If it?s ?Durga Puja? in West Bengal, it?s ?Navaratri? in Gujarat and Dussehra in Karnataka. The nomenclature may vary and so also the way it is celebrated, but everywhere it is a time for festivities, for fun and frolic. And for it to remain that way, those who organise ?pujas? and entertainment programmes have to pay utmost heed to safety. Whether it is the temporary pandals erected for the purpose or the electrical connections drawn for it, or the firecrackers burst during the period, public safety has to be kept in mind at all times.

This lesson comes out loud and clear in the case of Dr Mayi Gowda, which has its origin in the Dussehra celebrations in Mysore. There, as part of the festivities on the sprawling ?exhibition ground? the forest officials organised every year elephant rides. (It has since been discontinued.) Having seen the Dussehra celebrations in Mysore, I would think that it the most inappropriate thing to do. First of all, it would be cruel to bring an elephant there. Secondly, from for the visitors too, it would be unsafe ? if something were to upset the animal, it could well go out of control. And this was just what happened when Dr Mayi Gowda decided to take his children for a joy- ride on that fateful night in 1992.

Soon after Dr Gowda and his children climbed on the back of the elephant ?Saraswati?, the howdah fixed on her got loose, tilting it dangerously, resulting in the children falling down. Even as the hook of the howdah sharply pierced the thigh of the animal, some miscreants standing behind it cruelly poked her with sharp sticks and burning cigarettes. These were enough to agitate even the benign Saraswati. She picked up Dr Gowda in her trunk and swung him away. He hit an electric pole and fell down, resulting in several broken ribs and severe head injuries, which eventually resulted in the loss of vision.

The forest department and the Karnataka government together gave Dr Gowda Rs 60,000 as damages, but obviously, that was an inadequate compensation for someone who had lost his sight and also his medical practice. However, no compensation was awarded by the consumer court at the state level on the ground that there was no negligence on the part of the organisers.

The apex consumer court however disagreed, saying that the forest guards failed to keep the crowds away from the elephant or organise the joyride in a secluded spot, constituting negligence. It therefore awarded Rs 2 lakh along with 12 per cent interest, calculated from 1992.