Karnataka - Mysore   

The gentle giants given a warm farewell

— PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

THE KING AND THE PRINCE: Balarama (right) bids adieu to Mysore on Saturday as Vanaraja raises his trunk.

MYSORE: Having covered themselves with glory with a splendid performance in the Jamboo Savari, the gentle giants bid adieu to the city of palaces and headed back to the jungle camps.

Led by the golden boy Balarama, the 11 elephants left for their respective camps at Bandipur and Nagarahole while Vanaraja left for Bannerghatta National Park.

The palace courtyard, which was a beehive of activity for the last 45 days and was playing host to the pachyderms, wore a deserted look as the elephants along with their mahouts packed up and made a silent retreat from the city on Saturday.

Adding lustre and grace to the Dasara festivities, the caparisoned elephants that conjured up images of the royal orient, were accorded a formal send off by the authorities.

A special puja was held for their collective well-being by the temple priests even as the elephants — while nodding and occasionally raising their trunk as if to appreciate such gestures — chomped away at the luscious sugarcane, plaintains and jaggery fed to them by the authorities and a few members of the public who had come to witness the send off ceremony.

After the rituals it was time for the customary photo-op and the elephants lined up in front of the palace with raised trunks, a form of customary salute to the hosts.

After 45 days of hectic rehearsal for the sacred and religious tasks that made them the cynosure of all eyes, these elephants will now be entrusted with more mundane work in the camps. On reaching the jungle camps, the elephants will be rested for a while before they get to their regular activities — of jungle patrol and assisting the Forest Department personnel in their anti-poaching operations.

A few of the elephants have a trying task ahead. For, in the Forest Department personnel intend to launch an operation to capture and tame a few rogue elephants that have increasingly begin to stray into human habitation.

In view of the increase in the man-animal conflict and to reduce such confrontation, the authorities have decided to launch an operation in the Madikeri range within the next few weeks.

So the elephants will gear up for the battle ahead but a few of them, including Gajendra, Abhimanyu and Srirama are reckoned to be tough taskmasters who are experts in taming the rogue elephants.

Balarama, in view of his celebrated status as a “howdah elephant”, will not be risked in any operations and he will be allowed to roam freely.

A long chain is fastened to his body or leg and this creates a trail as the elephant roams around.

The mahouts follow the trail of the iron chain and track down Balarama in case he fails to return to the camp.

The rest of the elephants either take part in other forestry operations like clearing the woods or moving the fallen timber.

Earlier, these elephants used to participate in other temple rituals. But over the years their participation in these rituals has been discontinued and they are confined to only Mysore Dasara.

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