The elephants of Mysuru Dasara lived up to their fame and put on an impeccable performance during the Vijayadashami procession here on Saturday.
A bit of “history” was created, with as many as 15 elephants participating in Jamboo Savari as against 12 or 10 that used to take part in the procession all these years.
“All the elephants were found to be fit and energetic as if rearing to go, and we thought it would be appropriate to let all the 15 take part to shore up the grandeur of the events,” said V. Yedukondalu, Deputy Conservator of Forests and in charge of the elephant brigade.
The Jamboo Savari got off to a spectacular start with the gentle giant Balarama in the lead as the Nishane elephant, adorned by a flag bearing the insignia of the Wadiyars — Gandaberunda. Balarama was followed by Gajendra and other elephants, including Abhimanyu, Drona, Bheema, Prashanth, Krishna, Goplaswamy, Varalakshmi, Harsha, Gopi, and Vikrama. Following the troupes of folk artistes and the tableaux came Arjuna, flanked by Kaveri and Vijaya, carrying the golden howdah with the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari.
The elephants were acclimatised to the route and the crowd through regular rehearsals. They drew a loud cheer and were the cynosure of all eyes.
Arjuna, the sole tusker of khedda days
Of the 15 elephants that took part in the procession on Saturday, Arjuna, who carried the golden howdah, is also the solitary survivor of the khedda days. Arjuna was captured in the 1968 Kakankote khedda operations that entailed driving the herd to enclosures. The last khedda took place in 1972, after which it was banned.
While Arjuna is a veteran of almost 20 Dasaras and has carried the howdah since 2012, his mahout Vinu, made his debut on Saturday. Though Vinu was appointed as the mahout last year, he did not handle Arjuna and the responsibility was given to Sannappa.
