Women selling groundnuts at the Kadilekai Parishe (Photo Credit: Chandraprakash j)
With misty mornings and cold days, it is now time in Bengaluru to get the woollens out. The onset of winter in the city, along with holidays, makes it an even more pleasant time to be in the bustling metro. It may be popularly known as IT city but there are also old, community, festivals that make this season joyful and fun. One such festival to look out for is the Kadlekai Parishe. This is a fair, which is held every year in south Bengaluru, near the Bull Temple in Basavanagudi. Farmers and street vendors from nearby states of Karnataka come to sell groundnut from the first crop of the tasty, crunchy nut. There are several other vendors who hawk food, clothes and toys during the festival.
The legend goes that, long ago, a bull would eat up the groundnut crops grown in the same area. The farmers prayed at the Dodda Ganesh temple to help them. Next to it, there is also a temple with a massive bull built in stone.
Crowded streets on a chilly evening celebrating the Kadalekai Parishe (Photo Credit : Chandraprakash j)
During the festival, the roads are blocked. Thousands of people visit the fair where groundnuts in every form are sold. The groundnuts are raw, roasted, boiled and fried, with and without the shell. Other than that, there are vendors selling local foods, games, toys and clothes. Some shopkeepers find it difficult and face losses while some find it good and gain profits. Manjunath, a shopkeeper in Basavanagudi, said, “The road blocks do not trouble me. Instead, I get more profits as mor epeople walk due to blocks in the road.”
Families and people with friends visit the groundnut festival, which is full of colour and activity. Groundnuts are tasty too so people buy the nuts as well at the fair. So, in the coming weeks this winter, look out for the Kadalekai Parishe, for a slice of old Bengaluru life.
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