With the ‘Gajapayana’ of the first batch of Dasara elephants all set to be officially flagged off from Nagapura in Hunsur taluk, an aging Howdah elephant Balarama has become a concern for the district administration.
Adding to their woes, four elephants that were part of the Dasara Jamboo Savari for the last several years will not be available for this edition as they are busy with their newborn calves.
Balarama, the 56-year-old elephant chosen to carry the Golden Howdah after the electraocution of Dhrona, had found it difficult to do its job last Dasara. Aware of the elephant’s aging, poor eye sight and other factors, forest officials have kept 52-yearold Arjuna as an alternative. Though Arjuna had once in the past carried the Golden Howdah, forest officials are likely to choose the Howdahcarrying elephant only after analysing the performance of both elephants during the 50 days of rehearsal.
The forest officials will place a wooden Howdah along with sand bags weighing 540 kg on both the elephants during their stay at the Mysore Palace. They will feed them with nutritious food like jaggery, rice and other items. Admitting that there are problems with Balarama, a senior official pleading anonymity said that they would take a final call ahead of Vijayadashmi. Though few maintain that Balarama can successfully carry-out its assignments, officials are not ready to take a risk as any minor problem can create problems for the Forest Department.
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