As part of rehearsals for the Dasara procession, scheduled here on October 23, Arjuna, the howdah elephant, carried a wooden howdah along the procession route on Friday.
A wooden howdah, weighing more than 300 kg, was mounted on Arjuna using a crane at the designated spot on the palace premises in the morning.
As the golden howdah weighs 750 kg, the Forest Department added sand bags to help the pachyderm familiarise itself with the exercise.
Soon after the wooden howdah was tied to its back firmly,Arjuna, accompanied by other Dasara elephants, walked out of Balarama Gate and passed through K.R. Circle, Sayyaji Rao road before reaching Bannimantap Grounds.
The elephants covered the nearly 5-km distance of the procession route in about 80 minutes before returning to the palace.
Nagaraj, veterinarian, who is looking after the Dasara elephants, told The Hindu that the tying of the wooden howdah to Arjuna was part of routine preparations. “We have to familiarise the elephant to the rituals and ceremonies that will be carried out on the day of the procession so that it does not get disturbed,” he said. The authorities will tie the wooden howdah on Balarama and Abhimanyu also on alternative days. “We prepare the other elephants just as a back up,” Dr. Nagaraj added.
