In a bizarre incident in the Palace premises, Gajendra, one of the Dasara elephants, assigned the job of pulling the ‘Aaane Gaadi’, where musicians of the police band are seated during the annual ‘jamboo savari’, went on a rampage but was soon brought under control by the mahout on duty. One of the wheels of the cart, which hit a railing in the premises, broke off from it and its spokes came away as a result. The incident occurred at around 12 noon.
Eyewitnesses told Deccan Herald that Gajendra got confused since he was assigned a job different from the one he did in the last few years, that of the ‘pattada aane’, or the main elephant taking part in the poojas related to Dasara.
Two other elephants Varalakshmi and Revathi, taking part in the rehearsal, also started running due to the state of confusion. The mahouts and policemen present brought the jumbos under control. Gajendra, with the cart in tow, might have felt something following him and got frightened, a mahout said.
Palace authorities told reporters that the broken wheel will be repaired and will be ready in time for the Dasara finale. Officer of the mounted police Maribashetty rushed to the spot and conducted an inspection. The elephant was in a state of ‘mast’ at the time of the incident, was another version doing rounds.
One of the tourist guides at the spot, Krishna, told Deccan Herald that last year it was elephant Ashoka who had pulled the ‘aane gaadi’ during the procession. Scholars, royal family members or other prominent personalities used to be seated in the cart during the procession in the past, but the practice changed thereafter and police band musicians are now seated in the ‘aane gadi.’
The cart can carry a maximum of 20 people and the ideal number is 16, Krishna informed.
The ‘aane gadi’ became part of the procession since the time of Chamarajendra Wadiyar, but its glory reached the pinnacle during the reign of Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, Krishna added.