The last rites of Dasara elephant Balarama were performed at the Bhimanakatte elephant camp on Monday complete with traditional rituals besides a gun salute.
The 67-year-old gentle giant who carried the golden howdah 13 consecutive times in the Mysuru Dasara from 1999 to 2011, had died on Sunday after battling tuberculosis.
The carcass was garlanded and flower petals showered on it and the last respects were paid by senior Forest Department staff including Chief Conservator of Forest of Mysuru Circle Malathi Priya, Director of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve C. Harshakumar, Deputy Conservators of Forest P.A. Seema, Sourabh Kumar, Sharana Basappa and other staff.
Shruthikirthi Devi Urs and others represented the erstwhile royal family of Mysuru. Balarama’s mahouts Thimma and family members, his assistant Manjunath, and veterinary doctors who looked after Balarama after his retirement were among those present.
Earlier, the priest performed rituals and chanted hymns after which three rounds were fired in air by the armed forest staff as a mark of respect to Balarama who had a large fan following given his stature and participation in Mysuru Dasara for almost 20 years before he was retired in 2011. A portion of the ground was dug by using excavators and the carcass was tethered to it and gently lowered to the pit and covered with soil. Mr. Harshakumar said the place where Balarama is buried will be cordoned off and a tombstone erected with his year of birth and date of death, perhaps a first for an elephant to get the honour.
