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Karaga (April)
The nine day long Karaga festival, celebrated in the month of March/ April, is
the oldest and one of the most important festivals of Bangalore. It
is celebrated 15 days after Ugadi. The distinctive feature of this festival is
the participation of people from all communities. Primarily Karaga festival is
celebrated by the Vanikula Kshatriya Tigalas, the Tamil-speaking community of
Southern Karnataka. Adishakti Draupadi is their community deity and the
festival is observed in honour of the goddess.
'Karaga' is a metal pot with a pyramidical floral arrangement
on the top which symbolize the goddess of power 'Shakti'. It is carried on the
head of a selected person or a priest and is immersed in the Sampangi tank. The
Karaga carrier wears the mangalsutra and bangles of his wife who stays at home
and does not see him or the procession. He is supposed to undergo a rigorous
ritual for over six months of the year. Dressed in female attire, the carrier
leads the night long procession starting and ending in the Dharmarayaswamy
temple in Nagarathpet. According to legend, Hazrat Takwal Mastan, a Sufi saint
was a good friend of a Hindu priest. It was the saint's dying wish that the 'Karaga'
stop at his mausoleum first after leaving the temple. And the tradition has been
religiously kept alive even after 300 years of saint's death. The spectacular
procession is accompanied with the throbbing of drums and dazzling sword plays.
Devotees also carry pots decorated with flowers on their heads to test the
strength of their character.
Kadalekeya Parishe (Nov-Dec)
Also known as the peanut festival, 'Kadalekeya Parishe' is celebrated at the
Bull temple in the month of November/ December. Farmers seek blessings by offering
their first harvested groundnuts to the sacred bull. On that occasion, Peanut
eating contest is also organised.
Other festivals like Ugadi, Dussera, Makar Sankramana, Ganesh
Chaturthi etc. are also celebrated here with great enthusiasm
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