Balarama (born c. 1958) was the lead

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

of the world-famous

Mysore Dasara Mysore Dasara is the ''Nadahabba'' (state festival) of the state of Karnataka in India. It is a 10-day festival, starting with nine nights called Navaratri and the last day being Vijayadashami. The festival is observed on the tenth day in the ...

procession and carried the idol of goddess

Chamundeshwari Chamunda (Sanskrit: चामुण्डा, ISO-15919: Cāmuṇḍā), also known as Chamundeshwari, Chamundi or Charchika, is a fearsome form of Chandi, the Hindu Divine Mother Shakti and is one of the seven Matrikas (mother goddesses).W ...

on the fabled

Golden Howdah The Golden Howdah (elephant seat or Chinnada Ambari in Kannada) is a howdah, the carrier mounted on the leading elephant during the Jamboo Savari (Elephant Procession) of the famous Mysore Dasara. It is the cynosure of all eyes during the famo ...

for a thirteen times between 1999 and 2011. Balarama is a bull born about 1958 and is accompanied in the procession by other

Dasara Elephants Elephants are an integral part of the Mysore Dasara Festival. The elephants form the core of the Mysore Dasara procession on the Vijayadashami day. The lead elephant carries the Golden Howdah ( Chinnada Ambari) with the Goddess Chamundeshwari i ...

. Of the many (about 16) elephants participating, Balarama was one of the star attraction when he carried on his back the sacred idol of goddess

in the golden howdah on the auspicious 10th day of Dasara celebrations.

History

Balarama was captured in 1987 in the Kattepura forest near

Somwarpet Somwarpet (''somavārapēte'', also written ''Somvarpet'') is a panchayat town in Coorg district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Karnataka. It is the main town of the Somwarpet taluk, in the north-east of the district. ...

, in the

Kodagu Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...

region of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. Balarama has taken part in the Dasara procession since 1994, carrying the

golden howdah The Golden Howdah (elephant seat or Chinnada Ambari in Kannada) is a howdah, the carrier mounted on the leading elephant during the Jamboo Savari (Elephant Procession) of the famous Mysore Dasara. It is the cynosure of all eyes during the famo ...

. A very silent bull (against the norm for elephants), he is said to be an introvert, and has to have special training so he can withstand the firing of canons that occurs during the festival. He succeeded

Drona Droṇa ( sa, द्रोण, Droṇa), also referred to as Dronacharya ( sa, द्रोणाचार्य, Droṇācārya), is a major character of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he serves as the royal preceptor of the Kaurav ...

as the carrier of the Golden Howdah. Balarama was not the first choice to carry the Howdah after Drona. Elephant Arjuna, a 44-year-old bull weighing was supposed to be the carrier of the howdah, but was sidelined for accidentally killing a Mahout. One day, Arjuna went to bathe in a river with elephant Bahadur and Bahadur's trainer Annayya. While crossing a road, the elephants were startled by a vehicle and in the chaos that ensued, the rider Annayya fell down to the ground, only to be stamped on the head by Arjuna. He was crushed to death. People opined that an elephant that had killed a man was unfit to carry the religious duties of Dasara. So Arjuna, while being as capable as Drona, was not given the honorable duty, though he did have the honour of carrying the Chinnada Ambari once before being replaced by Balarama. Balarama has now been rested from the duty of carrying the Golden Howdah due to his reducing weight and has been succeeded by Arjuna. Balarama now leads the procession as the 'nishane aane' or the lead elephant. Balarama's Mahout Sannappa once refused to mount Balarama after his family were stopped by the police from watching him ride during Dasara. Balarama refuses food given to him by anybody other than his

Mahout A mahout is an elephant rider, trainer, or keeper. Mahouts were used since antiquity for both civilian and military use. Traditionally, mahouts came from ethnic groups with generations of elephant keeping experience, with a mahout retaining h ...

. Balarama weighs about 4590 Kilograms and he conquers the hearts of human beings by his majestic looks and the silence that he possess. He is looked after at the Morkal Elephant camp at Nagarahole national park and his previous mahout Sannappa has retired and his new master Thimma has taken over.

References

External links

*''Balarama: A Royal Elephant'', Ted & Besty Lewin,

Lee & Low Books Lee & Low Books is an independent children's book publisher focusing on diversity. History Lee & Low was founded in 1991 by Chinese Americans Tom Low and Philip Lee as a children's book publisher specializing in books featuring people of color a ...

, 2009-08-01, .
Colour photo and news article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balarama (Elephant) Individual elephants Culture of Mysore Elephants in India

History

See also

References

External links