When Bangalore went nuts!

All roads lead to Basavanagudi this week end for the much awaited ‘Kadalekayi Parishe’ as it’s time to go nuts! The annual groundnut fare at the historic Bull Temple provided a rare opportunity for Bangaloreans to relish upon various varieties of groundnut grown around Bangalore. With the recession falling into oblivion, the signs of prosperity appear to be abundant. If you do not believe, take a walk into the ongoing ‘Kadalekayi Parishe’ at Basavanagudi. The annual groundnut fare besides opening to a grand opening on Monday is expected to be attended by more than five lakh people.
The annual event, coinciding with the last Monday of the traditional Karthika month of the Hindu Calender witnessed a grand opening at the South Bangalore’s historic Bull Temple in Basavanagudi. The two day event which was celebrated all these years as a low key affair is expected to fetch a whopping amount this time for both the organizers as well as traders. According to Ravi Subramanya, MLA, Basavanagudi, “The auction of festival related works including the decorations, entertainment facilities and others has fetched close to 10 lakhs this time. The auction used to fetch just Rs 1 to 2 lakhs all these years. This in fact indicates the upward acclivity in the market. Besides, more number of farmers and traders are taking part in the event than last year.”
As part of the festival, the entire stretch starting from Ramakrishna Ashram to BMS College of Engineering is flooded with groundnuts. Hundreds of visitors from different parts of the city flocked the heaps of groundnuts either raw or roasted on either sides of the road. A litre of groundnuts was sold between Rs 15 to 25 while the roasted nuts were sold between Rs 25 to 30 per litre.

As the whole event is not just about groundnut, the ‘Parishe’ also takes a peck at the history of South Bangalore. “Every tourist or new to the city would come to Basavanagudi. But except for the Bull Temple they would see nothing. From this time, keeping this in mind we are starting Kempe Gowda Heritage Memorial Trail covering close to four kms of distance in and around Bangalore,” Subramanya explained.
According to him, the trail in the morning starting from the historic Bull Temple would cover as many as 10 temples in the locality including Gavi Gangadhareshwara, Mallikarjuna, two lakes, parks and historic sites that stand till today as a testimony to Bangalore’s past glory. “There is a belief that the valley of Vrishabhavati where Bangalore has flourished over the years starts from Bull Temple. Further, Basavanagudi was earlier the heart of old Bangalore and needs to be introduced meticulously to a new comer,” he explains.

Though several legends surround the fair, the popular legend has it that the present Basavanagudi was surrounded by villages like Guttahalli, Mavalli, Sunkenahalli which grew groundnuts on large scale often encountered problems. On every full moon day a bull would charge into the groundnut fields and damage the standing crop. Hoping for the respite, the farmers offered prayers to the Basava (Nandi) and pledged to offer their first crop on every season. Later with the finding of a bull statue nearby, the subsequent rulers built a temple atop the hillock and named it after the bull.

Pictures: Rahul K N