Marnemi Vesha’ (Dasara vesha) is a Mangaluru Dasara tradition in which numerous performers dressed as various characters visit stores and residences to entertain the public. This year, several artists attempted to be creative. For example, artist Dinesh supervised the performance “Malaysian Elephant,” in which two individuals costumed as elephants and accompanied by a mahout toured several locations in and around Belthangady and Karkala.
The ‘Malaysian elephant’ performance has become a social media sensation. Dinesh of Karkala, Shashikanth of Marnadu, and Ganesh of Nitte are among the performers. For the past two years, we’ve been practicing Tiger, Lion, and Karadi (bear) vesha. We wanted to attempt something different this year. As a result, we came up with this idea. Dinesh, dressed as a mahout with an elephant goad in his hand, explained, “It’s our service to god.” He goes on to say that the elephant outfit worn by Shashikanth and Ganesh took two days to make. This is a Malaysian elephant that can eat 1,500 kg of banana in a single sitting. It listens and does duties as per his instructions, then performs the act in front of people.
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