At 5,615 kg, Dasara elephant Arjuna is considered to be moderately heavy. However, the veterinarian’s advice is to allow him to gain additional weight to handle more rigorous tasks ahead.
At 2,635 kg, Dasara elephant Vijaya is considered to be of ‘slender’ built and perhaps the envy of another cow elephant Kaveri who was found to be 3,005 kg.
Having received a VIP welcome complete with a police band and ensemble of priests praying for their collective welfare just a day ago, the first batch of the six Dasara elephants got on to the task of rehearsing for the procession; but only under the close supervision of the veterinarians on hand.
On Day 1, after arriving at the palace, all the elephants went through a ‘health check-up’ and were weighed to ascertain their fitness levels.
Arjuna, who is vested with the responsibility of carrying the 750 kg golden howdah during the jumbo savari on the day of Vijayadashami, weighed 5,615 kg, and the veterinarians believe he can go on to add another 200 kg to withstand the rigours of carrying the weight.
Balarama at 4,920 kg
Balarama, who has the honorific task of leading the procession, weighed 4,920 kg and is considered fit and ready while Gajendra, who will accompany him in the lead, weighed 4,620 kg. Abhimanyu, tipped to be a stand-by, in case Arjuna plays truant or his mahout Mahesha is unable to establish a good rapport with the animal, weighed 4,855 kg but is considered to be of athletic build and therefore fit for the task.
It is an annual affair for the elephants to be weighed on arrival and again on the day of the procession, by which time nearly all of them would have gained about 150 to 200 kg of additional weight. This is mainly due to a special diet comprising their regular fodder apart from sugarcane, plantains, jaggery, etc.
The elephants will march through the main thoroughfares of the city covering a distance of 5 km twice a day for the next few days after which Arjuna will be subjected to ‘weight training’ so as to accustom him to carry the 750 kg howdah.
Balarama, Gajendra and Abhimanyu will also give him company in the training so that they can step-in if any emergency arises to ensure that there is no disruption of the procession.
