Dasara Jumbos say bye; dist admn hosts breakfast for mahouts, kavadis

Of 13 elephants only 11 took part in recently held Jamboo Savari

This was what the scene looked like when a total of 13 elephants left Mysore on Sunday after participating in 401st Dasara festivities.

The first batch of elephants led by Balarama had arrived here on August 11, while the second batch came on September 2.

However, Sarala another she elephant that had accompanied Dasara elephants to the city, was sent back before the festivities as she had conceived.

The pachyderms led by howdah elephant Balarama, consisting of Arjuna, Gajendra, Srirama, Mary, Kanti, Harsha to name a few, set out on return journey after the warm farewell extended by the district administration at the palace premises on Sunday.

For elephants it was sugar cane stalk, and jaggery that formed the menu, while for the families of mahouts and kavadis the morning breakfast was idli, vada, chutney, a sweet among other dishes. Medical education and district in-charge minister S A Ramdas and mayor Pushpalatha Chikkanna too shared the table with them, suffice for the  guests to relish. They were also given gifts — shirt, dhoti and saree — to make their brief stay more memorable.

Boarding truck

Next, it was time to coax the elephants into waiting trucks. Barring Gopi that posed a challenge for a while, the remaining elephants climbed the trucks following the instructions of their mahouts from an elevated platform near Jayamarthanda gate of the palace.
Arjuna, another Dasara elephant was entrusted the task of forcing Gopi into the truck.

Curious people in large numbers had gathered near the Palace to catch the glimpse of the ‘elephantine guests’. There was no dearth of amateur photographers for whom cellphone camera was enough to capture the moment.

Prior to this, priests offered puja to the jumbos praying for their successful departure. When contacted, veterinarian Dr Nagaraj said by evening all elephants had successfully reached their destinations. Balarama and Abhimanyu reached Titimati forest area followed by Harsha, Vikrama, Cauvery and Gopi to Dubare, Gajendra, Srirama and Kanti to K Gudi, Gange, Kokila and Arjuna to  Balle and Mary to Sunkadakatte.