Jumbo Balarama gets a breather

Balarama, the lead elephant in the Jamboo Savari, will be mounted with the golden howdah, only a few minutes before the procession begins.

At the Dasara rehearsal protocol meeting, it was decided that the jumbo should have a relief time of at least 90-120 minutes. The travel time between Amba Vilas Palace and Torchlight Parade Grounds in Bannimantap is more than two hours, covering a distance of 5.6 km. This might be quite tiring for Balarama, so giving the jumbo a breather is important.

The 11 Dasara elephants, the police personnel, and other armed contingents took part in the rehearsal protocol at the palace grounds. According to the commandant of the mounted police, Mariba Shetty, the rehearsal protocol was held largely to acclimatise the men and animals to the sounds and visuals of the procession.

“I inspected all the elephants and horses. They behaved well during the rehearsal,” he said. 

Meanwhile, on  Saptami (the seventh day of Navaratri), the city was applauding for those on bicycles. The two-day state-level cycle polo tournament and the long-distance cycle race from Mysore to KR Nagar stole the thunder.