Festive Karnataka

As colourful as colours could get. As grandiose as grand could get.
Mysore Dasara
8-17 October 2010.

Banashankari Fair

The annual temple festival at the village temple in Banashankari is more than a religious event. During this time, the streets around the temple are taken over by a huge fair, marked by colour, gaiety, and thousands of attendant devotees.

Month: February to March

Maha Mastakabhisheka,Shravanabelagola

Once in 12 years Shravanabelagola witnesses thousands of devotees participating in the spectacular ceremonies for the Maha Mastakabhisheka (sacred head anointing ceremony) of the magnificent statue of Bahubali. The ritual has been carried out with a regular periodicity of twelve years. The last one was performed in 2006 and the next will take place in 2018.

Kadalekayi Parishe

Popularly known as the groundnut festival, the Kadalekayi Parishe welcomes the first yield of the groundnut crop. Karnataka's farmers congregate at the Bull Temple each year to seek blessings for a good harvest. Different varieties and qualities of groundnuts spring up in the area surrounding the Bull Temple, the Dodda Ganesha Shrine, and the Bugle Rock Park in Basavanagudi.

Month: November

Karaga

Discover the 9-day Karaga, a tradition started and sustained by a Tamil-speaking community of gardeners called Thigalars. The Karaga Festival is held at the Dharmaraya Swamy Temple in Bangalore. Just after dusk on the Karaga day between March and April, a priest dressed in female attire leads a spectacular procession, to the accompaniment of dazzling swordplay by a number of dhoti-clad, bare-chested Thigalars. On his head, he carries a flower-bedecked pyramid. A unique feature of the Karaga is the unbroken tradition of visiting the tomb of an 18th century Muslim saint every year - this custom has become a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity.

Month: March/April


Image Courtesy : Stark World Publications