Mysore/Mysuru: All the eight Dasara elephants — Howdah elephant Abhimanyu, Ashwathama, Dhananjaya, Vikrama, Kaveri, Chaitra, Lakshmi and Gopalaswamy — selected to participate in this year’s simple Dasara celebration, will be accorded a traditional welcome at Mysore Palace tomorrow morning.
These elephants embarked on Gajapayana, their journey from Veeranahosahalli to Mysuru, on Sept. 13 and are presently housed at Aranya Bhavan in Ashokapuram.
Tomorrow between 6.15 am and 6.45 am, these elephants will be offered puja by the Forest Department and the puja responsibility has been given to priest S.V. Prahallad Rao.
Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (APCCF) Jagath Ram, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) T. Heeralal, Deputy Conservators of Forests (DCFs) Dr. V. Karikalan and Kamala Karikalan and other officials will be present on the occasion.
Later, the jumbos will walk to Mysore Palace via Ballal Circle, RTO Circle, Ramaswamy Circle, Chamaraja Double Road, Gun House Circle, Dasara Exhibition Road to reach Jayamarthanda Gate of Mysore Palace.
On reaching Mysore Palace, the Dasara jumbos will be welcomed by the Mysore Palace Board at Jayamarthanda Gate, where puja rituals will be conducted. Priest S.V. Prahallad Rao has been tasked with performing pujas to the Dasara elephants in the auspicious Tula Lagna between 8.36 am and 9.11 am. Krishnaraja MLA S.A. Ramdas will preside.
Following the puja, the gentle giants will enter the Palace premises and will be led into their sheds which have been set up in the Palace premises. From here, the responsibility of the eight Dasara jumbos will be handed over to the Mysore Palace Board.
District Minister S.T. Somashekar, MPs Pratap Simha, Sumalatha Ambarish and V. Sreenivasa Prasad, Mayor Sunanda Palanetra, Mysore Palace Board Deputy Director T.S. Subramanya, all MLAs of the district, MLC A.H. Vishwanath, Corporators, Chairmen of all 12 Boards and Corporations, Dasara Sub-Committee officials and others will be present on the occasion.
This post was published on September 15, 2021 6:44 pm