Mysuru: The stage is set for grand Dasara celebrations this year with the Heritage city Mysuru welcoming the first set of nine Dasara elephants to Mysuru Palace premises on Friday morning.
Amid the tunes of Mangalavadya, in the absence of chairperson of Dasara Executive Committee H C Mahadevappa, Vice Chairman of the committee and KPCC working President MLA Tanveer Sait offered prayers to the Pachyderms at 10:11 am. The puja was performed in the auspicious Tula lagna at the Jayamarthanda gate of Mysuru Palace.
MLA Harish Gowda and BJP MLA T S Srivatsa, Mysuru DC G Lakshmikanth Reddy, APCCF Kumar Pushkar, Chief Conservator of Forest (Mysuru circle) Malathi Priya, DCF (wild life) Mysuru division I B Prabhu Gowda joined him.
They offered floral benediction and fed the elephants sugarcane, jaggery. As the personnel of Police department offered gaurd of honour to the guests of Mysuru-the gentle giants Abhimanyu, Dhananjaya, Gopi, Bheema, Rohit, Kanjan, Ekalavya, Varalakshmi and Lakshmi they flanked their trunks.
Later they marched towards Palace majestically in a mini procession featured by Police band, poorna kumba (kalashas) carried by five women, mounted cops, folk cultural troupes including Dollu kunitha, pooja kunitha, kamsaale and Gaarudi gombe.
Speaking on the occasion, Tanveer Sait said, "We have offered puja to Elephants and welcomed them praying for successful Dasara which attracts tourists from across the world."
Published 23 August 2024, 06:55 IST