It’s that time of the year when thousands of people flock to the temple, popularly known as the Bull Temple that is located at Basavanagudi. What started many years’ ago is still being continued by people in the city today.



Kadalekai Parishe (Groundnut Festival), the annual groundnut fair, which is celebrated on the last Monday of Karthika Masa (according to the Hindu Calendar), was held near the Bull Temple yesterday. The fair is an annual event now, but has been in existence for years’ now. As the name suggests, it is mainly a celebration to mark the first ground nut harvest, but over the years, things seem to have changed in this festival.  

What, earlier, was restricted only to farmers and ground nut lovers is today catered to people of all kinds. “I have a vague memory of this celebration when I used to come here while I was just a kid. I used to come along with my grandfather. It used to be a day for the farmers who used to come from places in and around the State to sell groundnuts. Even at that point of time, which must be like 50 years back, there still used to be a massive number of people who used to come here to buy these groundnuts,” said Manahor K, who is a doctor, and has been coming to the fair for years’ now. Earlier, he used to come along with his own parents; today he brings his family.


The reason behind the celebration is still a thing that has no definite explanation, but people like to believe on the stories that have been passed on generation after generation. Narayan, who is the priest from the temple, explains, “There are a lot of story that people talk about, but they are just stories. According to what I was told, this is a festival that is dedicated to the bull (‘Basava’ in Kannada).” He adds, “The celebration has been here for years’ now and I have seen it myself for the last 70 years of my life. It’s nothing lesser than a festival for the people here, and with the passing years it has just become bigger. The celebration will go on for two days: Monday and Tuesday, and there will be close to two lakh’s of people who would have come here by the end of this celebration.”  


As such, Bull Temple, in itself, has a story behind it, but it’s been interpreted in many different ways. According to many beliefs, the place was earlier been used for the cultivation of groundnuts by the farmers. Vijay Vittal Das, an Insurance Surveyor who had come to the fair along with his family, said, “According to what I have heard, There used to be a Basava (Bull) that used to trample the harvest here; this used to be huge harvesting field earlier, where farmers used to harvest groundnuts. And then, it seems, the farmers came to an agreement with the Bull that if he stops the sabotage, then a day would be dedicated to him. That was the starting of Kadalekai Parishe.”   

But there were others like Sathya Vikas, who liked to believe in the celebration, more than the explanation. Vikas corroborates: “We come here to celebrate the occasion, and it’s, I think, more important than why and how it was started. It’s a thing that’s been passed on for years’ now, and we continue the tradition.” He added: “It’s an auspicious day because Basava (Bull) has a spiritual connection too; it’s the vehicle of Lord Shiva. So, we come here to get the blessing from the God.” “And I think, we, in this country, just need a reason to celebrate, and this is surely one of the reason,” smiles Vikas.



Kadalekai Parishe is a day that is especially loved by the groundnut lovers. There is a huge range of groundnuts that is available, and farmers come from far and wide to sell their groundnuts. A portion of it is given to the temple, and the rest is sold to the people who come to see the fare. Previously, what was just restricted to selling of groundnuts, has now become more cultural fair now. Guess, that’s one of the factors that make Indian Festival special.