MYSURU: It was a festive mood in Nagapura, displaced tribal settlement, in the fringe of Nagarahole National Park as hundreds of tribals, Tibetans and local population gathered to cheer Dasara elephants during Gajapayana.
Gajapayana, a ritual to mark commencement of Dasara elephants’ journey to the Palace city to take part in the world famous Dasara celebrations, took off with religious and cultural fervour. The tribal settlement came alive as women dressed in white cotton sarees moved along with elephants and welcomed the guests with poornakumuba.
Students of Tibetan School played band and tribal children of Nagapura school and Ashram schools donning traditional attire gathered in large numbers. The students dressed in Kadu Kuruba attire performed a dance for songs in tribal dialects. They also danced for popular Kannada songs that lauded Kannada and Karnataka culture.