TV9 Live: Mysore Dasara 2013: Elephants Get Beautiful Painting, Nandi Dhwaja Prepared

  • 10 years ago
TV9 Live: [3] Mysore Dasara 2013: Procession Elephants Abhimanyu, Gajendra, Sarala Getting Beautifully Decorated, 120Kg Nandi Dhwaja Prepared for Pooja...,
Follow us on :
YOUTUBE : http://www.youtube.com/user/tv9kannadanews
FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/Tv9Karnatakanews
TWITTER : https://twitter.com/tv9kannada
PINTEREST : http://pinterest.com/tv9karnataka

MYSORE: Ten years ago, Nagalingappa R Badiger, a drawing teacher at a government high school in Periyapatna, accidentally landed a unique drawing job - painting motifs on the Dasara elephants. A decade later, Badiger is still as excited to take part in his 11{+t}{+h} Dasara.

The practice of beautifying the Dasara jumbos through paintings has been on since the period of Raja Wadiyar, who began the Dasara celebrations in 1610, said Echanur Kumar, a heritage committee member. "Gandaberunda, an imaginary bird and the state insignia, was used by Maharajas of Mysore as they believed it is the symbol of justice. This bird is painted on the trunk of the elephant," he said.
Keeping the tradition alive, this year too Badiger and his team will beautify the elephants with their painting and Gandaberunda will occupy the place on pride on the elephants' trunk, while a conch will be drawn on the years and birds and creepers will adorn the legs of elephants.

Badiger and his team will be busy for 12 straight hours as they begin their task this year on the night of Ayudha Puja. Of the 12 hours, three hours are exclusively dedicated to Arjuna, the howdah elephant.

"Arjuna is the cynosure of the Dasara procession, so work on him should be done with precision. Therefore, we dedicate more time to him. We start painting Arjuna from 4.30 am on Vijayadashami day and complete it before 8 in the morning," Badiger explained.

Badiger recalls how jittery he used to be in the initial years. "Paining on the massive animal was no ordinary feat. But over the years, I have become accustomed to it. Now I find the whole experience exhilarating."

The team uses only water colours to paint the images and work overnight for nearly 12 hours continuously from 8 pm on Ayudha Puja day.

Recommended