Private durbar concludes

MYSORE: Just as all good things come to an end, the nine-day private durbar headed by the scion of the Mysore Royal Wadiyars, Srikanatadatta  Narashimraja Wadiyar, concluded on Thursday after he offered puja to the ‘Banni’ tree at the Bhuvaneshwari Temple inside the Mysore Palace. The Maharaja dressed in traditional attire was taken out in a procession in a silver chariot pulled by bulls. Members of the royal family joined the public in the procession at the palace courtyard. Wadiyar, however, stayed away from the inauguration of the Vijayadashami procession and did not  accompany the chief minister to the podium.Earlier, hundreds of members of the royal family and their guests witnessed the ‘vajramusti kalaga’ by wrestlers from Mysore and Chamarajanagar of the Jatti community. It is said that the wrestlers hit each other’s head until its bleeds. Balarama, the 53-year-old elephant which is also the 750 kg golden howdah bearer, is carrying the  howdah containing the idol of Chamundeshwari for the twelth consecutive year.The Dasara elehpants were brought from the Balle Forest Range in Nagarahole National Park were put under intensive training for a month before Dasara.The royal family also offered offered puja to weapons and arms at the Mysore Palace on the occasion of Ayudha Puja on Wednesday.