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Fairs &
Festivals of Karnataka
True to its colorful
heritage, Karnataka has an array of festivals that add life,
gaiety, and color to mundane activities.
The Paryaya Festival of the Krishna temple at Udupi, held
biennially in January, marks the ceremonious handing over of the
charge of the shrine to one of the eight religious orders of the
Madhwacharya's spiritual descendants in rotation for a two-year
term.
Thousands throng to the Melkote Temple in March to catch a
glimpse of the diamond-studded crown of the temple deity taken
in procession on one of the 13 days of the Vairamudi Festival.
The Karaga Festival, peculiar to Bangalore, is a quaint
celebration of goddess Shakti invoked in the earthen pot from
which the festival derives its name. This pot, heavily bedecked
with flowers, is borne by a man who observes severe penance for
several days before the festival. Dressed as a woman in saffron,
sword in hand and wearing the mangalsutra (necklace) of his
wife, the karaga bearer precariously balances this pot on his
head to set out from the Dharamaraya Temple on the day of the
Chaitra Purnima in April.
Keil Poldu a festival celebrated in Coorg in the first week of
September and is marked by the worship of arms and implements,
sumptuous eating, followed by games and competitions on the
village meadows.
The Feast of St. Mary's Basilica, Bangalore is celebrated from
August 29 to September 8 in honor of Our Lady known for her
miraculous powers of healing the sick.
Dussehra, a ten-day festival in September-October is symbolic of
the triumph of good over evil. The city of Mysore is transformed
into a fairyland of illuminated places, gaily-festooned streets
and arches. The celebrations are marked by cultural programmes,
exhibitions, classical music festivals, torchlight processions,
culminating with a grand procession on the tenth day headed by a
gaily caparisoned elephant bearing a golden howdah with a deity.
On October 17, in the wee hours, ripples of water come bubbling
up a small pond at Tal Cauvery, the source of River Cauvery. The
event, celebrated as Cauvery Shankaramana by the Coorgis, is
symbolic of the annual return of Goddess Cauvery to her
birthplace and a reassurance of her promise of continued
protection to her devotees when they tried to dissuade her from
becoming a river.
Thousands of devotees, both Muslim and Hindu, throng the tomb of
Sufi saint, Khaja Banda Nawaz at Gulbarga for the Urs held in
November.
Dharmasthala, the temple town dedicated to Lord Manjunath is
choc-a-bloc with festivities during the Lakshadeepotsavam in
November/ December for five days prior to Amavasya. The festival
is marked by literary and music meets and a Sarvadharma Sammelan
(all religion meet).
Inam Dattatreya Peetham is venerated both by Muslims and Hindus
because a laterite cave here was sanctified by the stays of
Dattatreya Swami and Hazrat Data Hayat Mir Khalander.
The Coorg Festival is marked by folk dances and sports
characteristic of the region. The National Dance and Music
Festivals at Pattadakal and Navaraspur (five kilometers from
Bijapur) are held in January-February every year to rekindle
interest in the cultural grandeur of the Chalukya and Indo-Saracenic
culture. The Hoysala Festival celebrated at a hill near Halebid
presents different styles of classical and folk dances
reminiscent of the Hoysala culture. The Hampi/Vijayanagar
Festival organized in December is typified by music, drama,
dance fireworks, puppet shows, and spectacular processions-all
combining to recreate the grandeur of a bygone era.
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