Arjuna carries wooden howdah on procession route

Howdah elephant Arjuna successfully carried the wooden howdah on his back on the Dasara procession route, Raja Marga, as part of the rehearsal for the Dasara Jamboo Savari on Thursday. The Jamboo Savari is scheduled for October 8.

The wooden howdah was mounted on Arjuna’s back, using a crane on the Mysuru Palace premises, where the golden howdah, weighing 750 kg, will be mounted for the grand finale. In addition to the wooden howdah, six sand bags, were mounted on the back of the elephant.

The elephants marched between Mysuru Palace and Bannimantap, covering a distance of 5 km. There was a tea break for the mahouts and kavadis near the RMC Yard on Sayyaji Rao Road.

Arjuna, accompanied by other 10 Dasara elephants, passed through KR Circle, Sayyaji Rao Road and reached Bannimantap.

Varalakshmi, who is pregnant, and Abhimanyu, who is attending a tiger rescue operation at Kundakere forest, Gundlupet taluk, Chamarajanagar district, did not take part. Veterinarian Dr D N Nagaraj, the caretaker of the Dasara elephants, and Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Alexander monitored the rehearsal. The DCF said, the rehearsal is a routine exercise, to familiarise the elephants to carry the howdah. “Arjuna successfully performed the task. Second-line elephants Abhimanyu and Dhananjaya will carry the howdah during the rehearsal in the coming days.