Thirty-nine tuskers had been spotted at Sonepur fair, arguably Asia's largest cattle fair, last year.
Cut to 2015.
Four tuskers on the inaugural day on Monday.
But the fair, not ready to lose its charm so easily, expects five lakh people to take a holy dip at the Ganga-Gandak confluence, abutting the Sonepur Mela venue, to pay obeisance to gods, primarily Lord Vishnu, on Kartik Purnima (full moon day) on Wednesday.
The main attraction on the occasion would be the ritualistic elephant bath though the number of tuskers is comparatively lesser this time.
According to the legend of Gajendhra Moksha in Hindu mythology, Gajendra (the king of elephants) was crossing the Gandak at Sonepur when Gandharva chief Huhu (crocodile) trapped his legs. This led to a fight between the two during which Gajendra prayed to Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu came to Gajendra's rescue by taking on the avatar (incarnation) of Baba Hariharnath. He beheaded the crocodile and saved Gajendra.
Akhtar Imam, an elephant owner from Bodhgaya, said: "Bringing elephants to Sonepur Mela and giving them holy bath on Kartik Purnima has been a tradition for elephant owners. The mahouts take the tuskers to the ghats in the morning, where they are given the holy bath."
The cattle fair used to commence with the ceremonial bath on Kartik Purnima till recent years, when it was solely organised by the Saran district administration.
In 2012, the tourism department was assigned the job of reviving the charisma of the fair, which is also famous for its theatre and folk dances.
Since then, the fair is being jointly organised by the tourism department and the Saran district administration. The date of its inauguration falls a day or two before Kartik Purnima.
Anticipating the arrival of a large number of people, the district administration introduced traffic restrictions from Tuesday till Thursday for routes connecting Hajipur and Patna.
Heavy vehicles would not be allowed to ply on the New Hajipur-Chhapra bridge on Gandak from Wednesday. All vehicles would be prohibited on the old Gandak bridge on Wednesday and only pedestrians from Hajipur to Sonepur would be allowed to use it till 2pm on Thursday.
Thereafter, the central lane of the old bridge would be opened for movement of pedestrians from Sonepur to Hajipur and movement in the opposite direction would be allowed on the side lanes.
Apart from continuing its heritage of being a perfect platform for trading of elephants, farm animals, dogs, buffaloes, goats, camels, birds and horses, the fair has also lately emerged as a platform for cultural activities and trade of consumer durable goods.
Around 50 artists from across the country have been engaged to perform in the daily cultural programmes as well as in the six-day Harihar Kshetra Cultural festival from November 4 to November 9. The tourism and the art, culture and youth affairs departments are jointly looking after the cultural events at the fair.
More than 20 departments, including agriculture, health, education and industries and others, have booked kiosks. Stalls have also been rented out to sellers of readymade garments, hosiery and woollen items, handicraft, cutlery, electrical and electronics, automobiles and leather goods and equipment among others.
To facilitate Patna residents' travel to the highly acclaimed cattle fair, Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation (BSTDC) has introduced a daylong bus tour to Sonepur Mela at Rs 100 per person.
"We will also provide hired four-wheelers from Hotel Kautilya to the fair for those who want to avail the daylong tour," said a BSTDC official.
