Mysuru witnesses Gajapayana, the march of elephants, as thousands join grand 'Mini Dasara' festivities

Mysuru: Festive mood prevailed at Veeranahosahalli, Nagarahole National Park, Hunsur taluk, as 'Gajapayana' the march of elephants from the wilderness to Mysuru city was taken out, amidst a lot of fanfare, on Monday. 

With this, the preparations for Nada Habba Dasara 2025 was launched, with Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre and other dignitaries taking part in the grand event.

Thousands of people including residents of surrounding villages, Tibetan settlement, a lot of people from Mysuru and social media influencers were present, making the event more grand and popular.

The event was scheduled after 12 noon and a lot of people were seen arriving at the spot early in the morning. They even went near the jumbos for a selfie. This forced the Police and the Forest department to barricade the place and lock it, as a precautionary measure.

Mini Dasara

It was a sort of 'Mini Dasara' for the people living in tribal hamlets and the villagers here. Dressed in their best attire, thousands of people, both young and old, did not mind walking for more than two kilometres to reach the venue, which was held at the Nagarahole Gate. 

Vasantha from Chikkahejjuru village said, they do not miss to attend the 'Gajapayana' event. "It is our elephants. We are sending it to Mysuru for Dasara", she said.

Chanchal, a resident of Gurupura Tibetan settlement, said she brought her son Manu to watch 'Gajapayana' and decorated elephants. He was too excited to see it, she said. 

Pushpa of Nagapura tribal hamlet said, almost all the people in the nearby villages never miss to attend the event, as it is difficult for all of us to visit Mysuru to be a part of 'Jamboo Savari'. We are proud that Nada Habba Dasara is launched  from Hunsur taluk. The children are way too excited, as it is like a jatra for us. 

The stretch from Girijana Ashrama school to Nagarahole gate was decorated with buntings and colourful decorative boards on both the sides. Hundreds of vehicles were seen parked on both the sides of the road throughout the stretch. The locals said there was heavy rains accompanied by thunder on Sunday night, as a result the venue where the dais programme was held had turned slushy. But that did not deter the people from staying away from the event, and the whole place was occupied.

Nine Dasara elephants Abhimanyu, Bheema, Mahendra, Ekalavya, Lakshmi, Prashantha,  Dhananjaya, Kanjan and Kaveri took part. 

Even though Abhimanyu is said to be the golden howdah elephant, it was Bheema that stole the show during the march. A large gathering, especially youths started chanting Bheema... Bheema and the pachyderm too responded to their chants by lifting its trunk and acknowledging. 

The venue had turned into a small fair, with vendors selling toys, sugarcane juice, eatables, pani puri, golgappa and others doing good business.

About Gajapayana

Gajapayana has been held since the time of Wadiyars. Earlier, the erstwhile Kings used to visit the forests and extend invitations to the caretakers of the elephants to participate in Dasara.

A puja used to be conducted at the Anjaneya temple, before Gajapayana. However, it was discontinued later. The Gajapayana resumed in 1998 at Nagapura Tribal Rehabilitation Centre, due to the efforts of the then district incharge minister A H Vishwanath. Later, in 2018, Gajapayana returned to its old venue Veeranahosahalli.