Jumbos coming! Dasara fervour to grip Mysuru soon

NT Correspondent

Mysuru

Dasara fervour will grip Mysuru from August 7 with the arrival of the first batch of Dasara elephants from Veeranahosalli in Hunsur taluk.

The actual celebrations will commence from September 26 and end on October 5. Dasara-2020 and 2021 were celebrated on a lowkey due to the Covid-19 pandemic which resulted in the restriction of the Dasara procession to the premises of Mysuru Palace. This year, thanks to the decline in Covid cases, the state government has taken a decision to celebrate ‘Nada Habba’ on a grand scale. As a prelude to this, the first batch of jumbos from various elephant camps led by Arjuna, the howdah carrying elephant, will start their march from Veeranahosalli.

After the formal welcome by Forest Minister Umesh Katti and Co-Operation & District-In-Charge Minister S.T.Somashekar on August 7, they will be brought in trucks from Hunsur and kept in the sprawling Aranya Bhavan in Ashokapuram in the city for two days. After two days of rest, the jumbos would be formally welcomed to the Palace premises through Jayamarthanda Gate on August 10. The VVIPs present at the palace will escort them till the special enclosure made for them in which they will stay for the next two months. The second batch of elephants is expected to reach Mysuru during the first or second week of next month. Already, Forest Department officials have finalised a list of 14 pachyderms that will participate in the Dasara 2022 celebrations.

The district administration has put up 42 sheds for mahouts, kavadis and their family members in the palace premises. Each shed will have bedding for them plus, food and other basic needs. A temporary school has been opened for the children of mahouts and kavadis to ensure that they do not miss classes for the next 60 days. Since the Dasara elephants have missed basic training for two years, forest department officials decided to bring them two months in advance to the city to impart training much ahead of the Dasara festival.