Dasara jumbos not ready for royal treatment yet
Synopsis
Mysuru is gearing up for the Dasara festival, whose dates have been fixed from October 2 to 11. As per tradition, the first batch of jumbos - including Arjuna and Balarama - have arrived in the city for the grand parade.
However, it seems one of the Dasara elephants, Balarama, will take some more time to get used to Mysuru and the royal treatment being meted to him.
The jumbo was seen creating a ruckus in the Mysuru Palace premises, when he was taken for his bath. Sources said tha the elephant has reactd in a similar fashion on seeing water on earlier occasions as well.
As soon as Balarama was brought near the lake, he started running away. His rider, Ganesh, couldn’t bring him under control and jumped from his back before Balarama tossed him off. The rider's leg has been injured in the incident.
Balarama continued to run around the palace and at last stopped in front of the Amba Vilas Palace, much to the relief of the team which brought him to Mysuru.
Veterinary doctor Nagaraj said, Balarama will take time to get adjusted. “Sometimes elephants run erratically looking at water bodies. He will get used to it soon,” he said.
As soon as the elephants reached the city, they were weighed. Accordingly, Balabheema Arjuna, who will carry the golden Howdah this time too, weighed 5,615 kg; followed by Balarama weighing 4,930 kg, Abhimanyu is 4,855 kg, Gajendra is 4,630 kg, Kaveri is 3010 kg and Vijaya weighs 2,635 kg.
Right until the festival, the Dasara jumbos will be given a royal treatment and nutritious food. The elephants are weighed once again after the Dasara festivities. Due to the food, usually these elephants weigh at least 200 to 300 kg more than their arrival.
The elephants are also given facilities like insurance policy and aadhar cards, to ensure their good health.