Mysuru: Canon firing rehearsal successful

Mysuru: The third and final round of canon firing rehearsal was held successfully on Friday.

The practice involved elephants and horses that will take part in Jumbo Savari, main event of the festival at Mysuru Palace. Speaking to media persons, Deputy Conservator of Forests V. Kari Kalan said that, "We have brought eight elephants from the forest as was done last time and used only five to carry Golden Howda and other ceremonial activities.

This time Vikrama won't be able to participate in the rituals due to the biological phenomena called Masth. The royal family has agreed to engage Dhananjaya as Pattada Ane and Gopalaswamy as Nishane ( private Navaratri rituals), he said.

During the third round of cannon firing held on Friday, barring Dhananjaya and Lakshmi which showed signs of nervousness, the other elephants, including Abhimanyu, stayed calm to the burst of cannon sound, said DCF.

District in charge minister S.T. Somashekar who also witnessed the final round of cannon firing practice, said, "As Dasara programmes are being screened on social media platforms, people are watching from the comfort of their homes and enjoying the events. We have allowed five hundred people to take part, but less people are interested in physical participation at the events."