Mysuru: This year’s Dasara will have all eyes fixed on this 17-year-old heartthrob. His name is Bhima and what more, he is considered to be the most eligible successor to Arjuna, the grand elephant who has been carrying the Golden Howdah during the Dasara festival. Bhima’s journey to stardom begins this year with his appearance at the Dasara alongside 14 other elephants.
The idea behind bringing Bhima to Dasara this year is to get him acquainted with the festival. However, there is a challenge that the forest department is facing. With all the positive points, Bhima still has one drawback, which can spoil the entire show. While he is being looked at as the next ‘show stopper’, he can literally stop the show too because of his violent streak.
Bhima, a friendly tusker at times gets irritated by horns and noise. When his anger takes over, he may simply waylay vehicles and even go to the extent of damaging the vehicles. This violent streak is something that is posing an impediment to the forest department’s plans of making him Arjuna’s successor.
Now all of 17, Bhima is 2.7 mts in height and weighs 3500 kgs. During the Dasara festival, Jumbo Savari is the most awaited event wherein pachyderms line up and one prestigious elephant takes the centre stage to carry the Golden Howdah.
Since many years Arjuna has been doing this task as it is said that his flat back holds the Howdah perfectly. However, Arjuna is all set to retire within next five years and hence the forest department has decided to train his success way before his retirement, says DCF Yedukundala.
The DCF says that the forest department is in awe of Bhima’s courage. “From a very young age, he has lived with the humans and hence he is compatible with human beings. He has been a part of several difficult rogue elephant capturing operations and many a times he has been used even to capture tigers. He is brave and we are in awe of his bravery,” says Yedukundala.
But, his temper is something that the department is worried about, we are positive that Bhima will be able to overcome his anger during the training in Palace premises for Dasara, says the DCF.
In 2002, the forest officials had found two-year-old calf estranged from its herd. Since he was found at a place called Bhimanakatte, he was named Bhima. He was trained at Muthigodu elephant camp. Radhakrishna is his Mahout .
He is growing up to be an important person and the department is only hopeful that he responds to the training well and seizes the golden opportunity coming his way.
