Kodavas in Bangalore are geared up to celebrate one of the most important festival of the community `Puttari`(Huthari), the annual harvest festival which falls on November 25 this year.

Derived from the Malayalam word `Pudi-ari’ meaning new rice, the festival generally occurs in the month of October or November. Traditionally, the whole family assembles in their well decorated ‘ain-mane’ or common family house. The eldest memeber of the family hands a sickle to the head of the family and one of the women leads a procession to the paddy fields with a lit lamp in her hands.

Gunshot is fired to mark the beginning of harvest, with simultaneous chanting of “poli poli deva”(prosperity) by all people present there. Then the symbollic harvesting of the crop begins. Rice is cut and tied in odd numbers(kadh kotto) and is then carried home to be offered to the Gods there. The younger people then burst fire crackers which is followed by the feast. The dominant food specialities include ‘thambuttu’(a sweet bnana preparation) and ‘kalinji’(sweet potato).

In Bangalore, festivities are much more muted but the fervour and enthusiaism is not lost. Though each family celebrates the festival in their own homes, most people head to the Kodava Samaj in Vasanthnagar where a list of traditional programmes has been lined up this time too. The programme starts at 5:30 p.m with the assemly followed by song and dance known as ‘edu edippa’ and ‘kolata’. The day ends with the ‘kadh kotto’ ceremony and distribution of the rice crop grown in the small field cultivated within the premises of the samaj to all present there.