The Dasara stars – elephants – have returned to their respective forest camps bidding adieu to Mysuru on Friday after yet another successful Jamboo Savari.
All 14 elephants and the male calf delivered to Lakshmi left the city in separate trucks along with their mahouts and kavadis to their jungle homes. They got an affectionate farewell from the Forest Department and onlookers who had gathered in big numbers outside the palace cheered the jumbos and shouted “Come back, next year.” While leaving, the elephants raised their trunks and the people gave a round of applause to the gentle giants for their invaluable service.
For many, who had been associated with the elephants and their wellbeing since their arrival, it was an emotional moment as the jumbos had made the palace surroundings their home since August this year.
Some elephants were reluctant to leave and the forest staff had to use the services of Abhimanyu to push them, particularly Srirama, on to the trucks.
After a traditional puja at the Kodi Someshwara Temple on the palace premises by the Forest Department, the challenging process of boarding got off to a start in the morning and all elephants left the palace premises around 1 p.m. with the district police escorting every elephant to its camp.
Fourteen elephants came in two batches and the number went up to 15 with the birth of male calf to Lakshmi which was named Sri Dattatreya. It was for the first time in the last two decades that a Dasara elephant delivered a calf while on training here. Out of 13 (excluding Lakshmi), only 9 took part in the Dasara procession this year.
“All elephants reached their respective camps safely,” said Deputy Conservator of Forest, Wildlife, V. Karikalan, who was supervising the training and the elephants’ wellbeing since their arrival.
Lakshmi, her calf and Kumki elephant Chaitra were the first to leave the city in the morning. The department wanted to avoid crowds as they had the task of boarding Lakshmi and its calf into one truck, and it wanted no disturbance caused to the mother from the cheering crowds.
“Lakshmi and its calf have reached the Ramapura camp in Bandipur safely,” Mr. Karikalan said.
