Mysuru: “Gajapayana”, the very first event of the 406th Dasara festivities in which Dasara pachyderms move towards the Royal City, began on a grand note at Nagapura tribal hamlet, near Nagarahole in Hunsur here on Sunday.
District in-charge minister and chairman of Dasara executive committee, Dr H.C. Mahadevappa kickstarted their journey by offering traditional pooja to the caparisoned pachyderms.
Later, the first batch of five Dasara elephants including Balarama, Abhimanyu, Cauvery and Vijaya led by 56-year-old Arjuna who has been carrying the Golden Howdah for the past five years, lifted their trunks and walked towards the lorries.
Dr Mahadevappa said, “Dasara programmes will be designed to attract more and more tourists from not just across the state and country, but even abroad.”
