Dasara elephants’ hot chase triggers tense moments

• Fight between jumbos Dhananjaya and Kanjan at Mysore Palace premises
• Alert Mahouts risk their lives to bring pachyderms under control

Mysuru: Two Dasara elephants went berserk triggering tense moments for a while at Palace premises here on Friday night.

The Mahouts, risking their lives, succeeded in bringing the situation under control, averting what could have led to a major incident ahead of Nada Habba Mysuru Dasara-2024, scheduled to start from Oct. 3.

Following the sudden downpour yesterday evening, the elephants were given a break from regular familiarisation exercise of the Jumboo Savari route, outside the Palace. The elephants Dhananjaya and Kanjan were standing next to each other, while providing food, in the shelter built near Kodi Someshwara Swamy Temple, at Palace premises.

Dhananjaya gored Kanjan with its tusk, leading to a fight among the elephants. However, Kanjan could not withstand the rage and might of Dhananjaya and started running towards the gate next to Jayamarthanda Gate of the Palace.

The charged Dhananjaya showed his aggressive side and gored Kanjan again, forcing the latter to increase its pace, producing a grunting sound, holding up its trunk and running towards Bengaluru-Nilgiri Road (B.N. Road), breaking through the barricades kept in the front.

The Mahout of Kanjan had reportedly fallen off, when the fight began inside the Palace premises itself, leaving the elephant to run in a uncontrolled manner.

The Mahout of Dhanjanaya, who was sitting atop, eventually succeeded in controlling his elephant, which stopped charging towards Kanjan.

By the time Dhananjaya stopped chasing, Kanjan had already retreated towards the road, but fortunately, no vehicles were passing by at that time, which otherwise could have put the lives of people in danger.

The pedestrians, who had noticed the elephants running astray, had moved aside to                              safety, watching the whole incident with a bated breath.

The unusual and aggressive behaviour of Kanjan is attributed to the condition of musth, that was noticed in the pachyderm for the last few days. Since then, the elephant was kept separately from the group and tied in a different place. As it was found to be normal yesterday, the elephant was made to stand near Kanjan, when the trouble began, leading to dramatic moments for some time.