weighing in his favour. Dubare has thus scored a double honour this year. While Prashantha will carry the Golden Howdah in Mysuru, Dhananjaya has been selected for the same responsibility at Srirangapatna Dasara.

Father-son duo of Mahouts

Adding to the occasion, a father-son duo of Mahouts will guide the two ‘Ambari’ elephants in the separate processions. Chinnappa, Prashantha’s Mahout, will accompany him during Mysuru Dasara, while his son Bhaskar will guide Dhananjaya at Srirangapatna.

The selection of the two elephants has made this Dasara season particularly memorable for Dubare, with both father and son entrusted with the responsibility of guiding Ambari elephants in two different processions.