Mysore/Mysuru: Dasara elephant Gopalaswamy, who is being considered as an alternative to Abhimanyu, to carry the Golden Howdah (Ambari) during Dasara procession in future, carried a weight of 550 kg comfortably and walked through the route of Dasara procession on the second day of rehearsal on Friday.
Gopalaswamy started his rehearsal from the premises of the Palace carrying sand bags weighing 300 kg in addition to the to the weights of cushion and Namda which together weighed 250 kg and passed through the Dasara procession route via K.R. Circle, Sayyaji Rao Road, Highway Circle and reached Bannimantap Torchlight Parade Grounds. This 5-km journey was covered by Gopalaswamy in just 1 hour and 10 minutes which raised confidence of the officials of Forest Department.
It may be recalled here that during last year’s Dasara festival at Srirangapatna, Gopalaswamy had created a ruckus after hearing the sound of crackers. But this time, by walking comfortably with the 550 kg weight on him, he has made amends for his earlier scare.
He completed the distance of procession 5 minutes earlier than Abhimanyu. After resting for some time, he returned back to the Palace in an hour.
This post was published on August 20, 2022 6:42 pm