Bengaluru: The 11-day Mysuru Dasara festivities ended with the jumbo savari, elephant march from Mysuru Palace premises to Bannimantapa in Mysuru city on Wednesday, with thousands catching glimpses of tamed elephant Prashantha, estimated to be 54, carrying 750-kg golden howdah with an idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari for the maiden time in the procession.
The procession was flagged off by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar in the auspicious time in between 4. 10 pm to 4.35 pm.
Earlier, Abhimanyu carried the howdah for six-times before he retired.
The procession went through the Palace to pass K.R. Circle, Sayyaji Rao road, Abdul Kalam Azad Circle to reach Bannimantapa.
The procession was flagged off by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar having Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on the dais among other dignitaries at the Mysore Palace premises wherein Chief Minister showered flower petals on the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari.
Earlier, Shivakumar performed puja to Nandi Dwaja (sacred pole) in front of Palace gate.
Jumbo savari is an age-old tradition practised by erstwhile Maharajas of Mysore who ruled the region.
During the days of Maharajas of Mysore, a King in power used to go in the procession from Mysore Palace premises to Bannimantapa.
After the elected government replaced Maharajas, an idol of Chamundeshwari is mounted on the golden howdah to go in the procession.
In the procession, caparisoned Prashantha caught the attention with paintings on him using organic paints.
The Mahout Chinnaiah guided Prashantha en route from Palace premises to Bannimantapa, the ending point of the procession.
Prashantha was flanked by tamed female elephants-Roopa and Kaveri.
Prior to Prashantha beginning the procession, tamed elephants-Abhimanyu, as Nishane Aane, accompanied by Gopi as Naupat Aane marched while later elephants such as Srikanta, Srirama and Mahendra in first row.
Elephants- Chaitra and Lakshmi were in the second row and third row elephants were Sugreeva and Ekalavyya.
Selected tamed elephants arrived in Mysuru city on August 26 to begin rehearsal of the jumbo savari procession.
During the stay in Mysuru, tamed elephants are on special diet to keep them fit for the finale of the Dasara festivities with vets monitoring their health on a regular basis.
Mysuru Dasara festivities’ was inaugurated by Abhinava Gavisiddeshwara Swamiji of Gavi matha, Koppal district, atop Chamundi Hill in Mysuru on October 11.
The procession of elephants is a major crowd puller and people from various parts of neighbouring districts of Mysuru in particular gather on roads en route from Palace to Bannimantapa and occupy vantage points to get a clear view of the procession especially the howdah carrying elephant.
Some reserved their seats on the roadside as early as four days to catch the procession from close angles.
One of them said “We have reserved the pedestrian path four-days back to get a close view of the procession.
One member of the family always kept an eye on the spot to keep the place intact.”
Police tightened the security and traffic movement on the procession route was diverted for a couple of hours before it was reopened.
After the procession, a torchlight parade was held at Torchlight Parade Grounds in Bannimantapa followed by a drone show where aerial formations were displayed in the sky.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
