City's annual tryst with groundnuts from today

‘Kadalekai Parishe,’ the annual groundnut fair held during November-December in Basavanagudi, will begin on Monday.

Vendors and customers alike are set to take part in the fair and indulge their senses in the festivities.

Sixty-year-old Nagarani, a resident of Magadi, who has been selling groundnuts for over three decades now, talks about changes in the trade: “Earlier, people would take home 10 measures of groundnuts. However, now, few people buy more than a couple of measures. Twenty years ago, I would sell a measure at Rs five. These days, I sell them at Rs 30.”

Even two days before the commencement of the actual fair, roads were filled with vendors stacking heaps of groundnuts, mainly of two varieties: Sannaguttakayi and Magadikayi. Seventy-five year old Nagaraju, a resident of Lakkur, prefers the Magadikayi variety for various reasons. He opines that some people turn up at the fair just to see rather than buy.

Visitors were seen in large numbers on Sunday. While there were a handful of youngsters, a major chunk of the crowd comprised people who had been visiting the fair for years. “I would come here with my daughter when she was just two. Today, she is doing an MBA. Yet, we make it a point to come here each year,” said Suma, a teacher.

The resident of Basavanagudi said that there were many stories that explained the origin of the parishe. The most plausible one says that a bull often troubled groundnut growers in the area by destroying their crops. To appease the bull, village residents began to make an offering by holding a fair annually. 

In addition to the groundnuts, other attractions included heaps of puffed rice offered with bright-coloured sugar candies, ceramic artefacts and rural handicrafts.