Flanked by his compatriots, Sarala and Varalakshmi, Balarama flaps his ears and shakes his head in agreement as cam-flashes blaze.
Flanked by his compatriots, Sarala and Varalakshmi, Balarama flaps his ears and shakes his head in agreement as cam-flashes blaze.
Balarama, now 51, has been the chosen tusker for many years to bear the 750-kg howdah (golden platform carrying the idol) in the famed jumboo savari of the Mysore Dasara.
And, this year too, Balarama is getting ready to do the honour, oblivious to the buzz in the palace that his retirement is imminent.
The trouble is he has no successor. The onerous task of bearing the howdah is something only a specially endowed bull can do. His rightful successor, Arjuna (48), still languishes in the background because of a crime he unwittingly committed years ago.
One sunny May in 1981, Arjuna went to bathe in a river with his buddy Bahadur. While crossing the road, the elephants were startled by a speeding vehicle. In the sudden confusion, one of the three mahouts, Annaiah, fell down, only to be stamped to death by Arjuna. When it came to succeeding Balarama, Arjuna was voted out because he had killed a man.
Today, Arjuna, the feisty bull stands in the background bearing a few stab wounds he got from a quarrel he’d picked up with a wild elephant. His mahout Doddamasti and kavadi Puttanna go around him exchanging pleasantries in a lingo only they know.
“How can you punish Arjuna? He did not wilfully kill anyone, rather it was an accident,” defends veterinarian DN Nagaraj, a specialist in elephant care. But the stigma still sticks.
While photos of Balarama, Arjuna and Gajendra were being taken, a trumpet from behind startles all. It’s Abhimanyu, the naughty youth who never misses a chance to create a buzz. He bears a large scar on the right forehead, a trophy he recently received from a wild bull he had locked horns with. In all, 12 elephants will participate in this year’s Dasara.
When Drona was the flag-bearer
Dasara veterans and palace functionaries remember the best bull they had seen was Drona who had carried the howdah for 17 years till he was electrocuted. “Drona was born for carrying the howdah,” remarked Marappa, an elephant driver.
Drona was named after the great guru Dronacharya of the Mahabharata. The epic portrays Dronacharya as an intelligent priest who taught warfare for a livelihood.
The elephant Drona was named after the epic guru because he possessed an excellent ability to learn and correct himself.
It is said that when the golden howdah moved to the left or right during the procession, Drona had devised the skill to move his muscles such that he could stabilise the weight. His trainers were surprised as they had not trained Drona in this skill.
“The animal knew balancing and energy conservation so well that nobody had to tell it anything about the ritual.” He led the Jumboo Savari from 1981 till his death in 1998.
Drona led a family life with his two wives, Kokila and Shanti, till his death. And, his death was and is bereaved by his wives and his mahout Doddappaji.
Sri Sri, not Kalam, will flag off festivities in MysoreForty-two close circuit (CC) television cameras will be installed at various points in Mysore city as a security measure during the 10-day Dasara. Bangalore-based Nikhil Enterprises, which has supplied the CCTV cameras, will maintain them for three years and train police to handle them.
Initially, 14 cameras fixed atop 20-foot poles will be installed on the Jumboo Savari route. The remaining will be installed in sensitive areas identified by the police.
A special control room has been set up in the Police Commissioner’s office to operate these cameras, District In-charge minister Shobha Karandlaje said. The images captured will be displayed on huge LCD screens in the control room. Though starting with the Dasara, the system will remain in place permanently to help policing.
Art of Living Guru Sri Sri Ravishankar will inaugurate the Dasara festivities in Mysore.
The state government’s plans to get former president APJ Abdul Kalam for the Dasara inaugural came a cropper, as Kalam’s itinerary was packed with programmes till the next month-end.
Mysore saw a flush of VIP visits and programmes on Saturday with the governor, the chief minister, the home minister, the district in-charge minister and the minister of state for railways descending on the city, making the police jittery.
The luminaries were in the city in connection with the 94th birth anniversary of Rajendra Swami of the Suttur Mutt.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}