The Howdah Bearers | Mysuru's Dasara elephants

Mysuru Dasara · from the archive

Kings stopped riding it in 1969. The elephants never stopped carrying it. This year, Mysuru has picked the next elephant.

Every year, during the Dasara festival, a grand procession is undertaken from the Mysuru Palace to the Bannimantap Parade Grounds. The chief attraction of this parade is an elephant decked out in splendour, carrying the golden howdah.

The howdah started out as a structure originally meant for Mysuru's kings to ride in. However, kings stopped riding in them in 1969. Even so, the elephants never stopped carrying it. This year, a new elephant replaced the old one, and the tradition continues.

But first, before the parade, the elephants undertake a journey from the forests. Here is how it begins.

In August, they walked in from the forests of Nagarahole. The Gajapayana, the elephants' journey.

Once in Mysuru, they march five kilometres twice a day, palace to Bannimantap, to learn the route and the din.

For the trial exercise, they carry a wooden copy of the howdah. Mahendra's load comes to nearly 850 kg.

The load on their backs grows, day by day, in preparation for the weight of the howdah.

1000kg may seem like a lot to bear, but here are the weights of some Dasara elephants.

On the third round of the trial, Mahendra stops. And will not go on.

On Vijayadasami, one of them will carry the real thing.

The golden howdah. It weighs 750 kg.

What sits inside it today is a bronze idol of the goddess Chamundeshwari. It weighs not more than 10 kg.

So why is the seat at least 75 times heavier than its passenger?

Because it was built for a king.

However, it did not always have a king in it. Over the years, the howdah's occupant has changed.

The king got off.The weight stayed on.

After their years of service, these elephants are remembered with fondness and respect after their passing.

Drona, 1997. Reaching for a branch in the forest, he touched a high-tension wire.

Balarama, 2023. Died at his camp, aged 67.

Arjuna, 2023. Killed fighting a wild tusker. His mahout tried to wake him.

Three rounds were fired in the air.Gun salutes used to be for kings.

This year, Abhimanyu turned 60, and the rules say he must stop. The elephant carried the howdah for the last six years.

So the city asked for one more walk. He will walk in the procession as the flag elephant. His mahout and kavadi call him “Captain”.

After him, Prashantha, who was chosen as his successor this year, will take over and bear the howdah.

And when Dasara ends, they all go home to the forest.

Next August, the journey begins again.

Every fact in this story comes from The Hindu's own pages and photographs. The four clippings that appear in the story show the words on the printed page, with the red marks at the measured position of those words. Tap the beside any line to see the report it rests on. Photographs are shown as published, uncropped, with their archive captions.

The elephant silhouette is by Kai Caspar, from PhyloPic, released into the public domain (CC0). The howdah, the scale and the caparison are drawn for this piece.

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