By S. Pushpavathi
Elephants are astonishingly specific about their needs. To understand them one needs to think like the mahouts who themselves think like an elephant. A mahout’s life revolves around his elephant as he eats, sleeps and wakes up with it and even plans his day according to the elephant’s need. A couple of mahout families have come to Mysuru as part of Dasara-2017 slated to begin from Sept. 21. Elephants are the major attraction of Dasara Jumboo Savari. And the unsung heroes behind the show are the mahouts. This year, 15 elephants are participating in Dasara and accordingly, 15 mahouts and 15 kavadis and their families are camping on the Mysore Palace campus. While the mahouts and kavadis are busy taking care of the elephants and their needs 24x7, their wives and other members of family do the silent work cooking for their husbands and taking care of their children. They try to make the stay of the family in Mysuru — away from the forests — comfortable.
