'Kadlekai Parishe' back in Bengaluru after two years

Bengaluru: After a two-year Covid-19 hiatus, the legendary Kadalekai Parishe returned to Basavanagudi on Sunday. A special pooja was performed at the Sri Doddabasavanna temple in the morning, and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai officially inaugurated the event in the evening.

The various varieties of groundnuts supplied by farmers from all around Karnataka and neighbouring states are the fair's main attraction. The Bull Temple Road was lined with hundreds of vendors offering anything from flowers to jewellery, food and fruit, tattoos, and artefacts, which drew large crowds of people.

The famed Bull Temple in Basavanagudi's opposite lane is where the Kadlekai Parishe is held each year. Farmers of groundnuts from all throughout the state, as well as from nearby regions of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, bring bags of groundnuts to the fair to sell. Several Bengaluru residents enter the Kadlekai Parishe to purchase the groundnuts and take part in the cultural exchange. The groundnut fair is typically held for a single day, but it continues until the farmers have sold all of their groundnut stock. The origin of "Kadlekai Parishe" also has an intriguing backstory. A bull charged into the crops of the groundnut farmers in the Karnataka villages of Sunkenahalli, Mavalli, Dasarahalli, and Hosakerehalli a few centuries ago, destroying the whole harvest and causing them to suffer enormous losses. After Bengaluru's king Kempegowda built a sizable Basava (Nandi) temple in Basavanagudi to drive out the bull, groundnut farmers made it a custom to give prayers at the temple with their first crop. Every year, on the final Monday of the holy month of Karthika Masa, the Kadlekai Parishe is held.

Extensive security measures were taken by the authorities, and traffic police prevented any vehicles from entering Bull Temple Road. For fifteen years, Satish, who sells vases and sculptures, attended the groundnut fair. "I enjoy being here since I have great sales on these days. I got a good number of sales while I was in Malleshwaram the previous week. Since there are more people here, I'm hoping for more," he said. Sometimes there is less of a hurry in the morning while the venue is packed in the evening. Sometimes it's hard to control this. He added that there have also been instances of theft. On Sunday, there were more families present than there were on Saturday, when many students from surrounding colleges attended. "I like coming in the morning since there is less crowd. For the past five years, I have been coming. It will be a fascinating sight to see after the Covid. I frequently purchase groundnuts and sample the food stands," a customer named Varsha remarked. Those attending the fair clogged the roads in Basavanagudi. Many kids were thrilled and excited to be a part of the parish because of the play area with rides that were available.