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Elephants Ekalavya and Bheema in a playful mood on the premises of Aranya Bhavan in Mysuru.

Elephants Ekalavya and Bheema in a playful mood on the premises of Aranya Bhavan in Mysuru.
| Photo Credit: M.A. SRIRAM

Dasara elephants, led by Abhimanyu — the Ambari elephant — that arrived in Mysuru on Monday following the grand ‘Gajapayana’ event near Nagarahole forests, will be formally welcomed onto the Mysuru palace premises on Sunday, August 10.

Earlier, the district administration had planned to welcome the jumbos into the palace on August 7, Thursday, but the event was rescheduled and is now fixed for August 10.

The elephants will be traditionally welcomed into the palace premises, which will be their abode until the festivities get over, between 6.45 p.m. and 7.20 p.m. at the Jayamarthanda Gate of the palace. Along with elephants, mahouts, kavadis, and their family members will be camping on the palace premises looking after the elephants.

Minister in charge of Mysuru district H.C. Mahadevappa will be present along with elected representatives from the district and senior officials.

All nine elephants that arrived as part of the first batch after the ‘Gajapayana’ event at Veeranahosahalli near Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, are camping on the Aranya Bhavan campus along with their mahouts and kavadis. Each elephant was transported in trucks after the symbolic event. A large number of people gathered to watch the elephants during the ‘Gajapayana’, and people in Mysuru are also flocking to the Aranya Bhavan to get a glimpse of Abhimanyu and its team.