First timer Rohit, a few horses panic; new elephants made to stand in front row

Mysore/Mysuru: To acclimatise Dasara elephants to the booming sound of cannons, a firing drill was held at the Dasara Exhibition parking lot this morning. This is the first phase of the cannon drill to the elephants.

All the 14 Dasara elephants were led from the Mysore Palace to the Dasara Expo parking lot where new elephants Rohit, Lakshmi, Hiranya and Kanjan were made to stand in the front row with experienced elephants behind them. Except for Rohit and a few horses from the Mounted Police force which panicked, none of the other pachyderms displayed fear or anxiety during the first 21-round cannon firing. Rohit’s Mahout and Kavadi calmed him down while those riding horses calmed their steeds.

Seven cannons were used to fire 21 shots in three rounds and about 1.250 kg gunpowder was used to fire each shot. Two more rehearsals will be held at the Dasara Expo parking lot and the final rehearsal will be held at the parking lot near Varaha Gate of Mysore Palace.

Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Saurabh Kumar said that the first rehearsal of cannon firing was successfully held as per the tradition.

Elephants, which are participating in Dasara for the first time, were made to stand in the front row to observe their behaviour and except for one elephant, the behaviour of all elephants especially the experienced pachyderms was exceptionally good, the DCF added.

DCF Saurabh said that two more rehearsals will be held and added that all the elephants were fit and healthy.

Deputy Conservators of Forests (DCPs) M. Muthuraj (Law and Order) and S. Jahnavi (Crime and Traffic), Range Forest Officer (RFO) Santosh Hugar, Mounted Police personnel, Veterinarian Dr. Mujeeb Rehman, elephant caretakers Rangaraju and Akram and others were present.