Mysuru: Dasara jumbos get official welcome

Mysuru: Air of celebration gripped heritage city Mysuru, as five caparisoned Dasara elephants which arrived in Mysuru on Thursday were officially welcomed for the 410th Mysuru Dasara festivities on a grand note with traditional poojas at Jayamarthanda Gate of Mysuru Palace, by Mysuru district administration led by Mysuru District Minister S T Somashekar and others at auspicious Dhanur Lagna between 12.30 pm and 1 pm in Mysuru on Friday.

All five elephants - Abhimanyu, Vikrama, Gopi, Cauvery and Vijaya - which had arrived in Mysuru on Thursday and stayed at Aranya Bhavan premises here were brought in trucks to Jayamarthanda Gate (East Gate) of Mysuru Palace on Friday morning.

A team of priests led by chief priest of Chamundeswari temple atop Chamundi Hills, Shashishekar Dixit and priest of Ganapathi temple on Mysuru Palace premises, Prahlad Rao performed Ganapathi pooja to the elephants for successful conduct of Dasara. Mysuru District Minister Somashekar, Mysuru Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri and others offered floral benediction to Dasara elephants and fed them with jaggery and fruits and welcomed them. The poojas were performed amid the tunes of Mangavaadya (percussion instruments) by team of 12 artistes of Chamundeswari temple including Gururaj G, who a fifth generation Nagaswara artiste who has been participating in Dasara for the past 12 years.

While guard of honour or national salute is usually given by city police to major dignitaries including the President of India, Mysuru city police extended the national salute to Dasara pachyderms on Friday. A team 10 policemen led by Palace Board Inspector Anand Kumar G and 26 members of police band led by B Manjunath extended guard of honour to the pachyderms who form major part of Dasara Jumbo Savari procession. Five women extended Poorna Kumbha welcome (each woman carrying one Kumbha or kalasha each) to the elephants.

After the pooja, the elephants marched majestically on the Mysuru Palace premises, to the tunes of police band and Nagaswara behind those five women who carried Poorna Kumbha.

Later, Somshekar also extended welcome to mahouts (caretakers) and kavadis (assistants) offering thamboola and sought their cooperation for successful Dasara celebrations. He also distributed kits (shirt, blanket, mat and other things needed for them during their stay) to mahouts and kavadis.

Poojas were also offered to Goddess Chamudeswari at Mysuru Palace and Ganapathi temple behind Mysuru Palace Board on the occasion. MLAs S A Ramdas, G T Devegowda, L Nagendra, Mayor Taslim, Mysuru city Police Commissioner Dr Chandraguptha, DCP Dr A N Prakash Gowda, Zilla Panchayat CEO D Bharathi, Mysuru city Municipal Commissioner Gurudutt, DCF Alexander M G, Veterinarian in-charge of elephants Dr Nagaraj D N and others participated in the event.

The elephants will stay at the palace courtyards along with their caretakers till the end of Dasara. And they will be trained from Saturday for the Dasara Jumbo Savari procession which will be held within Mysuru Palace premises on 26 October.