Gajapayana heralds start of Dasara
News

Gajapayana heralds start of Dasara

September 13, 2021

Mysore/Mysuru: Signalling the official countdown to the scaled-down Mysuru Dasara-2021, eight caparisoned elephants led by Abhimanyu — the Golden Howdah-carrying elephant — embarked on Gajapayana, their journey from the elephant camps to Mysore Palace this morning. 

They reached the Forest Department’s Aranya Bhavan at Ashokapuram at 2 pm after their weight was recorded on the outskirts of Hunsur.

Gajapayana is now a symbolic event which was once an elaborate affair where the elephants, mahouts, kavadis and families used to travel over 80 to 100 kilometres from the forests to Mysuru by foot. But in the present times, the elephants and the entourage symbolically march a short distance after which they are transported by trucks.

The Gajapayana was flagged off at Veeranahosahalli Gate on the outskirts of Nagarahole National Park amidst rain that began early in the morning and continued till the traditional Pushparchane. The Gajapayana signals the countdown for the Dasara festivities that will be held from Oct. 7  to 15. The jumbos will take part in the Vijayadashami procession on Oct. 15. 

Due to the ongoing Assembly Session, only Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha and Hunsur MLA  H.P. Manjunath were the elected representatives who attended the event today where over 300 people participated. However, there was no sense of social distancing and COVID-appropriate behaviour with people crowding in front of the elephants, not to miss a good photo op. 

The event began in the auspicious Tula Lagna between 1.20 am and 10.15 am. The puja was performed by priest S.V. Prahallad Rao who has been tasked with performing pujas to the Dasara elephants for years. The rituals began with Padapuja with ‘Arishina Kumkuma’ sprinkled at the feet of the elephants. Later, the elephants were fed with ‘Modaka’ and ‘Pancha Phala’ (five fruits). 

A scene at Veeranahosahalli gate in Hunsur this morning.

Leading the team was Abhimanyu from Mathigodu Elephant Camp. He was captured in the Hebballa Forest in Kodagu in 1970. He has been participating in Dasara since 2012 and had pulled the music band carriage till 2015. Abhimanyu was accompanied by seven other elephants — Ashwathama, Dhananjaya, Vikrama, Kaveri, Chaitra, Lakshmi and Gopalaswamy.

READ ALSO  Poacher responsible for tiger’s death at Bandipur caught

Today, however, only seven elephants stood in the line as there was no space. Vikrama had to stand outside as he had already been accustomed to the rituals in the past. Vikrama made way to Ashwathama who is taking part in Mysuru Dasara for the first time. He was captured in 2017 and has already been trained to climb and alight trucks by his mahout Shivu and kavadi Ganesh. 

Mysuru Deputy Commissioner (DC) Dr. Bagadi Gautham, Kodagu DC Charulata Somal, Mayor Sunanda Palanetra, Superintendent of Police R. Chethan, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Sanjai Mohan, Chief Conservator of Forests T. Hiralal, Mysuru Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Dr. V. Karikalan, Social Forestry DCF Kamala Karikalan, Nagarahole Tiger Reserve Director Mahesh Kumar, Veterinarian Dr. Ramesh, Zilla Panchayat CEO A.M. Yogesh and others were present.

ABOUT

Mysuru’s favorite and largest circulated English evening daily has kept the citizens of Mysuru informed and entertained since 1978. Over the past 45 years, Star of Mysore has been the newspaper that Mysureans reach for every evening to know about the happenings in Mysuru city. The newspaper has feature rich articles and dedicated pages targeted at readers across the demographic spectrum of Mysuru city. With a readership of over 2,50,000 Star of Mysore has been the best connection between it’s readers and their leaders; between advertisers and customers; between Mysuru and Mysureans.

CONTACT

Academy News Papers Private Limited, Publishers, Star of Mysore & Mysuru Mithra, 15-C, Industrial ‘A’ Layout, Bannimantap, Mysuru-570015. Phone no. – 0821 249 6520

To advertise on Star of Mysore, email us at

Online Edition: [email protected]
Print Editon: [email protected]
For News/Press Release: [email protected]