Preparations for Karaga Festival in the city gears up as the event happens after two years.
Bengaluru: Bangalore will be celebrating the famous Karaga Festival after two long years of wait at the Dharmaraswamy Temple. The festival will begin from April 8th and will continue for eleven days. Vishwanath, Chief Engineer, BBMP says that over two lakh devotees are expected to attend as the whole city is gearing up for the preparations of the festival.
Vishwanath adds, “We have started the route inspection from where the procession will go. Since people walk barefoot and it is a continuous procession, we are checking for the nails, cable wires and potholes on the roads.”
Even flower vendors, fruit sellers and many others were not allowed to set up stalls near the temple premises for last two years. The business for these vendors has also seen a boon after the resumption of Karaga festival.
Sarita, a flower vendor outside the temple says, “We were not allowed to set up stalls at the temple side by the security. There was no business for us for two years. We believe that if Karaga is not celebrated then nothing good happens. The business now has resumed for us.”
K. Satish, President of Dharmaraswamy Temple Sanstha while speaking about how they plan out the procession says, “The procession will start from Cubbonpete. From Cubbonpete to Raja market; from Raja market to K R Market. It starts from Ganesh Temple.”
The Karaga festival is celebrated each year to mark the return of Draupadi in the form of Adishakti. The eleven day event ends on a full moonlight day with a grand procession. Every year during the festival, the designated priest gets dressed in female attire and carries a pot on his head filled with rice. This year, the procession will be headed by Gyanendra.
