District Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre and Animal Husbandry Minister K. Venkatesh take part in event at Veeranahosahalli Gate in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve forest, Hunsur taluk

Mysore/Mysuru: Gajapayana, the ceremonial journey of first batch of Dasara elephants began amid much fanfare, from Veeranahosahalli Gate in Nagarahole Forest, Hunsur taluk in the district this morning.

The nine elephants led by caparisoned howdah elephant Abhimanyu, were offered the customary puja, followed by showering of flower petals by District Minister Dr.H.C. Mahadevappa, Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre and Animal Husbandry and Sericulture Minister K. Venkatesh, marking the inauguration of Gajapayana, a prelude to 415th year of Nada Habba Mysuru Dasara scheduled to be held from Oct. 3 to Oct. 12.

Puja rituals

Priest S.V. Prahlad Rao performed Ganapathi Puja by applying arishina, kumkuma and srigandha to the foot of the elephants, followed by shodashopachara puja during the auspicious tula lagna between 10.10 am and 10.40 am. The Ministers trio who took part in the rituals, fed the pachyderms with jaggery, in keeping with the tradition associated with Gajapayana.

Colourful procession

Later amid the beatings of native drums and rendition of mangala vadya, cultural troupes performing Veeragase kunita, mahila kolata and mahila veeragase kunita, among others, accompanied the caparisoned elephants from Veeranahosahalli gate to Nagapura Tribal Ashram School premises, in a procession.

Festive mood

Festive atmosphere prevailed, as thousands of villagers from surroundings gathered at the venue. The make-shift shops selling various food items, puffed rice, fruit juice, sugarcane juice, flowers and  toys were seen on the either side of the procession route, akin to a fair.

The colourful buntings were put up along with three welcome arches befitting the occasion.

Booklets on elephants

Later at a programme organised by the District Administration at Nagapura Tribal Ashram School, Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre released the booklet with the details of Dasara elephants.

Arjuna’s memory

In his address, Khandre said, following the death of Dasara veteran Arjuna at Daballikatte forest area in Yesalur range, Sakleshpur taluk in Hassan district, during the operation to catch a rogue elephant (in December 2023), which is a regretting incident, we have performed guddali puja for its memorial, both at Yesalur, where the remains of the elephant was buried and also its forest                                                     camp at Balle in Nagarahole  Tiger Reserve.

H.D. Kote MLA Anil Chikkamadu has demanded that a stall to keep the memories of Arjuna alive should be set up during forthcoming Dasara Exhibition. The officials will be issued suitable directions in this regard, assured Khandre.

The Minister also issued directions to officials that, all the 14 elephants selected to be a part of Dasara should be taken care of without any lacunae.

Man-animal conflict

The man animal conflict is going on unabated and to ensure the safety of villagers living in forest fringes, the work on installing 126-km railway barricades has been launched in the State, he added.

Jumbo attraction

Animal Husbandry Minister K. Venkatesh said, elephants are integral to Dasara. The CM is also firm on celebrating Dasara on a grand scale. Let the festival continue to be a centre of attraction being a perfect spot for entertainment, he added.

The mahouts and kavadis of nine elephants were felicitated in a traditional manner and were extended a formal invitation to Dasara with veelyedele (betel leaves).

Nine elephants

The first batch of nine elephants are; Abhimanyu- 58 years, Bheema-24, Gopi-41, Dhananjaya-43, Kanjan-25, Rohit-22, Lakshmi-53, Varalakshmi-67 and Ekalavya-38. They will be temporarily accommodated at Aranya Bhavan compound at Ashokapuram in city on their arrival by this evening. They will be taken to Mysore Palace premises in keeping with the custom and tradition on Aug. 23, where they will be offered a traditional welcome during auspicious tula lagna between 10 am and 10.30 am, at Jayamarthanda Gate of the Palace.

The second batch of elephants including Prashantha, Mahendra, Sugreeva, Lakshmi and Hiranya are expected to arrive in the first or second week of September.

Reserve jumbos

The four more elephants kept as reserve are as follows; Harsha, Ayyappa, Parthasarathi and Maladevi. They will be replacing other elephants, in case they behave adversely, without acclimatising with  the routine practice for Dasara Jumboo Savari.

APCCF (Wildlife) Kumar Pushkar, Conservator of Forests (Project Tiger) P. Ramesh Kumar, Conservator of Forests, Mysuru Circle, M. Malathi Priya, Director of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, P.A. Seema, DCF (Wildlife), Mysuru Division, Dr. I.B. Prabhugowda, DCF (Territorial), Mysuru Division, Dr. K.N. Basavaraj, ACF Lakshmikanth, RFO Santosh Hoogar, forest guards, forest watchers and others were present.