http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-09-04/bangalore/41764337_1_mysore-dasara-mysore-palace-howdah
MYSORE: Kabini, Dharmaraya and Nakula are restless and screaming. They are trying hard to free themselves - and getting hurt. Thick ropes around their legs and necks tightly bind the 20-month-old calves to tree trunks. The Sunkadakatte forest camp, in Nagarahole National Park, 50km from Mysore, is watching an elephant vs man struggle.
It is Wednesday, August 28, the beginning of a journey that will culminate in the pomp of Mysore Dasara. The mahouts complain the calves aren't enjoying the 'special food' - a substitute for milk - given to them. How will they? They need mother's milk. And they have been weaned away from their mothers.
The mothers have been chosen for jamboo savari, the Dasara's flagship event. The separation, however, is traumatic for calves and mothers. "Don't we feel bad if we are separated from our parents?'' asks the mahout Rama. "If you don't tie the calves, they won't listen,'' says an elephant handler. Calves typically feed on mother's milk for around four years.
After the painful separation, Varalakshmi (Dharmaraya's mother) and Sarala (Kabini's mother), along with Arjuna, Dharmaraya and Abhimanyu, are chained and loaded onto a truck to be taken to Mysore. There is a brief stopover at Veeranahosalli, in HD Kote, where the animals alight for a ceremony.
All five elephants are decked up while minister V Srinivasa Prasad and an entourage of politicians and bureaucrats perform a puja. After the function, the journey resumes. They party reaches Mysore by evening and is joined by Gajendra, an elephant who has come from the K Gudi camp. All six elephants are then chained and tied firmly to trees.
Sarala and Varalakshmi don't eat much. "It takes at least five days before they adjust to the changed environment. Till then, they eat less,'' says Rama. The elephants spend another day chained to the trees before they are taken to Mysore Palace for another puja.
It's Friday, August 30. Another batch of eight elephants will join them in a few days. The mahouts, their families and the elephants will remain in the palace premises till October 15, a day after the jamboo savari.
Elephants can put on up to 700 extra kilos when they are on a special diet. In 2012, Arjuna's weight (the elephant carried the golden howdah) went up by 250 kilos, from 5,520 to 5,770, in two months.
Veterinarian DN Nagaraj, who has monitored Dasara elephants for 13 years, says the animals lose weight after they return to the forest camps. To reduce the impact of the sudden change in diet, the forest department continues the special food at camps too.
It's the 750-kg golden howdah and the elephant chosen to carry it that is the centre of attention. And controversy. For over a month four elephants, all in chains, are trained to carry the howdah. They are also trained to live with the sound and smell of gunshots (a 21-gun salute is offered on Vijayadashami). A howdah and other paraphernalia, like cloth and thread, weigh more than a tonne.
As the ropes are tied tightly, the elephants get abrasions and swellings. To alleviate the pain, the animals are given medication and massage. And, once the jamboo savari is over, they are given whisky. "We dip bread in the whisky and feed it. It helps reduce body pain,'' says Dodda Masti, Arjuna's mahout. Arjuna carried the howdah last year and is the hot favorite this year too.
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Elephant specialist Ajay Desai says the elephant's backbone is not geared to carry such things. "You cannot put 1 tonne on a 4-tonne animal. It's a criminal act,'' he fumes. A task force led by elephant expert and IISc scientist Raman Sukumar had suggested a lighter howdah. The state cabinet invoked tradition and rejected the recommendation.
"Where is the question of culture or tradition here? Historically, the maharajas rode in the howdah. When we have gotten rid of the maharajas, why should this be continued?'' asks Desai. Elephant-lovers like him are pinning their hopes on the Karnataka high court, which has served a notice to the government about reducing the weight of the howdah.
Desai and Sukumar are only showing us the other side of Dasara and how we can help make it an elephant-friendly occasion.Regards,
Shashi
Shashi
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