Mysuru: With exactly two months to go for the famed Mysuru Dasara Jamboo Savari procession, the first leg of Dasara preparation will begin formally with ‘Gajapayana’ celebrations near Veeranahosahalli Gate of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve in Hunsur taluk, Mysuru district, on Monday.
Minister for Environment, Ecology and Forests Eshwar B Khandre will launch the journey of the first batch of nine elephants from their forest camps towards Mysuru city.
A team of cultural troupes, including Kamsaale, Veeragaase and Dollu Kunitha, will accompany the jumbos in a mini procession till the lorries.
The elephants will be brought in lorries to the city of palaces by Monday evening and will be housed on the premises of Aranya Bhavan.
On Thursday, they will be traditionally welcomed by Mysuru district administration in another event at Jayamarthanda gate of Mysuru Palace. The elephants and their caretakers will be housed on the premises of Palace.
This year’s Mysuru Dasara will be inaugurated atop the Chamundi Hill on September 22.
The Jamboo Savari will be held on Vijayadashami on October 2. A total of 14 elephants, including four female elephants, are approved by the Forest department.
The first batch of nine elephants are Abhimanyu, Bheema, Ekalavya from Matthigodu elephant camp of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve (NTR); Mahendra and female elephant Lakshmi from Balle camp of NTR; Prashantha, Dhananjaya, Kanjan, female elephant Kaveri from Dubare of Madikeri wildlife division.
New elephants
Three new elephants finalised to be brought to Mysuru for training for this year’s procession are - male elephant, Srikanta, and two female elephants, Roopa and Hemavathi. The new elephants will arrive in the second batch a few weeks later along with Sugreeva and Gopi from Dubare.
Fifty-six-year-old Srikanta from Matthigodu camp was captured at Shanivarasanthe in Hassan district on the day erstwhile royal family member Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar passed away in 2014. Hence he was named Srikanta. Forty-nine-year-old Roopa is from Bheemanakatte elephant camp. Roopa was rescued from Gemini circus in 2015. They are also getting 11-year-old Hemavathi from Dubare Elephant camp. She was brought to Dubare from Sakrebailu camp of Shivamogga this year.