Glimpses of Arjuna’s life as a Dasara elephant.
Photos by Savitha B R and Anup R Thippeswamy.
The fear and anxiety was tangible among forest officers and mahout Dodda Masthi when Arjuna, a tusker, was tasked with carrying the golden howdah of Goddess Chamundeshwari for the first time, in the 1998 Dasara procession. The officials feared that the elephant, known to have aggressive tendencies, could turn violent during the parade.
Arjuna, who had earlier participated in the Dasara procession between 1991 and 1995 in various roles, had to be prepared to carry the legacy of Karnataka's heritage on his back after the demise of Drona, another legendary elephant who had carried the howdah for 18 years.
“He walked with so much dignity and poise in that Dasara parade,” recalls S N Devaraju, retired deputy conservator of forests, Mysuru, under whose guidance Arjuna was trained. “Arjuna was in 'musth' (heat) at the time. We had to control his emotions and energy with a special diet and care.”
The rest, as they say, is history. Arjuna participated in 22 Dasara parades and carried the 750-kg golden howdah eight times in his 64 years. This came to a mysterious end earlier this week.
Those who have worked with Arjuna not only remember him for Dasara events, but for the warrior he was. Standing at nearly 10 ft tall and weighing nearly 6,000 kg, Arjuna was a gentle giant, but also refused to step back from a fight.
Bold tusker
“There have been numerous incidents when Arjuna has confronted wild tuskers near our camp, when he was let out to graze. He used to stand his ground, sometimes get injured but return victorious,” says Devaraju.
Even in his last fight, he did not take a step back. He continued to lock tusks and trunk with a younger wild elephant, whose tusks were sharp and legs unchained. “Amidst all constraints, he gave the rogue elephant a fight before collapsing,” says an eyewitness who was part of this last operation.
For Dr Prayag H S, a veterinary doctor, Arjuna was his lifesaver. He remembers an incident in 2010 in Mysuru when three female elephants charged at him, while he was attempting to direct the herd back to the forest.
“The other tamed elephants deployed for the operations backed off as soon as the wild animals charged. However, Arjuna stood his ground and ensured that we remained at a safe distance from the three elephants,” he says.
Prayag also remembers how Arjuna used to help them during tiger and leopard rescue operations. “We used to get a sense of security when we sat on Arjuna during the operation,” he adds.
Forest department officials say there are not many elephants who can fill the big footprints left behind by Arjuna.