Karnataka News Desk!!! Preparations for Dussehra and Diwali are in full swing across the country. Dandiya is being organized at various places on the occasion of Navratri. Dussehra fairs are held at many places but the Dussehra festival of Mysore, Karnataka is the most unique. This time preparations have been made for the 408th Dussehra festival. During this time a parade of elephants is taken out. These elephants are trained long in advance for this program. Will tell you how elephants are selected for this parade. Preparations for the Dussehra festival, known as Nada Habba in Kannada, have been completed. Jumbo ride is considered to be the most special in this event to be held on Saturday. For this, 12 elephants paraded 7.5 km from Mysore Palace to Banni Mandap.
How are elephants prepared?
The entire herd of elephants participates in the 7.5 kilometer parade. This time a 58-year-old elephant named ‘Abhimanyu’ has been chosen to lead the group. This elephant will be decorated with a howda (pavilion built on the elephant’s back) of 750 kg gold. To keep these elephants calm, they start preparing for it about two months in advance. Out of which 14 elephants are selected, 12 elephants participate in the parade.
According to the report of Dainik Bhaskar, the work of selecting these elephants starts from July. A team of officials and wildlife experts visited elephant camps in the forests of Coorg, Chamarajanagar, Mysore district, where the elephant population is concentrated. Then firecrackers are burst in front of the herd of elephants. Which is a kind of sound system. This is done so that the reaction of elephants can be seen in this situation. By bursting crackers and playing drums, fear is seen in the eyes of elephants, those who remain calm even in this situation are selected. This process of selection of elephants has been going on for 400 years.
Why do elephants walk together?
These elephants are kept under observation for 15 days. They are fed such food which keeps their mind calm. Additionally, two female elephants are placed side by side with the elephant leading the parade. This does not make the elephant uncontrollable in the crowd, but by doing this it remains calm. These three are kept together for about two months, so that they can understand each other.