Dasara buzz sets in: First batch of 9 Dasara elephants accorded grand welcome at Mysuru Palace premises

Mysuru: Dasara buzz has set-in at the heritage city of Mysuru, with grand traditional welcome accorded to the first batch of nine Dasara elephants amid mild drizzling rainfall at the Mysuru Palace premises with puja during auspicious Ghodhooli lagna at 6.43 pm on Sunday evening at Jayamarthanda gate.

It was a visual treat for large number of people who gathered eagerly to witness the elephants at the backdrop of the illuminated Mysuru Palace.

Amid the tunes of mangalavaadhya, on behalf of district administration Mysuru district in-charge Minister and head of Dasara Executive Committee H C Mahadevappa offered floral benediction to the Elephants and welcomed them.

Minister Venkatesh, MLA Tanveer Sait, G T Devegowda, T S Srivatsa, Mysuru DC and Dasara Special Officer G Lakshmikanth Reddy, DCF, Wildlife, Mysuru division I B Prabhu Gowda joined the puja.

Dwarapalaka puja, Elephants' Paada pooje, Sankalpa, Chamaraseve, mangalarathi were performed.

All nine caparisoned elephants led by Abhimanyu flanked by Lakshmi and Kaveri, lined up for the puja along with Bheema, Mahendra, Ekalavya, Prashantha, Dhananjaya, and Kanjan. The guests fed them all with jaggery, sugarcane, bananas and eatables like Chakkuli, Kajjaaya, Rave Unde, Laadu, Karjukayi.

Team of ten police personnel led by K M Murthy along with an English police band led by Manujanath and Praveen offered a guard of honour to special guests of Mysuru who will play a prime role in Dasara Jamboo Savari procession. It is only in Mysuru that guard of honour is offered to Elephants. The Pachyderms greeted the guests and cheering crowd by raising the trunks.

Later elephants marched towards the illuminated Palace in a mini procession, to the tunes of Mangalavadya and Saxophone by team of 25 members led by Yadukumar and Chandevaadana led by Chandru.

The procession featured mounted cops; poorna kumba (kalashas) carried by five women; and folk art troupes like dollu kunitha, beesu kamsaale and Pooja Kunitha; Two people dressed up as participants of the private Durbar of Mysuru Palace also joined the procession.

Another puja and mangalarathi was offered to pachyderms on behalf of Mysuru Palace Board, near Aane Baagilu of Mysuru Palace at the backdrop of illuminated Palace. Ashgourd was broken for 'Drushti Nivaarane' of Elephants.

Later Minister Mahadevappa offered tamboola to officers of district administration led by DC Reddy, Police Commissioner Seema Latkar, Mysuru district SP N Vishnuvardhana, forest officials led by DCF I B Prabhu Gowda and greeted them for successful Dasara celebrations.

Chief priest of Sri Chamundeshwari Devi temple N Shashishekara Dixith and Mysuru Palace Ganesha temple priest S V Prahlad Rao, who led the pujas said, "We have offered Gaja Puja for the succesful Dasara celebrations".

They also offered puja to the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari, which would be carried in the golden howdah in the Dasara Jamboo Savari procession, at Gombe Totti of Mysuru Palace.

ZP CEO S Ukesh Kumar, Mysuru Palace Board DD T S Subramanya, Vice President of Guarantee schemes implementation committee Pushpa Amarnath joined the celebrations.

Mysuru district administration led by District in-charge Minister and head of Dasara Executive Committee H C Mahadevappa accords grand traditional welcome to first batch of nine Dasara elephants, on the premises of Mysuru Palace, at Jayamarthanda gate on Sunday evening.