Covid shadow: No roadside stalls at Bengaluru's Kadalekai Parishe

The raging pandemic has restricted the oldest festival to the premises of the Bull Temple

For the first time in its 480-year history, the annual Kadalekai Parishe (the groundnut fair) at Basavanagudi will not have stalls along the road.

The raging Covid-19 pandemic has restricted the oldest festival to the premises of the Bull Temple.

Usually, the three-day festival — held on the last Monday of the Karthika month — would attract over five lakh visitors and 500 farmers, with 2,500 stalls selling everything from toys to clothes, handicrafts and food. It will be quite a simple affair this year.

Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya and Basavanagudi MLA Ravi Subramanya inaugurated the fair by offering groundnuts to the Nandi idol at the Bull Temple. Though no commercial activities were allowed around the temple, hundreds of devotees stood in queue throughout the day and offered prayers.

“The Kadalekai Parishe is the pride of Basavanagudi and our Bengaluru. Lakhs of people would witness the event during the three days of the festival, besides traders from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu opening groundnut stalls.

“However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are forced to hold the event on a simple note. We are hopeful of celebrating the festival in a grand way next year,” Surya said.