Festivals of Karnataka


Karnataka fairs and festivals has a lot importance in the daily pattern of the Karnataka household. In fact, the Karnataka fairs and festivals form an integral part of the lifestyle of the people of Karnataka.

Some of the vital Karnataka fairs and festivals are:

Ugadi

This festival falls on the first day of Chaitra, according to the Lunar calendar; this festival even marks the Chandramana New Year in the month of March-April in Karnataka.

Dussehra

Dussehra festival is celebrated in an extravagant manner in Karnataka or to be more precise in Mysore. Locally the festival celebration is called Nadahabba.

The Royal family of Mysore takes a keen interest and active participation in the celebrations of the Dussehra festival. It is a ten days long festival out of which the first six days are dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of learning. The eighth day is dedicated to Goddess Durga. While the ninth day is the day of the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. On the tenth day a big lively procession goes from the Mysore Palace to Bannimantap.

On the days of Dussehra festival, there is a flood of light everywhere. The Mysore Palace glows. The city becomes a majestic paradise. The feeling of joy can be felt in the air.

Tula Sankramana

Tula Sankramana is a religious festival of Karnataka which is performed with much devotion and sincerity. The festival is actually celebrated in the district of Coorg or Kodagu in the state of Karnataka in India.

Tula Sankramana is celebrated in the month of October when there is a pleasant weather all over declaring an absolute festive mood. Not only the people in the district of Coorg but also those living in other parts of the state as well as of the country await eagerly for this festival of devotion and happiness.

There is a common belief regarding the celebration of the Tula Sankramana in Karnataka. People are of firmly believe that the Goddess Cauvery come to this place on this auspicious occasion. So hundreds of people look at the small tank there and think that they are being blessed with the sight of the Goddess. This event is popularly called the Theerthodbhava. Such a deep faith in religion and tradition can only be seen in a country like India. They believe that impossible can be made possible if you have faith in yourself.

Hampi

Hampi Festival or Vijaya Utsav is one of the most outstanding festivals in the state of Karnataka .In this festival people are so full of joy and happiness that the entire ambiance becomes colorful and lively.

Hampi Festival in Karnataka is celebrated in the city of Hampi in the months of October as well as November. This celebration is one of dance, music and drama. It is celebrated by each and everyone in the middle of hundred years old rocks and ruins.

The word festival implies an occasion of joy and merriment. To be candid, every heritage, every culture has its own distinctive festivals. So has the Indian cultural scenario. Each year in India opens with a festival and closes with another one.

Coming to the Karnataka festivals, one can find a culture that is so well nourished by the Karnataka people. The rural life is full of emotions and enthusiasm. Kambala festival which takes place in the months between November and March every year is long awaited by the people there. This festival is popular because of the buffalo race that takes place.

Buffalo race is a rural sport of the southern coastal Karnataka. The excitement of a buffalo race were once enjoyed by the royal people as a pastime show. However, this tradition is still alive among the rural people and they largely enjoy the Kambala festival due to this reason. During this festival the fields are made wet with water and the buffaloes are made to run on that wet racing track edged by a strong and bold farmer who comes behind the beasts balancing on a wooden plank. The people outside the racing course shout out of sheer excitement and the swiftest buffalo gets the prize.

Karaga

Karnataka is the best place in India to observe a large variety of fairs and festivals. These festivals of Karnataka represents the heritage and culture of Karnataka. The Karaga Festival of Karnataka is a nine day tradition of the Vanikula Kshatriya Thigalas community.

Karaga Festival of Karnataka is celebrated in the month of April on a full moon day which is according to the Hindu calender the Chaitra month. The Karaga Festival in Karnataka is held at the Dhamaraya Swamy Temple which is located in Bangalore. Karaga Festival observes the worshiping of the community deity, Debi Adishakti Draupadi. On the evening of the Karaga day, the priest dresses in a female attire symbolizing himself as goddess Draupadi. He then leads a procession where the dhoti clad Thigalars escorts him all through.

The priest in the attire of the goddess Draupadi leaves the temple during midnight wearing a yellow sari, bangles and mangalasutra which is a sacred chain of married women. People from all over the state and specially from Bangalore waits throughout the day to have a glimpse of the goddess Draupadi.

Kadalekayi Parishe

Karnataka is a state where fairs and festivals are intimately related with its people. Karnataka cannot be read in isolation without its occasions and festivals. The Kadalekayi Parishe festival is among those festivals which are celebrated by people of different religion with joy and merriment.

The fairs and festivals of Karnataka have a significance of its own. These festivals also help to build a fellow feeling and brotherhood among the people. Festivals reflect the cultural background of a community. The Kadalekayi Parishe festival is one of that kind which is being practiced by the farmers and replicates a traditional way of worshiping by them.

The Kadalekayi Parishe of Karnataka is popularly known as the groundnut festival in Karnataka. The Kadalekayi Parishe festival is basically a welcome ceremony celebrated by the farmers to welcome the first yield of the groundnut crop. The farmers come every year to pray in the Bull Temple every year to get the blessings of the God for good harvest.

The Kadalekayi Parishe festival of Karnataka is held during the months of November-December when the crop is harvested. The reason behind such celebration is to get the blessings for good cultivation and harvest. Heaps of groundnuts spring up all around the Bull Temple. Even different qualities of groundnuts also grow near the shrine of the Dodda Ganesha and in the surrounding of the Bugle Rock Park in Basavanagudi.

Huthri

Huthri is a traditional harvest festival of Karnataka widely known for the variety of dances and folk songs which are performed on the day of the festival. This harvest festival is celebrated in different parts of the state during the months of November-December.

There is a trend among the Indian farmers to celebrate the harvest seasons by worshiping God. The tradition prevails among the Indian farmers because they are more religious and always seek the favor of God. Huthri of Karnataka is a harvest festival celebrated in areas around Coorg in Karnataka.

During the months of November-December the paddy fields of Karnataka become prepared to be harvested. This is undoubtedly a very happy moment for the farmers. The paddy becomes ready to cut. The Huthri festival of Karnataka is celebrated at that time. Harvesting begins when the head of the family formally cuts a handful of paddy on a full moon night.

The peasants who come to celebrate this festival take a bunch of crop each and preserve them at home as a sign of good luck and prosperity. The cutting of new crop on a full moon night is hailed by the chants as Poli. The motive of celebrating Huthri is to get the blessings of the God which will increase the amount of crop year after year.

Banashankari Fair

Banashankari Fair is one of the popular fairs of Karnataka that is celebrated with extreme merriment. Fairs and festivals forms the heart of one's own culture.

All the culturally inclined regions have their own fairs and festivals which are very unique in nature. The state of Karnataka also enjoys a large number of traditional and religious fairs and festivals at different times of the year.

Fairs and festivals have always been an integral part of life and it gives enough scope to breathe under the sky. Fairs and festivals gives a wide space for social interaction and they help to build up the brotherhood feeling. Taking a close glimpse of Karnataka, this place also celebrates the diversity of occasions in its land. Among them the Banashankari Fair is one of the significant fairs.

Karnataka has a multi-culture and thus it celebrates a large number of fairs throughout the year. There is not a single month in the calender in which Karnataka has no occasion. Most of the fairs are celebrated annually. The Banashankari Fair of Karnataka is celebrated annually in January. The Banashankari Fair near Badami commences on the full moon day of the first month of an English calender year and lasts for 10 to 12 days.

The fairs and festivals in the past used to hold an important place as it was the only medium of amusement to the rural people. Now the purpose though have been changed but charm has remained the same. The Banashankari Fair at the village temple in Banashankari is much more than a religious event for the people of that locality. A large variety of articles and utensils are purchased in the fair. Rathosava is an important item sold in the fair.

Last Updated on 27 June 2013 March 2013