Howdah too Heavy for Mahendra

• Fails to complete weight-carrying exercise
• Exhausted jumbo stops midway
• Wooden Howdah removed mid-route
• Dropped from Golden Howdah race

Mysuru: Dasara tusker Mahendra, who was in the race to carry the Golden Howdah, failed to complete the weight-training exercise after refusing to move forward with the wooden howdah on his back yesterday. Officials subsequently decided to drop him from the race.

Mahendra set out from the Palace premises last evening with the wooden howdah and walked with the other elephants.

However, he stopped near Devaraja Market and refused to move. After the sandbags were removed to reduce the weight, he walked up to Government Ayurveda College and Hospital Circle, where he again stood still.

Forest officials waited for about 15 minutes before deciding to remove the wooden howdah. Mahendra was taken to a tree on the footpath near the MMC&RI compound. Staff secured the howdah with ropes and used a tree branch to lift it off his back. The howdah was then loaded into a goods vehicle and taken back to the Palace.

After the howdah was removed, Mahendra began stepping backwards. The ‘gaadhi’ and ‘namda’ placed on his back were also removed, following which the tired elephant resumed walking towards the Palace. All 13 elephants returned to the Palace.

Second chance yesterday

On Sept. 25, the wooden howdah was mounted on Mahendra for the first time. He walked up to the Palace’s north gate but refused to proceed, forcing officials to take him back inside.

Yesterday, he was given another opportunity. A ‘gaadhi’ and ‘namda’ weighing about 250 kg were placed on his back and the wooden howdah, weighing 280 kg, was mounted and secured with ropes. Four sandbags weighing 50 kg each were then placed inside howdah.

With 200 kg of sandbags, 250 kg of ‘gaadhi’ and ‘namda’ and the 280-kg wooden howdah, the total load was about 730 kg. Mahendra stepped out of the Palace at around 4.50 pm, accompanied by kumki elephants Roopa and Lakshmi on either side, followed by the other elephants.

He appeared exhausted near K.R. Circle but continued slowly along Sayyaji Rao Road before stopping near Devaraja Market.

Traffic comes to a halt

A large crowd gathered at the Circle to watch the Forest Department staff remove the howdah, bringing traffic to a standstill. This is reportedly the first time in Dasara history that a weight-training exercise has been halted midway and a wooden howdah removed from an elephant’s back.

On Sept. 25, Mahendra had been made to carry a load of about 1,000 kg, including sandbags and the wooden howdah. Despite the reduced load yesterday, he was unable to complete the exercise.

Mahendra’s health to be checked for any internal problems: DCF

Mahendra will not be considered for carrying the Golden Howdah during this year’s Jumboo Savari, Deputy Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Dr. I.B. Prabhugowda said.

He said Mahendra’s health would be examined to check for any internal problems. He said Gopi and Srirama would not be considered for carrying the howdah as they lacked the leg strength required to bear the load. The strength of wild elephants usually declines during the process of domestication and such elephants are not considered for the wooden howdah during weight training, he explained.

Prashantha, Dhananjaya, Ekalavya and Sugreeva have successfully carried loads of more than 1,000 kg and are among the contenders for the Golden Howdah. One of the four will be selected to carry it this year, he said.